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How to Choose Summer PD That’s Actually Worth Your Time

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How to Choose Summer PD That's Actually Worth Your TimeY’all, let me ask you something.

How many times have you signed up for summer PD (professional development) with the best intentions — totally pumped, calendar blocked, ready to go — only to end up sitting in a room (or staring at a screen) wondering when any of this is actually going to help you in your classroom?

I’ve been there. We’ve all been there.

Summer PD sounds like a dream on paper. You finally have a little breathing room, a little margin, maybe even a little brain space to reflect on what worked this year, what didn’t, and what you want to do differently in August.

But let’s be real: not all professional development is worth your precious summer time.

Listen to this podcast episode:


How to Choose Summer PD That’s Actually Worth Your Time

Some of it sounds incredible in the title but falls completely flat in practice. Some of it is all inspiration and zero implementation. Some of it is so broad it could apply to anyone — which means it applies to no one. And some of it just straight-up doesn’t fit your classroom, your subject area, your grade level, or your energy level.

So in this post (and in Episode 247 of the Shake Up Learning Show), I want to help you choose summer PD that’s actually going to move the needle for you — not just something to fill your calendar, but something that will genuinely support you heading into next school year.

Let’s get into it.

Start Here: The 5 Questions to Ask Before You Sign Up for Anything

Here’s the first and biggest mistake teachers make with summer PD: they choose based on the title instead of the actual problem.

Y’all, I write catchy titles myself — I know how good they sound. But a catchy title is not a good reason to sign up for a six-hour workshop.

Before you register for anything this summer, I want you to stop and honestly answer these five questions:

  1. What drained me the most this school year?
  2. What task took too much time?
  3. What part of teaching felt messy, frustrating, or harder than it should have been?
  4. What do I want to feel more confident about in August?
  5. What is ONE thing I want to improve without overwhelming myself?

That’s your starting point. Not a trending topic. Not whatever your district is pushing. Not whatever your teacher bestie signed up for. Your starting point.

Once you can name your real problem, I want you to do one simple exercise. Grab a piece of paper — or open a doc — and make three columns:

  • Problem
  • Skill I Need
  • Type of PD That Would Help

For example:

Problem Skill I Need PD That Would Help
Planning takes forever Faster workflows, better systems AI training, templates, Google Classroom workflow
Students are disengaged Understanding how students learn Instructional strategy, book study
I feel behind on AI Practical, applicable AI skills Focused AI course or masterclass
I want to strengthen my teaching Deeper pedagogical understanding Book study, cohort-based learning

That little three-column exercise will help you choose way better than just scrolling through titles and hoping something magically fits. If you can name the problem, you can choose better professional learning. If you can’t, every shiny title is going to sound like a good idea.

The 4 Buckets of Summer PD (And How to Find Your Fit)

Once you’ve identified your real problem, the next step is matching it to the right kind of learning. In my experience, summer PD falls into four big buckets. Most teachers need something from one or two of these — rarely all four.

Bucket 1: PD That Helps You Teach Better

This is for the teacher who wants to grow in the craft of teaching. Not just the tools. Not just the tech. The actual teaching and learning.

If your summer goal is “I want to become a stronger teacher,” this is your bucket. And honestly? This is where book studies can be incredibly powerful — especially books that help you think differently about learning, memory, instruction, and what really helps students retain and understand content.

This is exactly why I’m so excited about the upcoming Uncommon Sense Teaching Book Study, which kicks off on June 3rd. Y’all, this book flipped everything I thought I knew about how students learn completely upside down. It goes deep on what we actually need to do to get students to retain learning, perform it, and show us real evidence of understanding. We ran this book study back in the fall and the discussion was so rich that I’m offering it again this summer.

It’s fully asynchronous, six weeks long, and you can answer discussion questions on your own schedule. No live meetings. Three hours of credit. Just meaningful, flexible, professional learning that will actually stick.

We also have a self-paced book study on The Anxious Generation that you can start at any time. If you want to better understand what is happening with student mental health right now — and why it matters for how we teach — this is an eye-opening read. Both of these book studies are available inside our ALL ACCESS Teacher Membership at member.shakeuplearning.com.

Bucket 2: PD That Saves You Time

This might actually be my favorite bucket, because if your biggest struggle this school year was time — and whose wasn’t — then the last thing your summer PD should be is more theory. You need something that helps you work smarter.

This is where AI can be a genuine game-changer, when it’s done well. I’m not talking about vague “AI is changing education” sessions that leave you more confused than when you walked in. I’m talking about learning how to actually use AI inside the tools you already use every day — speeding up lesson planning, creating rubrics faster, drafting parent communication, building review activities, generating differentiation ideas, and streamlining your entire workflow.

That’s exactly why I love the Gemini AI in Google Classroom Masterclass as a summer option. It’s specific, it’s practical, and it’s focused on tools that are free inside Google for Education (your school just has to enable it). Google is updating and adding features frequently, and this course walks you through exactly how to use them.

And sometimes you don’t need a full deep dive — sometimes you just need the right prompt or the right framework to get unstuck. That’s where my AI cheat sheets come in. I have a free AI-powered end-of-year checklist you can grab right now with time-saving tips to help you close out this school year. And if you want to go deeper, I also have an end-of-year AI prompt cheat sheet — both are linked in the show notes (and included in the ALL ACCESS membership).

The biggest reason I teach teachers to use AI isn’t hype. It’s time. It’s sanity. If I can show you how to save time, I’ve got you. That’s how you go from “resistant” to “convert” — and it happens faster than you think.

Bucket 3: PD That Prepares You for Next Year (Without Taking Over Your Summer)

Some of y’all are not looking for an intense summer deep dive. You don’t want to turn July into another school year. You just want a way to keep learning, stay inspired, and pick up practical ideas that you can actually bring back to your classroom in August.

I respect that deeply. And this is exactly the kind of teacher we designed the Summer Learning Series for.

I am SO excited to share that we are entering our third annual Summer Learning Series this year, and y’all — it keeps getting better. Here’s what makes it different from every other summer PD you’ve tried:

  • It’s free for all K-12 teachers, instructional coaches, and educational leaders
  • It’s fully asynchronous — no live sessions, no scheduling stress
  • New pre-recorded presentations drop every Tuesday and Thursday from June 2nd through July 23rd
  • Each session is just 30–40 minutes — easy to fit into real summer life
  • Topics are genuinely practical: AI, Google tools, edu-protocols, choice boards, instructional best practices, and more

Instead of trying to cram everything into one overwhelming day, this series is designed to feel like a slow-burn mini conference. You watch a session, get an idea, maybe try something, and then come back for the next one — without drowning in information. Whether you’re at the baseball field, on the beach, or just sitting on your back porch with a sweet tea, you can access the learning.

Registration opens April 23rd — that’s this coming week! Jump on the list early because this one fills up. The link will be in the show notes.

And if you want to go even deeper, ALL ACCESS members get access to bonus sessions and can earn credit certificates that aren’t part of the free event.

Bucket 4: PD That Gives You Accountability and Interaction

Here’s the truth: some people just don’t learn well in isolation. If you’re the kind of teacher who grows best through conversation — talking things through, asking questions, hearing how other educators are handling the same challenges, having someone hold you accountable — then this is the bucket for you.

Some of the most impactful professional learning of my career happened in a cohort setting. Going through the Summer Institute with the National Writing Project was a turning point for me. It was weeks long, credit-bearing, and because we actually modeled lessons for each other — just like we would in a real classroom — the learning stuck in a way nothing else ever had.

You can’t underestimate the power of a collaborative learning community. It’s what we know works for our students, and it works for us too.

If this is your style, look for a live workshop, a cohort, a book study with active online discussion, or a collaborative group. The Uncommon Sense Teaching Book Study does this — even asynchronously, the discussion threads are rich and supportive. Sometimes the real value isn’t the strategy itself. It’s realizing you are not the only one trying to figure something out.

The Format Matters As Much As the Content

Here’s something I see teachers get wrong every single summer: choosing a format that looks great on paper but doesn’t fit real life.

Great content in the wrong format is still a bad fit.

  • If you need accountability and discussion → go live
  • If your summer schedule is unpredictable → choose self-paced
  • If you get overwhelmed easily → pick one focused topic and bite-sized resources
  • If you like to go deep → a membership with multiple paths beats a one-off session

A six-hour workshop might sound productive. But if you know yourself, and you know you won’t finish it, it’s not wise. A self-paced course might sound flexible, but if you need accountability, you may never open it.

Summer is not a performance season. You do not have to fill every week with training to prove you’re a committed educator. Give yourself permission to be intentional instead of overloaded.

The 5-Test Rule: Run Every PD Through This Filter

Before you sign up for anything this summer, run it through these five tests:

  1. The August Test — Will this help me in the first six weeks of school?
  2. The Real Classroom Test — Can I picture myself using this with real students, real lessons, and real time limits?
  3. The Energy Test — Do I realistically have the energy for this format this summer?
  4. The Value Test — Am I getting tools, strategies, credit, support, or something tangible?
  5. The Follow-Through Test — Will I still benefit from this after the session ends?

My rule: if it fails three of those five tests, don’t sign up. That one little filter can save you a lot of wasted time and a lot of summer regret.

What to Avoid (Let Me Save You the Trouble)

  • Don’t sign up because something is trendy
  • Don’t choose broad over useful
  • Don’t overload your calendar with five unrelated topics and call it a plan
  • Don’t ignore the format
  • Don’t skip asking whether it offers credit, replay value, or practical resources
  • And please — don’t collect PD like baseball cards. The goal is not more PD. The goal is better PD.

Build Your Simple Summer PD Plan

Here’s the framework I want you to use. Choose just three things:

  • One primary growth area
  • One support area
  • One easy win resource

That’s it. Here’s what that might look like:

Plan A — The Overwhelmed Teacher Primary: Save time with AI | Support: Google Classroom Workflow | Easy Win: AI Cheat Sheets

Plan B — The Reflective Teacher Primary: Instructional practice | Support: Book study with discussion | Easy Win: Self-paced book study access

Plan C — The “Get Me Ready for August” Teacher Primary: Summer Learning Series | Support: Planning for back to school | Easy Win: Bonus episodes + certificate path inside ALL ACCESS

Pick the plan that best fits you. Or mix and match. The point is to have a plan instead of just hoping something works out.

Your Challenge This Week

Take 10 minutes — just 10 minutes — and do your teacher audit. Ask yourself the five questions from the beginning of this post. Identify one real problem you want to solve. Choose the kind of PD that fits that goal. Pick a format you’ll actually finish. And build yourself a simple summer learning plan.

If you want one place where you can do all of that — flexible options, credit-bearing book studies, bonus summer learning content, AI support, and practical resources — the ALL ACCESS Teacher Membership is worth a look. Your summer PD should support you, not drain you.

Choose learning that respects your time, solves real problems, and helps you walk into the next school year with clarity, confidence, and better tools.

Until next time, y’all — go shake up learning. 🍎

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