This is Jennifer Gonzalez welcoming you to episode 201 of the Cult of Pedagogy

podcast. In this episode we're going to talk about how to build psychological

safety in professional development.

Anyone who has ever been a teacher has participated in a lot of professional

development. If you're lucky some of that has been time well spent giving you

new tools and helping you grow as an educator. Unfortunately for many of us

that isn't the case much of the time. Hearing a teacher say I can't wait to

spend all day tomorrow in PD is something that almost never happens. And why is

that? Well there are lots of reasons. One is that our PD is often designed to be

one-size-fits-all which means a lot of people in attendance will feel that the

content isn't relevant to their work. Another is that PD is often structured in a

top-down fashion where participants are passively receiving information with

little acknowledgement or use of their personal expertise. And another is that

hardly any effort is made to ensure that the people in the room, the adult

learners, feel physically and emotionally comfortable enough to give their

full participation. Solving these issues is the goal of my guest, Elena Aguilar.

Her new book, The PD Book, seven habits that transform professional

development explores seven different approaches we can take to make PD much

more impactful. The book which she co-authored with Lori Cohen is full of

incredibly insightful advice. Stuff that really focuses in on the idea that PD

is ultimately about groups of complex human beings gathering together to learn

and grow. If you are a facilitator, the book will help you do your work better.

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