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Four Pillars of Effective PD: Lessons from Folio Member Schools

In December, I visited five Folio member schools—from California to Maryland—to hear from teachers about how Folio can best support professional growth. The big takeaway from these conversations came down to four Cs: context, clarity, culture and contemplation.

Context:

Teachers appreciate “scaffolding” around their professional development activities. This starts with context – understanding and connecting to a larger mission and vision, be it a school’s philosophy or department goals. Relating a teacher’s PD to something larger serves as a constant reminder of why they are being asked to do tasks and use tools (like Folio).

Clarity:

Articulating clear, specific goals is critical in making Folio an effective tool for managing growth. When expectations are defined (such as how soon after a meeting to record a Note) there is less frustration and less friction﹘and more focus on working towards individual goals.

Culture:

Educators said that when Folio is embedded in the school, it creates a culture of learning and collaboration that encourages growth.

Contemplation:

To deepen the PD experience, the most effective schools intentionally and consistently create time for reflection. The real value of growth comes when teachers are given the space to pause and think. Reflection (such as “why did that work?” or “why was that mentioned?”) should be part of the learning process, not merely an afterthought if a teacher remembers (or finds enough time).

About the author

Meredith Monk Ford

Executive Director of Folio Collaborative since 2013, Meredith Ford and her team partner with 100+ schools globally to help them foster a working environment of professional learning where teachers want to stay and thrive. Before joining Folio Collaborative, Meredith was a classroom teacher and coach. After graduating from the University of Maryland with a BA in Classics, she returned to her alma-mater, the Bryn Mawr School in Baltimore, to teach middle school ancient history and coach. While teaching at Bryn Mawr, she also completed her first master’s degree in Liberal Arts at Johns Hopkins University. In 2009, Meredith pursued a second master’s degree in School Leadership at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. The following fall, she joined the middle school faculty at McDonogh School where she served as a 7th grade history teacher, hockey and lacrosse coach, grade-level leader, and eventually, the Folio Administrator. As a result of her own Folio conversations with McDonogh administrators, she was able to realize one of her professional goals when she left the classroom to lead Folio Collaborative full-time. Because of her experience working in an environment where she thrived, Meredith is passionate about Folio’s potential to help other schools create that experience for all teachers. Although she is striving to spend the majority of her time working on the business, she still loves opportunities to train and facilitate workshops amongst administrators and faculty around professional growth, leadership, conversations, and feedback. She has spoken multiple times at the NAIS Annual Conference, the TABS Annual Conference, as well as many regional school association events. When she is not running the Folio Collaborative business, Meredith enjoys learning from her Entrepreneurs’ Organization Forum and spending quality time with her guys Owen (7), Walker (5), Briggs (2), and Robby (35).