Upon first hearing of Juneau Education Association’s teacher-led professional development class, JEDI, during JSD’s August 2016 new teacher in-service, I was hooked. What intrigued me the most was the motivation of teacher professionals to lead a professional development course outside of district-funded activities and to focus on topics teachers are desiring more training on and skill development. This self-directed learning not only benefits teachers, but it also benefits the district and, more importantly, our students. As I asked other teachers about the JEDI class before it began, many told me they had taken it the year before, loved it, and encouraged me to take it.
Teachers leading their own Professional Development has seen a surge of social media coverage in the last few years. Betty Ray, Director of Programming and Innovation for the education site Edutopia, encourages teachers to use the internet to connect with other educators and learn. She says that she sees “some amazing learning and professional development opportunities” (Ray 2011) available to teachers because of the accessibility the internet provides as well as the grassroots DIY PD organization it supports. A cursory Google search on the topic led me to myriad posts and blogs on the subject that contain further social media sites where teachers are connecting to learn from each other about topics they are professionally curious about. Allison Tallman, an accomplished teacher who blogs for Scholastic, calls on teachers to “be accountable for our own learning by seeking out the information we want to know,” (Tallman 2016). The JEDI course is just this: a DIY professional development designed for JSD educators’ interests.
At the first class, I was delighted to see many other JSD employees also jumped at the opportunity to participate in the JEDI class. Educators from all educational levels, covering a variety of content areas, with a varying degree of technology abilities, and from new teachers to veteran teachers were in the room. This was clearly an opportunity that appealed to many. When you enter rooms with a turn-out like this, you get a distinct feeling that not only will you learn a considerable amount from the instructors, but equally from the discussions with your peers.
From the beginning of session one, the JEDI course challenged me to think and consider how I make information accessible to students, particularly with the introduction of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). While the philosophy of making lessons and information accessible to every student is not a novel idea, UDL along with the associated website and resources was new to me and incredibly thought-provoking. I appreciate new ideas that challenge me to be a better educator because there are always areas of our practice that we can always improve.
As the sessions continued, the presenters gave us more and more to consider. We read and discussed UDL guidelines; viewed, tested, and played with technological sites to augment learning in our own classrooms; heard from other teachers in the district about their successes with technology in their classrooms; learned from visiting presenters; and had time to discuss issues or ask burning questions related to topics that interested us. Each session had time for discovery with new technological tools and thinking about how to implement new technologies to increase access to information and learning for all students.
The JEDI course instructors were key in the success of this class: Nathan Adams, James Scheufelt, and Loralie Heagy. Their vast knowledge of UDL, technology, and educational pedagogy made this class incredibly worthwhile. As teachers, we are busy people. I’m thankful these three teachers made time in their schedules to organize and lead this course.
I feel incredibly fortunate to be working with coworkers who advocate for professional development that focuses on topics educators are interested in and create avenues to make that happen. What an incredible level of professionalism and dedication. I am glad I took this course (and for credit!) and I look forward to further JEDI course offerings.
Resources
Ray, Betty. "Empowering Teachers with DIY." Edutopia. George Lucas Educational Foundation, 26 Jan. 2011. Web. 06 Nov. 2016.
Tallman, Allison. "Being Accountable for Our Own Learning: Seeking Out Professional Development." Edu@scholastic. Scholastic, 3 Oct. 2016. Web. 06 Nov. 2016.
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