A Common Professional Development Mistake

I think that professional development providers, certainly including myself, often miss the mark and commit a common mistake when they tell attendees what they need to do but don’t leave them equipped to implement it. To explain this, consider how we teach students what to do during a fire.

The two most common options are providing a map (like you see in hotel rooms) or by simulating the experience through a fire drill (like you see in schools). Giving students a map is certainly less time consuming than running a fire drill, so why don’t we just give students a map?