If we aspire for educators to create engaging and valuable learning opportunities for their students, it's essential that we utilize the same approach towards professional learning.

Educators should have ownership in their professional development.

Passion-Powered PD is a professional learning journey that allows educators to take ownership of their own professional development by pursuing an area of interest, passion, or expertise that will support the campus or district mission and vision. This approach encourages teachers to be creative, curious, and innovative, while learning new skills and gaining knowledge that they can bring back to their classrooms. This type of learning is designed to:

Increase Teacher Motivation
Encourage Creative Problem-Solving
Cultivate a Collaborative Culture
Increase Teacher Autonomy
Enhance Teacher Efficacy

Passion-Powered PD can be delivered as a 6 hour learning experience to explore, discover, and learn about a specific topic like gifted education, differentiation, or SEL in the classroom.

It can also be introduced to educators as a year-long journey in which educators work on independent passion projects to support the mission and vision of the campus or district.

INTRODUCING

The 6 Ps of Genius Hour

The Framework:

This approach to professional learning will utilize the 6 Ps of Genius Hour Framework, a roadmap that provides structure while being flexible enough to encourage autonomy and personal decision-making. I first introduced this model for educators to utilize in the classroom in my book, Genius Hour: Passion Projects that Ignite Innovation and Student Inquiry. Below is what this process will look like when utilized to drive professional learning.

Passion: Start with a passion and purpose.
Plan: Develop a plan to guide your learning journey.
Pitch: Pitch your idea to others to gain support and feedback.
Project: Work on your project as you create a product that can be shared with colleagues.
Product: Create a digital, physical, or experiential product that can be shared with an audience.
Presentation: Present what you've learned and/or created with colleagues.

HEY, I'M ANDI!

I am an international keynote speaker, author, and educator. I spent 16 years of my career serving learners and now I spend my time serving educators. I believe that some of the best ideas and solutions to the problems that education is facing lie within the educators that spend their time in the classroom with learners every single day. As the author of Genius Hour, Passion Projects that Ignite Innovation and Student Inquiry, I train campuses and districts on how to implement Genius Hour in the classroom. In doing so, I began to wonder what it might look like if we utilized this same model to give teachers ownership of their professional learning. So, I'm inviting you and your campus or your district to join me on this amazing adventure. So...the choice is yours. You in?

Interested?

Are you and your staff tired of the same old passive professional development sessions? Do you yearn for a more engaging and interactive learning experience that will inspire active participation and investment from educators? If so, please fill out the form below and I will follow up with additional information.