Reflection on the transfer of professional development skills into practice

The goal of any professional development process is not only to acquire new knowledge and transfer it into practice. It is also to ensure that learning has a transformative impact! In the chronicle " In the eye of the director " today, a reflection on the transfer. 

On the one hand, professional development makes it possible to acquire new professional knowledge, but also to develop know-how and interpersonal skills, which, by definition, are recognized by a professional or scientific community. 

When we learn, this knowledge is deconstructed to be transferred, then we have to reconstruct it in another context: in class for example, or in another school. This allows you to validate what you have learned and put it to the test. In short, the professional development process allows you to learn at new and learn of new. 

The transfer does not happen only by learning something new. In my opinion, it is above all a question of developing our ability to adapt to the context and to the individuals who teach us knowledge, skills and attitudes, in action. Concretely, it is expressed by the development of personal skills that we construct, deconstruct and reconstruct from one context to another. 

Thus, the challenge is not only to know, know-how or know-how, but to know y to be and to know y to do. It's a bit like the meta aspect of knowledge transfer. In a transfer activity, it is not only a question of the one who transfers the knowledge, but also of the propensity of the new environment to accept it.

So there is the transformational aspect of the learner and that of his transfer process, but there is also the capacity of the environment to want to transform. 

Bring out new leaderships

Those who exercise leadership in a school must then ask themselves: what place does leadership give to the emergence of other leaderships, who enhance the existence of new knowledge, know-how and interpersonal skills?  

When we stimulate professional development in a team, we must put the winning conditions in place to allow the transfer and, thus, trust both the professional, his own leadership and the organizational culture. This will allow the transformation of each member of the school team, but above all, in the end, of the students.

What do you think? How do you promote transfer in your community? Do not hesitate to enter into the reflection by using the comments module below.