Should Students Have a Role in Professional Development?

When Gail Shatkus wanted to help Montana teachers understand how they might use geographic information systems (GIS) to get students thinking critically about local issues, she enlisted some experts to lead professional development.

Students from Chester-Joplin-Inverness High School have been using GIS for a variety of community projects, such as creating accurate maps of a pioneer-era cemetery. Who better than students to plan and facilitate hands-on learning experiences for their teachers?

"You've heard of flipping the classroom?" asks Shatkus, assistant professor at Montana State University-Northern and veteran career-technical education teacher at the high school. "I call this flipping the teacher." With students leading the way, teachers from elementary through high school enjoyed the chance to learn how to use recreation-grade GPS devices and brainstorm connections to their curriculum areas.

Student Input: In Action

In a variety of contexts, I've been seeing more and more examples of students playing an active role in their teachers' professional learning. For example:

In my last post, How Maker Culture Builds Stronger Learning Communities, I described the maker projects under way at a new high school in Philadelphia where students are improving the built environment.

In a follow-up email, I heard from Alex Gilliam of Public Workshop about a professional development session at the same school, attended by both teachers and key student leaders. He described how it unfolded:

What's Your Experience?

It's easy to imagine why learning experiences like this don't happen more often. After all, time for professional development is already too limited and overcommitted at most schools.

Nor can I point to any research about the benefits of inviting students to take part in professional development (although I'm eager to hear from anyone who is investigating this topic).

But these anecdotes have me wondering: Does your school involve students in professional development? How do you structure the experience? What do you learn from offering students a seat at the table? How do students respond to the invitation to share their expertise or learn alongside their teachers?

Please tell us about your experiences in the comments section below.