Conversation #2 with Dr. Hoa Tu was so powerful that our Chief Innovation Officer Malika Ali is planning to observe Dr. Tu as she runs her professional learning in Queens North High Schools next week.

During the conversation, I was especially impressed with the ways in which Dr. Tu described braiding her own designs for pedagogy-focused and student-centered professional learning with NYC DOE central office mandates for curricular professional learning. Her focus on helping her leaders and teachers understand the "why" behind all professional learning has led to greater coherence and buy-in from her principals and teachers.

"I’ve seen many district-wide professional learning roll-outs that were 'one size fits all'. When we don’t acknowledge that there are different student needs and teacher support levels that should be taken into account, we quickly encounter challenges. Everyone wants to know that their voice matters.

The main challenge of adopting any new initiative is messaging. When people don’t understand the why and the how then they don’t comply, but instead pay lip service to the implementation. That’s why professional learning for educators has to mirror the experiences that we want our students to have in the classroom.

Unsuccessful professional learning is more about telling someone how to do something. This is not impactful for someone learning a new curriculum or strategy for the first time. If we want that deep cognitive engagement, then we must put teachers into the situations that we want their students to experience, and support them accordingly.

In my experience, professional learning implementations that work well encourage an opt-in, phased approach. By not over-mandating, but instead starting with small commitments from principals or specific teachers, we have intentional time to gain buy-in and build understanding (and excitement!) with more depth and clarity. It may take a little longer, but the sense of feeling seen and supported is well worth it for the alignment and sustainability you gain across schools.

We’ve seen a lot of success shifting from 'This is how I will support you' to 'How would you like to be supported?' "

How does Dr. Tu's approach sound to you? Please comment on LinkedIn and keep the conversation going.