Ben, Marshall, and Emily

War and the Canadian Experience in France and Flanders involves students in teachers' professional development. Alex, Andrew, Ben, Emily, Janelle, and Marshall joined us on the study tour to offer their viewpoints and feedback to teachers.

​By the end of the tour, all the teacher and student participants agreed that it is advantageous to include students' in teachers' professional development. They also shared the following feedback: 

• "Students are able to provide a different perspective and immediate feedback on what may and may not work. Their input exceeded my expectations."
• "Student voice is incredibly beneficial in teacher PD. Students provide teachers with feedback on the reality of their learning in the classroom."
• "I believe that it is a great idea to include students. They are able to give us their perspectives and provide us with ideas that we can incorporate into the classroom. It gives them a voice and we should embrace students' voices."
• "Having the perspectives from different generations is very helpful."
• "Involving students in teacher professional development enables teachers to check their ideas with their consumers."
• "Teachers can pick students' brains, gain their perspective, and enjoy their raw insight."
• "Students bring another perspective and have many ideas."
• "By being part of professional development, students' education, personal development, and overall progression benefit."
• "Students give us a voice as to what works and what doesn't."
• "The students shone! They taught me so much. They were such bright and passionate learners. Thank you!"
• "The benefits of including students in professional development are that students add youth to the group and have the opportunity to share their ideas to listening ears."
• "There are so many benefits of involving students in professional development. Gaining students' perspectives and understanding their experiences in the classroom have been invaluable to me and have allowed me to improve my practice in many ways."
• "When you bring students on the PD tours, you really gain students' perspectives and understand the way they like to learn. As well, you learn how to get them more engaged. Students need their voices to be heard in order for them to excel in their academics."
• "Students provide a much-needed voice in the PD effort. They have surprisingly sharp minds that prove that they are always able to learn."
• "Student feedback is crucial to good PD. We need to know how students receive what we do."
• "I believe that adding the human voice to PD allows teachers to broaden their perspective in order to keep their students' best interests in mind."
• "The student voice has been valuable when designing activities, gauging student interest, and gaining students' perspectives."
• "Students benefit from professional development by being able to figure things out for themselves. When students are able to work with primary sources, they are able to become more engaged with the topic that they are researching."

---

Janelle

Alex with his father Joel