Finding Rewarding Professional Development

Professional development - as teachers it is important that we keeping learning, that we develop a mindset of being lifelong learners. The majority of teachers are social creatures, we enjoy being around people, we learn best working together with like-minded colleagues.  Too often though professional development for teachers can be too much of “sit and get”, or information that is geared toward a large group and may not meet the individual needs of the teachers. Research shows that teachers with greater confidence in their ability to teach will be more positive in the classroom and have greater motivation to teach.  How best to develop this self-efficacy in teachers? Offer teachers more opportunities to plan professional development that will best meet their needs.

How can teachers improve their performance?  Here are a few tips….

1. The first step is to reflect on your needs - what do you already do well? What can you improve? What areas are you interested in learning more about?

2. After you’ve identified your areas of interest/improvement there are several options for professional development:

a. Attend educational conferences, seminars, workshops, or online webinars. b. Create an online PLN (personal learning network). Find colleagues on Twitter in your area of interest. There is much information that is available online for free. Many teachers freely share ideas, resources, lessons, etc to help others. There are also regular weekly and special chats on all kinds of educational topics. c. Join professional organizations and subscribe to their scholarly journals. These organizations often offer regional and local chapters that often provide speakers and other educational opportunities, d. Observe your colleagues - this can be a wonderful opportunity to learn new teaching and classroom management techniques. e. Form a study group with like-minded colleagues. This can be a book study, a curriculum study, or just a chance to share ideas and successful classroom techniques.

One final note - Once you have planned what type of professional development is best for you and your needs, set goals, what do you hope accomplish? What will the outcome of the professional development be? May school administrators require this final step before approving any professional development plan.