Fun Professional Development Activities for Teachers 

As an administrator, you see the value of professional development (PD) for your staff. However, it can be a challenge to get everyone on board with your PD plan. Teachers may struggle to find the time to devote to PD or will wonder how it will be relevant to them. However, they may also welcome the opportunity to grow professionally. Once you've come up with a practical plan to make PD accessible, it's important to focus on how you can make it fun and engaging while also making a valuable impact on student learning.

Professional development can be enjoyable and effective. By making PD “F.U.N.” – Focused, Uplifting, and Nimble – you can ensure that it not only addresses serious aspects of teaching but also brings joy. This approach makes PD a valuable use of teachers’ precious time.

• Focused on priority instructional and classroom needs
• Uplifting and designed to celebrate and grow teachers and students
• Nimble enough to be used in next week’s lessons and beyond

FUN professional learning can be a reality. Let’s take a look at how to make it happen!

Bringing FUN into teacher professional development activities

Before I share some examples of fun activities, let's explore what it means to be F.U.N. When these ideas of F.U.N. are incorporated into PD activities, then teachers can truly enjoy them and find true fun in honing their craft.

F is for Focused. 

• Structure teacher professional development around district and campus priorities, strategic goals, and recent student data. And not all of those items at the same time. Move the big rocks first.
• Keep it concise and centered around one or two key outcomes. When we focus on too much, we focus on nothing.
• Engage teachers in planning for the learning experience so you can ensure it’s targeted to their most pressing needs. 

U is for Uplifting.

• Ideally, teachers are growing alongside one another. Let them celebrate their work, their students, and their successes. Others will hop on board and follow suit.
• Design learning around reaching outcomes that are meaningful to the teachers involved. Ask them what they really want and need to know and build from that.
• Well-being and mindset matters. Yes, we can learn amazing strategies in professional development sessions, but we can also find ways to bring joy and peace to the human-brings that serve our students and communities each and every day. 

N is for Nimble. 

• Have a plan, but don’t be afraid to improvise if teachers express a burning need. Attending to what teachers need now can change the whole trajectory of their and their students’ growth.
• Design learning in formats and timeframes that can be adapted to teachers’ needs. Model flexibility for teachers in the same way we expect them to model it for their students.
• Encourage teachers to work together and share ideas, especially with those who they haven’t worked with before. Collaboration not only fuels innovation but also introduces diverse perspectives that move the needle better than any lecture we could provide. 

Teacher professional development activities

Share expertise and growth through teacher-led innovation walks 

Ask all teachers to prepare an “innovation walk” for an upcoming professional development session. 

• Explain that they’ll share a strategy that has worked well with their students to achieve a specific goal. Focus your PD session around this idea (e.g., using scaffolds to support independent writing).
• Modify this student gallery walk routine or use an iteration of that routine as a format for teachers to rotate and learn from one another.
• Spice up the fun with a musical gallery walk, different refreshments at each station, and/or small prizes for the most creative strategy or most interactive presentation.

Spark ideas and boost relevance with question carousels

Implement in-person or online question carousels to address teachers’ burning needs and wonderings around a professional learning topic.

• Explain that they’ll share a strategy that has worked well with their students to achieve a specific goal that you have focused this PD session around (e.g., using scaffolds to support independent writing).
• Use a collaborative strategy like this student question carousel routine that not only provides teachers with time to study a critical topic, but also lets them ask questions of their peers and apply immediate relevance to their learning.
• Spice up the fun with small breakout rooms. If implementing online, teachers can create topical webcam backgrounds, share online tools they use with their students, or even invite special guest speakers to engage in a question panel around a topic for a smaller group.

Celebrate success on a bulletin board

Create a bulletin board in a high-teacher-traffic area of the school (or a virtual one on a shared platform) to sustain engagement with professional learning beyond a single learning session. 

• Have teachers post photos, student work, or short reflections that demonstrate evidence of and celebrate student success.
• Model a student strategy, like accountable talk, asking teachers to add on to others’ posts using sticky notes and given sentence stems. This not only provides a space for teachers to showcase their successes but also allows anytime professional development as teachers engage with and learn from one another.
• Spice up the fun with themed decorations, interactive elements, and regular updates to the board to keep the learning fresh and engaging.

Help teachers thrive

Professional development can be an inspiring journey that fuels both teachers and students. By focusing on priority needs, uplifting each other, and staying nimble, PD can be an experience that teachers look forward to. When professional learning is engaging and fun, it not only enhances teaching practices but also fosters a positive school culture. At its best, PD can create an environment where teachers feel valued, supported, and excited to bring new strategies into their classrooms. When teachers thrive, students soar!

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