What this Trader Joe’s sign teaches us about professional development

Overcome the excuses we make that stop us from pursuing more professional development opportunities in this episode of Teaching in Higher Ed.

There’s a sign posted in our local (and beloved) grocery store: Trader Joe’s. “Please do not use this machine if you have not been trained,” it reads. The machine in question is a drink dispenser. As absurd as this is, in some cases, there’s more training required to dispense raspberry lemonade than there is to teach a college class.

 

Guest: Dave Stachowiak

There are abundant resources out there for professional development, but we can sometimes be held back by our own excuses.

Professional development excuses and opportunities

Here are the most common excuses for not pursuing more training on how to teach and how to overcome each of them:

Not enough time

• Podcasts (Bonni’s podcast recommendations)
• Audio books (Dave listens via Audible.com)
  • A couple of audio books that Dave particularly enjoyed listening to lately on Audible:

1. 1. 1. Adam Grant’s Give and Take
      2. Essentialism by Greg McKeown

• When you’re waiting (Pocket)

Too hard to keep up

• Subscribing to blogs (feedly)
• Twitter
• Bonni’s professional development Twitter lists:

1. 1. Teaching in Higher Ed
   2. EdTech
   3. Teaching and learning centers
   4. ProfHacker

My discipline is unique

• Coursera
• EdEx

Nothing I’ve tried before works

• Filming or recording yourself teaching

My university doesn’t dedicate resources for professional development

• Faculty development centers at other universities
• USC’s Center for Teaching Excellence videos
• Grass roots efforts
• EdTech group at Vanguard

EdTech tools

JotPro stylus (Dave)

iAnnotate (Bonni)