For professional development I would send teams of teachers to museums. I have found that every time I have visited a museum, of any kind, it has stimulated ideas for not only what I might do in my classroom-- but how I would like to work with a teacher from another discipline to produce a thematic unit.
This is an altazimuth theodolite housed at the Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments at Harvard University. This instrument provides a powerful nexus for an interdisciplinary unit of study between at least social studies, math and science.
I'd find a way to get teachers into each other's classrooms. Every time I have had the chance to watch another teacher I have found something I could use.
I would teach. I would need to do it to stay informed about the conditions of the learning environment.
I would set the standard by modeling it. I would do what I ask teachers to do. I would show that it can be done.
