Teachers teaching teachers- Rarely an engaging experience

Professional development is an experience that CAN be very useful for educators. It allows for the acquisition of new thoughts, ideas and ways of thinking about teaching and learning. In my experience, the instructor spends a significant amount of time talking about the importance of "engaging the student". We NEED to meet kids where they are. We NEED to understand what prior knowledge our students are bringing to the table. We NEED to tailor our presentation and curriculum based on student interests. I strongly believe that these are essential to ensure an optimal learning environment for students. I want to deeply help connect the world of mathematics to their own experiences so it feels important, relevant and interesting. However, in every workshop I have attended where the the instructor talks about the NEED to do all of these things, the instructor, who is usually a teacher, does not meet our needs!!!! He talks at us, he asks obvious questions, looking for obvious answers because he wants to move on with the material in the workshop. He comes to the table not willing to understand where we are, what we know and what questions we have. He clearly sees that everyone is falling asleep and just keeps yammering on. This is a big problem particularly in workshops for teachers taught by teachers. One of the ways students learn is by seeing modeling. If instructors want teachers to meet the needs of their students, the instructors need to be demonstrating what that looks like with the teachers they are instructing. GOOD TEACHING IS NOT TALKING!!!! GOOD TEACHING IS FACILITATING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!