Reimagining professional learning in 2022

Sarah Louise Gandolfo > Semann & Slattery

The argument against single-event professional learning or development sessions in the early childhood sector is not a new one (Hope, 2017).

Over my own 20 years in the sector I have repeatedly seen two particular mindsets emerge as a result of these types of sessions: one, that educators were given a lot of new and amazing information but are unsure of how to actually translate what they have learnt into practice; or two, that they take one or two key pieces of information, implement them in their early childhood spaces immediately, but watch as familiar practices seep back in over time. Of course, this isn’t the fault of the provider or facilitator of the session. I, instead, simply blame a lack of time, for both the facilitation and for consolidation of the new information after the session has ended. We are, after all, a time poor sector! Now, while the pandemic has hit the early childhood sector hard, there was something good that I observed that came out of it, and that was a reimagining of what we understood as professional learning. I’m in Victoria, so for almost two years we have been unable to enjoy face to face events. Initially this meant an embracing of the webinar and welcoming familiar faces to our virtual staff meetings via Zoom. While this was a wonderful opportunity to continue spreading hope, joy and learning, I continued to observe the same problem: single events weren’t necessarily leading to sustained or meaningful change in early childhood spaces. So, what’s the alternative? Here I offer three suggestions on how you might reimagine your own or your teams’ professional learning in 2022.

Professional reading

As a forever-student with a deep love of learning I get super excited about reading. I have a stack of to-read books next to me as I write this! Professional reading and engaging in research, from both in and outside of the sector, is a wonderful way to upskill, learn something new, and bring fresh ideas into your early childhood space. Professional reading can be engaged with in a couple of ways that make it effective professional learning. You might like to host or join a book club, where a group of early childhood professionals read the same book and come together on a regular basis to explore and unpack the key ideas, sharing their thoughts on how to turn the information into practice. This is a great strategy for building your professional network as the group can be made up of anyone across the sector, not just your immediate team. Within your immediate team, though, you may also choose to engage with shorter articles (such as this one) using them as a catalyst for quality improvement discussions and planning. And, of course, you can choose to read on your own, exploring new ideas and engaging in the latest early childhood research. Keeping a journal is a useful way of consolidating what you are learning and documenting how you are using it to make a change in your practice. As a side note, if reading is simply not your thing, you can take advantage of the many podcasts that are available to us as a sector.

Professional networks

While we would all prefer that our networking be done face to face, access to Zoom has made networking a much more accessible professional learning tool for us all. Coming together with other early childhood professionals to critically reflect on different aspects of practice is sure to provide an excellent level of professional learning. By having a singular focus over an extended period you may also turn your network into a community of practice!

Action research

Engaging in action research might seem a little scary at first but trust me when I say that the results of engaging in this process with your team are incredible. Not only will you learn something new about yourself and your team members, you’ll also be actively invested in a particular topic while seeking to make long-lasting and successful change within your early childhood space.

References

Hope, K. (2017). Is it time to rethink professional development in the early childhood sector? The ‘expert’ model may not be delivering much bang for our training buck. http://thespoke.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/timerethink-professional-development-early-childhood-sector-expert-modelmay-not-delivering-much-bang-training-buck/