How Is Professional Development Beneficial For Educators?
We frequently teach our pupils that lifelong learning is crucial, right? They are equally as applicable as educators in this regard. We need professional development for teachers too if we wish to equip them to support students' learning and growth in the ever-changing educational environment. But, is professional development really worth it?
A variety of formats, including brief films, online courses, and in-person conferences, are available for effective teacher professional development (PD). Moreover, the modern technology makes it simpler and frequently free for educators to provide quality and interesting professional development materials. Technology itself is a fantastic topic for professional development because tech skills are essential for both students and educators.
What is professional development for teachers?
Any tool or on-going education that a teacher may use to increase their abilities and advance their career in education is considered professional development. To ensure that educators are adjusting, developing, and meeting the needs of our children, continuing education is crucial. We must assist educators in honing their pedagogical abilities if we are to assist students in their learning.
Educators can pursue professional development programmes at their own speed, motivated by their interests, or at the district or school level. There is always a chance to support other educators in developing their skills, regardless of which of these levels you are creating for.
Actionable Professional Development Tips for Teachers
Here’s how to make the most of your PD to initiate the positive changes ---
Emphasize on Reflection and Feedback
A firm focuses on the groups present and their needs are necessary to enhance professional development for educators. A venue for criticism and reflection is also necessary. Teachers frequently solicit feedback from their pupils in order to assess and modify their teaching methods.
Teachers who want to change their educational practises must first collect student feedback. Teachers can receive feedback from their students' formative and summative evaluations on their performance as well as on how well they are teaching the material and encouraging academic advancement.
Exemplary Best Practises
For teachers looking to improve their own learning and teaching methods, research- and application-based techniques serve as a model. Students directly gain when good techniques are put into practise. This needs to be more than just giving PowerPoint slides or reviewing the outcomes of good practises. In order to maximise learning, effective best practises must be demonstrated for educators.
Set Realistic Objectives
When it comes to improving in particular areas, goal planning is important both for teachers and students. Goal setting must be incorporated into the process of professional development for teachers in order to enhance it. The objectives must be tailored to the audience while facilitating PD. Making professional development for teachers more interesting might be the facilitator's aim.
Finding strategies for teachers to help pupils comprehend and apply more complex ideas may be the aim of professional development for social studies teachers. In the subject of English, the objective can be to teach students literary analysis techniques through the use of close reading techniques.
Make It Participatory
Interactive and hands-on learning is used to teach students. Students frequently say that they want hands-on activities, group discussions, and project-based learning. This also applies to educators. Teachers highlight the need for peer collaboration, interactive conversations, and best practise modelling in a reflective setting. By employing a variety of platforms to convey knowledge, professional conferences and school-level PD both have the chance to make learning interactive.
How can teacher professional development enhance teaching?
Even the most compassionate, enthusiastic, and empathetic teacher needs the tools and support to succeed in the classroom. Because even if some of us might have been born with the desire to teach, we do not come into the world with the necessary skills. And that's exactly how teacher professional development may be beneficial. It equips teachers with the knowledge and tools they need to keep getting better at what they do.
The Bottom Line
The goal of professional development programmes is to help teachers become better equipped to deal with any one of the countless challenges they can encounter. An international MA in Teaching is offered by Asian College of Teachers, with an emphasis on in-depth teaching strategies that attempt to combine professional academic study with real-world experience.