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What Are PDDs?
Are you wondering about what goes on during those PDD late start days? Professional Development Days carve out time for teachers to grow professionally and to transfer what they learn to the classroom. PDDs vary in content. Sometimes they include the entire K-12 faculty to discuss a major strategic shift in curriculum. At other times, they are divided by schools.
In September teachers from all three schools learned about the new literacy curriculum and how to begin its implementation. Now that the curriculum has been introduced, teachers meet to hone their skills for writing and reading instruction or to track progress by comparing student work.
The District has now begun the process of choosing a new science curriculum. Before choosing, teachers must determine the skills and content students need in each discipline. Teachers also need to agree on overarching instructional objectives: should the teaching method be primarily hands-on and experiential or should the focus be more on teaching students how to memorize processes and facts, or a combination of both.
Some PDDs involve outside trainers sharing their expertise. On December 16th, Steve Hirsch, architect of the Readiness to Learn initiative, spoke to McMurray staff about the key success factors in making RTL work for middle school students. McMurray plans to adopt the initiative next year.
Other training sessions over the past year have included a district-wide class about Response to Intervention; a class about new developments in special education; and a seminar focusing on brain development and learning.
So, while your student is getting two extra hours of sleep every other week, be confident that the VISD faculty is hard at work learning so they can become better teachers.