In this episode I share ten ideas for creative professional development.

1. Start a breakfast club to talk about a pedagogy you’re interested in right now, like interactive notebooks, online discussions, project-based learning, etc.

2. Go on a trip to learn more about something in your curriculum. Maybe you can visit an author’s hometown, tour a museum with a relevant display, or hike a path a poet you teach once hiked.

3. Make a date with yourself. Choose something you want to do, like watch Ted Talks related to education, and then choose a way to do it, like every Thursday while you eat sushi!

4. Apply to present at a conference. You learn when you teach! Figure out something that’s working great for you and share it with others.

5. Similarly, propose to present a favorite strategy to your own department or faculty.

6. Get professionally social. Join a Facebook group (like this one!) or create a professional Instagram or Twitter account and follow thought leaders in English education. Once a week, log in and learn!

7. Create a goal-oriented Pinterest page around an issue you are struggling with. By creating a board chock full of ideas from other educators, you’ll have a resource you can tap into anytime you need a boost in this area.

8. Ask a question about teaching to everyone you can. Whether it’s “what do you find engaging in the classroom?” or “what’s your favorite memory from school?” or something else, tap the wisdom of your community to make new strides in your teaching.

9. Take a course in something you’ve always been interested in. Try Coursera or Udemy, or check out the listings in your local community. You never know how new information will impact you as a teacher and lead you in interesting new directions.

10. Get lost at the library. You never know what you don’t yet know until you check out the accumulated wisdom of generations of teachers in the teaching shelves.

If you enjoyed this podcast, don’t forget to subscribe on iTunes! SO MANY great shows are coming for you and I don’t want you to miss a single chance to get great teaching ideas while you are doing the dishes, grocery shopping, running, or eating lunch in your classroom on a busy day.

Would you like to get creative teaching ideas sprinkled into your inbox all year long? I’ve put together a series of ten creative lessons for you that will be on its way the moment you put your e-mail in below.