The PD Book: 7 Habits that Transform Professional Development

by Elena Aguilar, Lori Cohen

Develop transformational professional development programs that build and sustain your school community
In The PD Book, bestselling author Elena Aguilar and co-author Lori Cohen offer seven habits—and a wealth of practical tools—that help you transform professional development. In this book, you'll learn how to inspire adult learners, the importance of having clear purpose, and how to navigate power dynamics in a group. You'll also learn a new way to plan PD that allows you to attend to details and be a responsive facilitator. The dozens of tips and tricks, anecdotes and research, and tools and resources will enable you to create the optimal conditions for learning.

You'll also:

Craft effective outcomes for your adult students and design an agenda that aligns with adult learning principles
Use storytelling as a tool for effective workshops and trainings
Plan backwards from evaluations and outcomes to create powerful and lasting educational experiences
Ideal for educational leaders and administrators, professional development facilitators, coaches, and positional leaders in both K-12 and higher education, The PD Book is an incisive resource offering concrete strategies for educators at all levels.

Genres: Nonfiction, Teaching, Education, Leadership, Professional Development, Audiobook, Adult

287 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 18, 2022

About the author

Elena has trained thousands of educators across the United States and abroad in transformational coaching. She is the author of four highly acclaimed books: The Art of Coaching, (2013) and The Art of Coaching Teams, (2016) Onward: Cultivating Emotional Resilience in Educators (2018) and the Onward Workbook (2018), and the forthcoming Coaching for Equity (August 2020). She is a regular contributor to Edutopia and ASCD’s Educational Leadership, and she was a blogger for EdWeek Teacher for many years.

Elena Aguilar is an author and the President of Bright Morning Consulting. Her expertise derives from twenty five years as a classroom teacher, instructional coach and leadership coach working in diverse school environments. In her role as a consultant, she has partnered with leaders in public and private organizations across the United States and abroad. Elena is also the co-founder of Kenya Big Picture Learning, and she’s on the advisory board of UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center. Elena holds a BA in history and Latin American Studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and an MA in Anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley. She received her teaching credential from California State University, Hayward, and she also holds an administrative services credential.

Elena lives in Oakland, California, with her husband, son, and two cats. When she’s not coaching or writing she enjoys traveling abroad, photographing birds, hiking, drinking coffee and reading fiction.

Reviews

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will read and refer to this book again and again. It took a long time to finish because every time I read it, it got me thinking about PD I was planning and I would get distracted away from the book to work on my PD. A great problem to have!

This book has had an incredibly positive impact on me as a teacher and facilitator of adult learners.

[Megan Antonneau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this to get better at my job LOL

[Alison Rini · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book right when it came out because I love absolutely everything written or spoken by Elena Aguilar. I was so excited to get it and it has a really pretty cover but I was so busy at work I couldn’t make time to read it. This summer I took her company’s three day course on Artful Design and Facilitation which was INCREDIBLE and re-activated my passion to read the entire book. I’m so thrilled I did - designing powerful learning experiences for adult learners is such an impactful skill and I feel way more guided and supported in my future planning and delivery. Thank you, Elena (always) and Lori (from a new fan!)

[Carole · Rating 5 out of 5]

So powerful! A must-read for anyone who plans and/or facilitates professional development!

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very hard book to review because it’s a book with two identities. Half of this book is incredibly useful information about how to plan and execute PD that will be beneficial to all participants. The other half is very preoccupied with power inequalities related to gender, race, personality types, sexuality, etc. Is that a real thing that we should take into consideration when planning PD? Sure! Does it warrant the amount of space that this book gives to it? I don’t think so.

If you’re already aware of the potential for these kind of power imbalances, you’ll wish that the book focused more on the nuts and bolts of planning, executing, and troubleshooting your PDs.

Heck, this book recommends starting your PD sessions with land acknowledgments - meaning that you should identify the Native American tribes who once lived on the land you’re standing on. I’m a person who finds our historical treatment of natives horrendous, but this isn’t what I wanted from this book.

In short, half of this book is excellent, and the other half feels like it’s about navigating diversity in education. Again, I’m a person who sees a need for this, but it’s not what I wanted from this book.

[A Clay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found out this book was coming out around the same time I decided to start looking for another job. I’m not even kidding that on my list of pros/cons for leaving, I wrote “I’ll get to use Elena’s new book” as a reason to stay. Reading this book, I was right to have put that on the list even if I did ultimately decide to leave. This is the PERFECT how-to guide for planning PD. There are resources in here that I’ve wanted for my entire career of facilitating and planning PD. (For example, sample agendas based on how much time a PD opportunity is planned.)

I also think ANY teacher would benefit from reading this book (even if they don’t plan PD) so that they’re aware of the painstaking lengths PD facilitators often go to plan each PD session (and possibly to explore why something isn’t going well to deliver usable feedback.)

Love, love, loved it. I’ll hang on to it in case I ever get to provide PD again.

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

The PD Book is a very good resource for thinking about running professional development in education settings and beyond organized around 7 Habits or really 7 organizing ideas. Those are: setting purpose, emotional intelligence, considering power, principles of adult learning, intentional design, attending to the details, and facilitating adaptively. There is a lot of useful stuff here.

I come to this with around 20 years of experience running professional development. With that said, much of what Aguilar and Cohen lay out is basic planning and implementation moves. The section on power was probably the best addition to my knowledge and I will definitely return to that. I also will likely recommend this book to colleagues that plan PD.

[Alicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I probably need to own this. I interlibrary loaned it upon a recommendation from a PD friend and as a deliverer of PD, this was as informative and useful as a book can get. Post-its are bursting at the seams. Having just finished it, my next step is the last direction they give. Review the notes then find 10 takeaways, then distill it to 5 things, then finally settle on 3. However there's much to remember but also much to celebrate since there's definitely things that I do (and plenty of improvement to build upon).

Helpful, informative, easy to follow. I appreciate their work in putting this together and sharing it with the world. PD should be like a party.

[Therese · Rating 3 out of 5]

I chose this book hoping to find inspiration for a PD seminar I am currently developing. I have been giving PD for many years in my work, so most of the book was a review of practices I already know. A few good nuggets here and there, and lots of time spent on knowing your audience - too much time, in my opinion. I'll take some of the thoughts on purpose back with me, but there is a lot I will leave behind as it just isn't necessary to good PD in my realm.

[Cary Combs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book for anyone involved with Professional Development! Great format and easy to read. Lots of examples. I love how Elena and Lori share their thinking and belief behind different moves. I already have so many highlighted sections and notes in the margins. As an Instructional Coach, this is a book I will be going back to time and time again. A must have!

[Bianca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great foundational text for those who plan and facilitate adult learning. Some of it is 101-type info, so if you've been leading professional development for awhile those pieces will seem self-evident, but there are some great tools for planning and reflection that I will definitely reference. I also always appreciate Elena's and her collaborator's attention to Equity. Great book!

[Valerie Ott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love it when books define who is the appropriate audience, and this book did that.

Mind blown by the concept of colonization of emotion.
Triggers, psychological safety, dominant culture should all be considered in any facilitation.
99% of this is transferable to any facilitation not just educators professional development.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the first half of this book. It presented great information about adult learners. The second half was a bit more tedious with lots of examples of how others plan. Overall the book was affirming and also presented some good food for thought!

[Alex Liuzzi]

Better than some books of this sort…but somehow they always feel formulaic and detached from action. Reasonably good on equity and racial dynamics, and does try hard to make it practical and useful. I prefer a bit of wit and sarcasm, I suppose. Makes the medicine go down.

[Rodrick Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a better facilitator because of this book. The practical tips and reflection made this a book a must have for me. I purchased one and gave it to my principal so that I could keep the learning going !

[Megan McKellar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent resource for how to structure professional development keeping in mind EI, school culture, power and DEI.

[Brittney Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book I’ve ever read on providing PD. Lots of great ideas and examples. Reignited my passion for learning and leading PD after tough COVID virtual years or education.

[Chuck Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good guidance on developing and delivering PD for education that not only doesn't suck, but is transformative!

Check lists are helpful.

[Tori Georgopulos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book for anyone who currently facilitates PD or plans to in the future!

[Neha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent guide to facilitation with templates and examples that I’m constantly referring back to. Even better paired with Lori Cohen’s course on facilitation.

[Lorna Bell · Rating 2 out of 5]

I continued reading in the hope that the content would improve, which is why I chose to complete the book. Unfortunately, I found it offered little value. This is the second book by Elena Aguilar that I have read and did not find beneficial to my professional development.

[Scripturient · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent practical advice for designing PD for educators.

[Lucynelsonloveslife · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fully comprehensive book on how to for create rich equitable learning experiences. Every detail is accounted for. I especially appreciated the chapter on power.

[Kerissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid strategies. Let’s see if I can remember them for the next professional learning.

[Lauren Reeves · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read about how to conduct professional learning in educational settings! I’m looking forward to implementing what I learned about!

[Mar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love everything by Elena Aguilar. She is my PD and coaching queen 👑

[Maribel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Provides actionable steps to support leading a purpose drive transformational PD.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

So practical! Love the "this might sound like" strategy. Highly recommend for anyone facilitating learning for adults.

[Halley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elena Aguilar always has great tips!