Remember “Hot fun in the summertime,” the Sly and the Family Stone song? We may still sing songs like these as celebrations of the end of a successful school year!
We are lucky to work in a field with beginnings and endings, and it’s always a joy to watch our kindergartner or senior students graduate and move to the next level. While summer may mean slower days and vacation for some, it is also a valuable time for professional learning. Recently as I was planning a mini four-day vacation for my husband and me, I realized that planning for that trip and for professional learning are much the same.
Where will we go?
First, I asked, where did we want to go? Did we want the sights of a bustling city, excitement of a fun amusement park, relaxation on the beach, or hiking in the mountains?
As we plan for summer professional development, we consider where we want our students to go. What does the data say? That’s the source of our student and educator goals and content of summer learning. Many districts have student and educator needs in math, writing or technology integration.
What resources are available to us?
Second, I considered resources. How much time and money are available? I was attending a conference in Utah, so could that be a start to our trip? Did we have enough airline points to get free flights home?
Resources also support our professional learning goals. For our educators and students, do we also have the time, expertise, and materials to model and plan for high-yield instructional strategies in new math lessons for fall? Summer is valuable time for educator professional learning—no subs needed, so multiday, in-depth sessions can be planned. We can also take advantage of time to travel to local, state, or national conferences.
What will we do?
As I narrowed our vacation choices to national parks in the Western United States, I researched things to do. Vacation sites have so many choices to fit your needs—spas to relax, hiking to exercise, and sightseeing to marvel in America!
What do we plan to do during professional learning in summer? Are we planning results-focused, engaging, active learning for adults? Are we modeling good teaching and learning? What’s the process for the content that you are teaching—Lesson Study, Numbered Heads Together, or Four Corners? There are active learning processes in the work of Kagan, Garmston, and many others that ensure adult engagement, transfer of learning, and fun! We want our adults to say, “I learned and this was fun” in the summer, so we have to be sure to select engaging processes!
What will the conditions be like?
As I finalized our visit to Western U.S. National Parks, I had to consider the context, or conditions, surrounding our activities. I was puzzled by the lack of hotel rooms and the rates on our chosen weekend in Moab, Utah. A quick Google search helped me to learn that a multiday desert trail race was ending on our selected weekend in Moab. While that is fascinating, and I have nothing against those adventurers, dealing with crowds of hundreds or thousands of sweaty runners wasn’t fitting our ideal vacation this summer—maybe another time. We’ll head the opposite direction!
As we plan, develop, and facilitate summer professional learning, be sure to plan for the learning conditions for our adults. These often include expectations and environment. Are teacher leaders well prepared and excited to help adults? Are principals and other key leaders involved in summer learning? How is the summer heat and the air conditioning—it’s always too much or not enough! How’s the parking? Are our sites welcoming? The facilities department is my best friend for helping create ideal learning conditions for summer professional learning.
All these questions help us plan for high-quality summer professional learning so our educators leave us singing, “Hot fun in the summer time”!
