When Every Day Feels Like PD

When Every Day Feels Like PD

Most professional development comes in bursts — a workshop, a conference, a single day of inspiration that is designed to change and improve the foundations of our practice. But in a learning community, the growth never really ends. It’s embedded in the system. This "free" PD shows up when we plan, teach, and reflect together.

I had a couple of huge “aha” moments that made this real for me — and I want to share how I got there, and then invite you to reflect on your own experience.

Story 1: The Literacy Lesson That Changed Everything

It was 2010. I was working at a small school in Indonesia on a two-teacher team, each of us with a classroom assistant. I brought experience with the Primary Years Programme, she brought the literacy expertise.

I told my colleague, “I’d love to observe you teach literacy and then co-teach with you. I really admire your expertise.” She was well-trained in Readers’ and Writers’ Workshop — on her way to becoming a literacy coach — so to say she had “skills” was an understatement.

The first day, we merged the two classes for a writing lesson. She led a standard mini-lesson using her “stack” of mentor texts (Matt Glover people will know what I mean). Regardless of which homeroom they came from, students were turning-and-talking, engaged, ready to write. Then she sent them off to work across both classrooms.

I mentioned that conferring was a weak spot for me — I never got to everyone. She smiled and said, “Watch this.”

She sat beside one student on the carpet. In a quiet voice, she asked a few questions, collecting data about where that child was as a writer that day. Then, a bit louder, she praised his consistent punctuation and capitalization. Immediately, another student on the carpet stopped writing, reviewed his own work, and changed a few sentence starters.

When she reached the teaching point, she raised her voice just a bit more, modeling from a mentor text:

“See how this author does it? You can try that too.”

She handed the book to the student and moved on. But I sat frozen — watching what had just happened.

One student was being conferred with, but four others had just improved their writing. If I hadn’t seen that in person, it might have taken me years to learn. Years of workshops, blogs, videos, and trial and error.

But that single shared moment saved me years of adequate teaching. It was the first time I truly saw what a learning community could do — when we teachers are vulnerable enough to ask, open enough to learn, and surrounded by expertise every day.

Story 2: A Year’s Worth of PD in 30 Minutes

Fast forward a decade or so. I was on a “prototype” team — tasked with piloting the learning community model. We were a group of four homeroom teachers, a learning support specialist, an EAL expert, and two instructional assistants.

Early on, we were struggling with how to launch a transdiciplinary unit of study. Based on the data we collected, students had varied interests, and we needed a shared foundation to start from.

That’s when the EAL teacher mentioned an activity she’d used the week before — a scavenger hunt for math symbols. The idea caught fire.

The science-minded teacher tied the activity to our standards. The tech-savvy teacher suggested adding QR codes to the clues for students who finished early and wanted to learn more. The learning support teacher suggested sensory-friendly spaces for overstimulated students. Another teacher, who’d been learning about dyslexia, recommended special fonts and colored paper for accessibility.

By the end of that planning session, we had not only designed a powerful activity but also learned from one another — about student needs, inclusive design, and content connections.

It was like a year’s worth of professional development condensed into 30 minutes.

Sometimes, a teacher is upskilled during a planning meeting simply because of all the minds at the table.

Reflection Becomes Growth, Not Guilt

Throughout the years, I’ve seen this pattern again and again. In a traditional model, professional development happens outside of teaching. In a learning community, it happens because of teaching and learning, with the team around you.

When teachers reflect together, insight multiplies. Someone always sees what another missed. That happens during planning, when teaching, and when we hear colleagues talk about students. This type of learning feels less personal — not “I’m doing something wrong,” but “We’re learning together.”

That’s emotional safety.

That’s growth.

Shared Leadership: Empowerment in Action

Learning communities don’t just multiply learning — they distribute leadership.

When a teacher leads a data dive, a reflection protocol, or a new strategy, it says:

“I trust you. I value your expertise.”

Distributive leadership highlights different strengths and gives everyone a chance to feel proud of their contribution, or a way to dabble in something new. It's the implementation of PD in real time.

When I share a literacy strategy that works for a student receiving support, I’m not claiming to be a reading specialist — I’m contributing to our collective expertise. That pride grows into something meaningful.

When teachers grow together, students follow suit.

The Everyday PD

In a true learning community, growth doesn’t trickle down from a workshop or a leader. It grows outward — from the table where teachers plan, teach, and reflect together.

It’s the kind of professional development that doesn’t end when the school day does. It walks out the door with you — into every class, every conversation, every next step.

A Gentle Nudge

This week, notice your own learning moments. Where are you being stretched? Who are you learning from — and who might be learning from you?

Every day can be professional development when you teach in a community.