HOT COMPOSTING... or Growing our Professional Learning Network

Reflect... personal learning network has changed... Discuss your plans for how you plan to continue to grow your learning network...hope to contribute... professional learning of your administrative colleagues.

I'm a gardener and one of my newest fascinations is composting. Those two things - growing and ungrowing - seem contradictory but actually they're complementary, necessary phases the life cycle.  To my surprise, it takes more finesse and concentrated effort to create a "hot" compost pile, than it does to grow tomato plants! ("Hot" refers to the just-right conditions where temperatures reach nearly 120-160 degress and  chunky pieces break down to  become very small bits of nutrient-rich soil.) 

Thinking about how my own PLN has changed and how I plan to contribute to the growth of colleagues, I can't help but draw parallels to garden wisdom. For me, it wasn't a stretch to envision a larger community where like-minded professionals invigorate growth through Web 2.0 tools. But brand new roots sunk deep when I heard the phrase "moral imperative" when referring to our place in a PLN.  My decomposing began! It's not just about my growth!  Suddenly, I knew I had to give back and share my own learning. It's time to scatter the seeds of my growth to the entire garden! In the breadth of such a large network, there are many teachers and leaders in every possible phase of development. Grafting old and new knowledge and experience together creates new (and improved) plants. Too many teachers have struggled in isolation to reach toward an ill-defined goal. There's just no excuse anymore.  If we're not growing...well, maybe it's time for the compost pile!

To contribute to professional growth of my colleagues, a little decomposing might be needed. Into the pile I toss weeds of doubt, brambles of skeptic weariness, and dried leaves of yesterday's habits. The formula for growth is similar to coaching: explicit instruction, supported side-by-side practice, with lots of job embedded follow-up and dialogue.  To follow the garden analogy, the gardener prepares the soil, provides the food, then watches the growth with a ready hand to assist if weeds or any impediment begin to threaten the path to maturity.

I've already created a NING forum for our teachers, but I have very few jumping in! You can put the nutrient rich compost right outside the garden gate, but unless it's worked a little bit under the soil, it won't benefit the plant at all. Here's some plans I have to break down old, dried up and withering plants, and begin a fresh new crop:

• MODEL the excitement and create anticipation by having a "contest" for contribution and participation in the NING site I've already created.
• Record snippets of feedback sessions with teachers or between teachers, and post this as a podcast on the district site, and on NING. 
• Build a team of key teacher-technology-leaders who will work together to generate group projects where teachers learn, practice, then demonstrate and share their learning with each other.
• Suggest to our Central Office that they tape record or video the upcoming grade level district-wide meetings. One teacher from each school will attend these meetings. Podcasts or video clips of those meetings would serve as a record of discussions, and also allow involvement for those who can't attend but want to be involved.  
• Provide samples of blogs, podcasts, RSS feeds, and twitter discussions that all demonstrate the expansive possibilities for growth.  New skills are needed.  The hard ground needs to be broken up before new seeds are planted.  Motivation and vision are the tools that will prepare the soil. Growing the teachers results in student growth and once teachers see the possibilities...

all that's needed is a little sunshine, water, and good soil to support the growth!