PD Subscription Boxes – How to Use It, What Goes In It & More!
Who doesn’t love getting a subscription box every month? I know I do! Enter: Little Box of PD: a fun, personalized way to get PD happening on your campus! A PD Subscription Box can seem overwhelming, so never fear – you can make this idea work for you with the time you have!
If you’ve seen the fun posts floating around about providing teachers with PD materials in a box and you’ve been curious about how to make it work for you, read on!
If your teachers are overwhelmed with traditional PD but still need to learn instructional strategies that could benefit their students, read on!
If you want to share ideas for teachers that can improve their instruction quickly, read on!
If there is not enough time in the day, but you still want to share PD with your teachers, read on!
What is Little Box of PD?
Providing teachers with PD materials in a box is a fun, differentiated method of providing professional development to teachers that can immediately impact their teaching. With this approach, school support staff – instructional coaches, literacy coaches, principals or other support staff members – provide teachers with learning opportunities in small chunks so they can learn something new and apply it to their classroom.
The PD materials can be in a box, a folder, a bag, or any other container and often include a fun bonus for participating. Read on for more ideas about how to use Little Boxes of PD at your school!
What Goes in a Little Box of PD?
Whether you store your PD in a box, a folder, or a canvas bag, there are lots of ways to make it special! Little Box of PD kits can include different PD resources for teachers to learn about something specific that they can use right away, along with some fun bonuses! Here is a list of what you could include in your kits:
Containers:
PD Resources and Materials You Could Include
Fun Bonuses for Teachers: (these could also be used as incentives once they complete the PD in the box you provided, or several PDs)
How Do I Set Up Little Box of PD at my School?
- Decide how this will be used: for all teachers, one PLC team at a time, or upon request. Will it be available monthly or once a semester?
- Create a kit. This could be as simple as a folder, a reusable grocery bag or canvas bag, or an actual box. Laminate materials that will be used over and over such as the 4 things about page, the video card., etc., and include copies of the teacher resources needed such as the notetaker, strategy card, and reflection guide. Multiple kits mean that you can differentiate and match teachers to the PD they love!
- Decide if teachers will receive an incentive for completing the PD in the box and what the requirements will be. Incentive ideas and requirements are included in a consecutive page. You could use a BINGo Board for this! Teachers fill in a box every time they participat4e in some sort of PD/PLC meeting and then turn it in for an incentive when they complete it!
- Have teachers sign up. Get them the kit in a timely manner and make sure they know what to do with it and when/how to return it, especially if there is the possibility of an incentive.
- Check in on teachers and offer to come watch their lessons or help out if they need some assistance. This is a great way to get into classrooms and turn this learning opportunity into coaching work or a coaching cycle!
Ideas for Little Box of PD: What Kind of PD Works Best for PD Subscription Boxes?
Try to exercise restraint! Putting too much information in a Little Box of PD will result in frustration and people will give up before they even try. Instead, choose simple, concrete, research-based strategies for student engagement, vocabulary, reading comprehension, writing, and games for practice. Here are few strategies I share in my Little Box of PD kits!
Vocabulary Word Sorts: Students discuss and manipulate words to access background knowledge and solidify their understanding of word meanings after the lesson.
Vocabulary: Frayer Model: Students use an evidence based organizer to work with words and learn them at deeper levels.
Vocabulary: Semantic Mapping: Make connections between words and concepts so they move into long term memory!
Engagement: Graffiti: Access background knowledge and have kids share learning through writing and movement!
Engagement: Picture Predictions: Students access their background knowledge and use it to sequence pictures. Then they learn the concept and re-sequence, adjusting their knowledge.
Engagement: *Clap Clap* TEACH!: It’s easy, it’s no-prep, and it gets kids talking during a lesson in a meaningful way!
Want to implement Little Boxes of PD at your school? Grab the bundle now and get started today! I’ll keep adding strategies so you’ll get it at a great price!
