Just 10 minutes more: Reframing Time as a Professional Learning Lever

Time. It’s one of the most consistently cited barriers to effective professional learning. “We just don’t have time” echoes through staff rooms, meeting agendas, and strategic plans. But what if we reimagined time—not as a blocker, but as a lever? What if you could add just 10 minutes of high-impact professional learning to your term?  Where might you strategically place it?

Why dosage matters

The dosage of professional learning—how much, how often, and for how long—matters deeply. It’s the difference between a one-off idea that fades and a shift in practice that sticks.

When we get the dosage right, we set the stage for:

• Greater retention and application of skills, knowledge, and mindsets

• Sustained change in teacher practice

• Innovation, iteration, and responsive feedback loops

• A supportive learning culture built on trust and growth

• Improved student outcomes

• Protection from burnout by embedding learning within the work, not on top of it

What does your current dosage look like?

Start by mapping it out. What are all the levers you currently pull?

• Collaborative planning time

• 1:1 coaching

• Weekly or fortnightly PLCs

• 10-minute staff meeting slots

• Optional breakfast webinars or podcasts

• Ghost walks (peer observation rounds)

• Student-free days

• Informal sharing—links via Teams or social media, staff room table resources

When you put all of these together what does the dosage of professional learning

look like for an educator?

You might like to map yours out like Figure 1 below.

Figure 1

Then, reflect on:

• How much? How many minutes per term?

• How often? Weekly, fortnightly, once a term?

• How long? Are most experiences brief or sustained?

• How aligned? Are they building on a shared goal, or jumping from one idea to another?

• How collaborative? Do they encourage peer interaction and social learning?

• How job-embedded? Do they feel relevant and doable in the real flow of teaching?

• How formal/informal? Are you valuing the learning that happens in casual moments?

• How impactful? Is the time spent resulting in the expected change?

What would you do with 10 minutes?

Let’s say you find 10 minutes in a staff meeting. What does quality look like?

The criteria for a 10-minute professional learning experience includes:

• Aligned to your school or team goals

• Focused on a clear, narrow outcome

• Practical and ready to apply

• Actively engaging (not a sit-and-get)

• Collaborative—invite discussion or peer sharing

• Reflective—include a prompt or protocol

• Resourced—provide links, tools, or models

• Responsive—built from staff input or feedback

Analyse each of these four 10 minute sessions. 

How do they fit the criteria suggested above? You can assume they are all aligned to the school or team goals.

You will find the links to these blogs HERE and HERE.

Final thought

If 10 minutes feels impossible, think smaller. Embed one strategy into a PLC. Use the first 5 minutes of your staff meeting. When it comes to professional learning, more doesn’t always mean longer—it means more deliberate, more connected, and more collaborative.

Time isn’t the enemy. When we treat it as a tool—not a barrier—we start to shift what’s possible.