Cavett Elementary Shows How PD Can Be Hands-On and Purposeful
At Cavett Elementary School, professional learning isn’t about sitting and listening (at least when Principal Carol Leeson and I plan it together!). It’s about building, and hands-on professional development for teachers is an exceptional vehicle for autonomy.
-by Dr. Tim Grivois, Executive Director
A few weeks ago, Cavett’s teachers spent an afternoon choosing from four PD activities for teachers designed to strengthen working memory supports for students with ADHD. Teachers created visual task cards, chunked complex assignments, and designed concrete tools they could use the very next day. The focus wasn’t on hearing about strategies. It was on making them.
Why Most PD Misses the Mark
In many schools, professional development still means long slide decks and limited choice. Teachers are expected to sit through presentations with little opportunity to shape the experience. When autonomy is missing, engagement disappears right along with it. In practice, much of what passes for PD is designed for maximum disengagement.
At Cavett Elementary, we chose a different path. The session offered teachers control over what they learned, how they learned it, and what they built to take back to their classrooms.
The Role of Teacher Autonomy in Professional Learning
Research from Edward Deci and Richard Ryan shows that autonomy, or the sense of choice and ownership in what we do, is one of the three core drivers of human motivation. When teachers have autonomy in professional learning, their engagement deepens and their follow-through improves.
That is exactly what happened at Cavett. Teachers decided which tasks to tackle, how to design their tools, and how those tools would best serve their students. Some used sticky notes to break a science lab into smaller steps. Others created retrieval practice cards for vocabulary or illustrated task cards for daily routines. The room buzzed with questions, laughter, and collaboration…all signs of authentic learning.
PD Activities for Teachers That Build Real Tools
By the end of the session, the library tables were filled with sketches, drafts, and final versions ready to laminate or display. Every artifact reflected curiosity, care, and creativity. The work teachers produced that day was more than a product. It was evidence of learning that blended theory and practice.
If you would like to try these hands-on professional development activities for teachers, you can download the same materials we used at Cavett Elementary. Each station includes clear directions, a materials list, and ready-to-use templates.
Download PD Activity Stations: Building Concrete Tools for the Classroom (PDF)
How the Content, Process, and Product Framework Came to Life
Carol Ann Tomlinson’s framework of Content, Process, and Product guided our design. Teachers made choices about what they worked on (content), how they engaged with it (process), and what they created as a result (product). This autonomy turned professional learning from something teachers attended into something they built together.
Building Professional Development That Teachers Want to Attend
When professional development for teachers feels hands-on, relevant, and collaborative, it becomes something created by educators rather than something done to them. That is when PD starts to look like great teaching — grounded in love, curiosity, and the joy of building something that helps kids succeed.