Using Stories for Professional Development

Book excerpt: This book offers a selection of stories about teaching, learning, and school life that you can use in a variety of PD formats and settings. Grouped into four categories—students, teachers, administrators, and parents—these tales offer a powerful entry point for thinking and reflecting on your school environment in a new and meaningful way. Each brief tale is presented to spark a 10–15 minute group discussion that will help educators think more deeply about the complex, human problems they confront on a daily basis. Suggested questions and a brief commentary following each tale can be used to explore the issues embedded in the tale and, thereby, empower staff to generate creative responses to them. Ditch your "sit and get" professional development and "tap into the wisdom of the ages" by using these powerful tales to give educators the gift of time to think and talk about what it really means to educate hearts and minds.