Why You Need to “Pull-Back-the-Curtain” in Your PD

When I first started presenting workshops, I received as many questions about coaching as about my approach to PD. 

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“Why did you decide to have us do that…?” “This PD was amazing. What tips do you have on presenting PD?”

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This made sense as the majority of the coaches and administrators who attended my workshops also designed and facilitated PD. 

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So, I adopted a new routine for my workshops—a moment when I’d “pull back the curtain” on the facilitation strategies I was using and think aloud about what I was doing and why (at that point, I literally incorporated a slide with a heavy stage curtain being pulled back). 

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For example, after the opening routines, I pull back the curtain and describe how setting intentions, anchoring in community agreements, and previewing the agenda build individual and collective resilience and deepen buy-in to the learning experience. These moves help learners understand why they’re asked to do what they’re asked. 

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These moments became many of the favorites in our learning experiences because we love to see behind the curtain. It allows us to see that we can replicate—in this case, a learning experience. 

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Presenting engaging, transformative PD isn’t rocket science, and it isn’t magic. There are fairly simple, straightforward things you can do to transform your PD sessions.

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