Professional Development For Teachers
Exploring Opportunities to Enhance Pedagogical Success
Feb 7, 2009
Professional development represents a vital on-going activity that all teachers should address in order to remain current in their academic disciplines and up to date on educational trends that might affect their teaching methodologies, curriculum, and student-centered considerations such as dealing with learning disabilities. Professional development opportunities can be a one-day seminar or a semester night course at the local university. What is important is that all teachers refresh their credentials whether or not state certification and licensure requirements mandate such actions.
Types of Professional Development
Every state and extended community offers development and renewal opportunities, often associated with area universities or private foundations. In many cases, school employers will reimburse costs or pay for the seminars and courses up front. Teachers should inquire with school administration or human resource personnel to determine if this benefit is available. For example, some states will pay the fee for National Board teacher certification.
Professional development can take the form of weekend conferences that, in many cases – based on the sponsoring agent, are free and even pay a stipend for attending as well as travel expenses. The National Endowment for the Humanities offers free summer programs facilitated by top tier universities for teachers. For teachers involved in AP courses, the College Board facilitates regional and national conferences. Even student travel companies like EF Educational Tours and NETC provide educator conferences as part of their rewards programs that enable teachers to travel abroad.
Busy teachers can opt to take on-line courses such as those offered at reduced rates to educators by the on-line University of Phoenix. Professional organizations like the National Council for the Social Studies facilitate conferences and provide information on regional development opportunities.
Teachers can also find development resources in education publications like Education Today and Education Week. Local development opportunities might be found at Community Colleges. Whether taking a course or attending a seminar, the costs are minimal and often the time requirement is brief. Some Community Colleges offer short night or weekend classes that provide teacher renewal credits.
Positive Outcomes of Professional Development
On-going professional development wards off burn out and the prospect of become “stale” in the classroom. Writing to college and university instructors in the February 6, 2009 Chronicle of Higher Education on-line (“Real Tenure is Portable”), Gene Fant urges constant activity in terms of professional development and ends with the maxim, “don’t get lazy.”
Such advice applies to all educators at every level. It is easy to put off professional development and every teacher can find reasons to do so: not enough time or money; family obligations; new teachers that just put several years of rigorous studies behind them. Eventually, however, the lack of on-going development, discussions with colleagues, and ignorance of new methodologies and teaching strategies will stifle good teaching.
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