January 21, 2026 | Post by : Amy Ruth
Enhancing the knowledge of peers is not only exciting and rewarding — it can also be overwhelming.
In this blog post, you’ll find proven practices to better equip you for working with adult learners generally and teachers specifically. Included below are checklists for facilitators to plan their professional development (PD) session and to coordinate with hosts regarding site and equipment details, as well as considerations to keep in mind as you maintain your mental wellness throughout this PD process.
My goal is to provide specific guidance that can help make this all more systematic, more customizable, and less overwhelming.
In July 2022, I traveled to Michigan State University to learn how to best facilitate the CyberAmbassdor / Engineering Futures training, which helps professionals in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) further develop their skills in communication, teamwork, and leadership. Developed through a grant by the National Science Foundation, this training reinforced for participants best practices for teaching adults: provide content relevant to their professional life, connect this content and session activities to the learning objectives of the training, and give opportunities to reflect and identify when and how to apply the content (Luchini-Colbry & Colbry, 2024).
The facilitators’ checklist below incorporates ideas from this training with some additions from my experiences with TREC. Feel free to modify the following as you prepare to lead your own workshop.
What is your proposal for a possible training?
What is the capacity for your training?
What publicity and/or recruitment strategies will you use to motivate teachers to join/participate?
What are possible barriers/challenges to delivering this training?
How will you obtain feedback from participants?
Leading a PD session at, say, a professional conference can be less stressful than at your “home” site since there are fewer aspects of the actual training to coordinate (e.g., location, time, equipment, etc.).
However, advance preparation is key by confirming the following:
Contact information for the host organization, including a “day of” contact for any issues/troubleshooting
Session location
Equipment and connections needed to present from your laptop, email, flash drive, mobile device, etc.
Hands-on materials including writing instruments, post-its, poster paper, etc.
Expected attendance
Incentives by the organization for participant attendance, e.g., is the training required, is food being provided, etc.?
In August 2024, I began my two-year exploration of teacher leadership through the Tucson Regional Educator Collaborative (TREC). Included in that were monthly book studies of Onward: Cultivating Emotional Resilience in Educators and Mentoring Each Other: Teachers Listening, Learning, and Sharing to Create More Successful Classrooms. And in February 2025, Dr. Tim Grivois of TGS Educational Consulting guided us through the “Principles of Adult Learning” framework. Taken together, these experts provided emotional connections to reinforce what I previously learned about teaching adults.
Above all: you are courageous for bringing a meaningful topic to your educator community.
During recruitment, publicity, and planning, a lack of response or even outright rejection may indicate a gap in:
Rejection of your PD is not a rejection of you.
Consider preparing a menu of topics for your target audience to select.
When receiving feedback:
The considerations highlighted in this article are intended to encourage you to proceed with sharing your knowledge and experiences with peers. Learning with and from fellow educators helps me become even more effective and fulfilled in my vocation as a teacher, especially when the facilitator or trainer is passionate about their topic. When I’m the facilitator, I learn from participating professional educators as well. So, write your proposal, find that match between what you are offering and who wants to benefit, and maintain your mental wellbeing!
Aguilar, E. (2018). Onward: Cultivating emotional resilience in educators. Jossey-Bass, a Wiley Brand.
Bain, P. M., & Agarwal, P. K. (2019). Powerful teaching: Unleash the science of learning. Jossey Bass Inc.
Grivois, T. (2025). “Principles of Adult Learning.” Prepared for delivery at the February TLC5 Meeting.
Luchini-Colbry, K. & Colbry, D. (2024). “Session Planning – Worksheet for Facilitators.” CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/deed.en
Parker, L., & Vetter, D. (2020). Mentoring each other: Teachers listening, learning, and sharing to create more successful classrooms. Pembroke Publishers Limited.
A multifaceted professional, Amy Ruth Irwin Ball, MBA, MA, brings a wealth of knowledge to her roles as a Mathematics Educator for Tanque Verde High School, TREC Teacher Leader (Cohort 5), and a Facilitator for Engineering Futures / CyberAmbassadors.
Following 13 years in manufacturing engineering where she trained colleagues, Amy Ruth switched to a career in teaching where her background gives her a unique perspective on the challenges and opportunities facing today’s learners. Now after 14 years in the classroom, she continues to help students and professionals alike master skills from academic fundamentals to leadership.
Since 2022, for example, she has facilitated 16 workshops for more than 170 educators and 160 engineering university students in possibility thinking, soft skills (communication, teamwork, and leadership), Google applications, and pedagogical book studies. Through her work in the TREC Teacher Leader program, she continues to bring the power of research-affirmed, pragmatic best practices to pre-service teachers and current educators.
Amy Ruth earned a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Mississippi State University, an MBA with a focus on Entrepreneurship from the University of South Carolina, and a Master of Arts in Teaching from Southern Illinois University – Edwardsville.
When she’s not helping others learn, you can find her recharging in nature or spending time with family and friends in her Arizona home.
Amy Ruth is passionate about empowering others to achieve their goals and rediscover their capabilities. For more information on workshop topics, please contact her at airwinball@tanq.org.
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