There are stories of teacher professional development sessions that every educator has at least one. How, though, can you stay away from such errors? Creative chances for instructors to further develop their talents are hard to organize and implement. It's a common admission among school administrators that, during a hectic school day, professional development is the last thing on their minds. This post will help you create a healthy school culture and enhance the Teacher Training Program.
What is teacher professional development?
Any kind of ongoing education for educators is called teacher professional development. It's one method educators may use to sharpen their craft and raise student achievement. Both formal and informal environments can be conducive to learning. Conferences, seminars, workshops, retreats, and courses are examples of formal environments. Informal avenues for professional development for teachers include conducting individual study or inquiry, participating in peer learning programs, or just striking up a conversation with a coworker in the staff lounge. There are several levels at which professional development for teachers occurs: district-wide, within a particular school, or even on an individual or classroom basis.
Why is teacher professional development important?
It affects student learning
Competent teachers are better at instructing students. Teachers are better prepared to become effective educators when they have access to resources for professional development and chances for continuous learning, particularly whether their pupils have special needs or are functioning at or above grade level.
The ultimate objective of any professional development activity for teachers should be student accomplishment.
It encourages the success of new teachers
Research found that about one-third of newly qualified teachers quit their jobs within five years of graduation. Although there are other reasons behind this statistic, practical experience is the only thing that can truly replace in-class instruction. New teachers don't have the opportunity to accumulate their resources; instead, they spend their whole careers learning new skills to meet the obstacles they face. Teachers, whether novice or seasoned, may acquire the skills necessary to feel comfortable in the classroom with the aid of professional development. Teacher training programs may influence lifelong learning through effective professional development.
It promotes a growth mindset
Well-considered, focused opportunities for teacher training programs improve student results and foster a growth mentality. By encouraging instructors to actively participate in their education, teacher professional development guarantees that both teachers and students have a strong desire to learn. By offering training and assistance to your teachers, you are conveying to them that the school community appreciates their work and wishes to see them develop. For educators, a dearth of resources for professional development can be depressing. It conveys a lack of interest in investing in the caliber of instruction and increases the pressure on educators to further their professional development.
How to make teacher professional development effective and engaging
Organizing a successful teacher professional development session involves several obstacles, including those related to time, finances, effectiveness, and engagement. Even if the obstacles might seem overwhelming, you should still provide your instructors with an opportunity to expand their knowledge.
1. Make it specific
Each teacher brings a distinct set of talents to work every morning, and they all encounter various obstacles in the classroom. To save time, money, and resources, many professional development options for teachers are, however, overly general and irrelevant to the majority of attending instructors, if not all of them. Asking your instructors for recommendations may help ensure that professional development is relevant since they are likely to have a wealth of knowledge to share. Let instructors select the materials and methods they wish to learn. Let them choose from a variety of workshops and courses. Don't complicate the subject if you can't provide alternatives. Make sure instructors leave the workshop with all the knowledge they require to begin implementing it in the classroom by prioritizing depth over breadth. After the session, solicit comments, and then apply it to the following cycle. Teachers should be questioned about what went well, what didn't, what they would alter, and what they would like to know more about in the future.
2. Get teachers invested
Teachers are trained professionals who are there to improve an already-existing, powerful skill set, and most of them will tell you that they don't appreciate being treated like pupils.
It seems improbable that the session will motivate or make a significant difference in the classroom under these circumstances. For instructors as much as for kids, a lack of engagement is deadly. When doing a lesson on active learning or a teacher training program in the classroom, make use of these strategies. Ask teachers to look for organizations or opportunities where their class may participate if the lesson is on service learning. Involved and enthusiastic teachers are essential. Teachers learn differently from their pupils, and they react differently to textual, visual, kinesthetic, and aural learning approaches.
3. Make it ongoing
A professional development (PD) session's effectiveness in the classroom depends on both its short-term and long-term effects. Student results and educational equity are directly correlated with the quality of instruction, according to a 2021 comprehensive study. The research highlights that specific types of teacher training programs have been linked to noteworthy and long-lasting effects on the performance of students as well as teaching practices.
Making sure educators get the assistance they need to improve their teaching strategies is essential. Invite educators to come to you with any queries or worries they may have. Utilise performance data from both teachers and students to help you decide on future research priorities and ways to improve student learning. In addition to demonstrating your support, you're also employing evidence-based methods to inform your choices and staying up to date with the most recent study results by doing this.
4. Embed it into the teaching process
The New Teacher Project conducted a poll in 2015 and discovered that only approximately 30% of instructors showed appreciable improvement despite districts spending an average of $18,000 per teacher annually. Professional development will always have some financial implications for your district and school. One important expense that you can manage, though, is the time of your professors. Teachers and administrators frequently find it difficult to balance chances for teacher professional development with their real teaching duties since effective learning doesn't happen in the afternoon. Although it is an unavoidable resource, time may be used effectively. This is about making the most of the time you do have, not about cutting back on professional development events for teachers.
5. Personalize teacher learning with a Professional Development Plan
Since personalized learning is effective for students, why can't it also be effective for teachers? A professional development plan lays out the short- and long-term learning objectives for educators together with detailed instructions on how to get there.
Get together with teachers at your school to decide what aspects of each person's plan should be influenced by:
- What area of study do they instruct?
- What age bracket?
- Are they content with where they are right now? In what direction do they wish to go in the future?
- What knowledge do they require to make it happen?
Determine how each teacher compares to the requirements of your school. Encourage them to pursue further career development by providing challenges that will push their professional boundaries and keep them learning.
To create objectives of teacher training programs that are realistic and attainable, use the SMART system: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely. Monitor instructors' success and improvement on a monthly and annual basis. Assist educators in obtaining whatever additional resources they may want, such as training programs, certification courses, or even psychological support while experimenting with novel teaching methods.
Final thoughts on the teacher training program
The Teacher training program frequently suffers from being neglected in schools due to the numerous responsibilities. Work to alter the culture of your institution around professional development initiatives rather than dwelling on your guilt. According to educational experts Kwang Suk Yoon and Thomas Guskey, "small-scale, carefully monitored pilot studies intended to test its effectiveness should always be the first step in the execution of any new professional growth strategy." Develop your efforts gradually, starting little. Everyone in your school benefits when you offer easily accessible, interesting, and encouraging opportunities for teacher professional development at Tech Mahindra Foundation.
No comments yet