For teachers and their needs for professional development (PD), self-improvement is ongoing. Professional learning has numerous advantages for both the teacher and the students, including curriculum and instruction, differentiation, and self-reflection. Effective professional development improves teachers’ abilities and benefits the whole school. A system of feedback, teamwork, and personal and professional growth objectives are necessary for the growth and development of teachers. Professional development for teachers encourages peer collaboration, active learning, and serves as an example of industry best practices. Knowing this emphasizes both the value of professional development for teachers and the methods for enhancing it.
The school is a center of learning for both the kid and adults. Adults’ knowledge and practices grow as a result of professional development, which also leads in the transfer of skills between students and adults. Students have a variety of skills and abilities when they enter the classroom. There is still a need to address these various learning levels even when some children may be high, low, or average learners. Teachers have the resources to improve their instruction and have an influence on students of all academic levels when they have access to high-quality, ongoing professional development.
Students learn more from teachers who are willing to learn. The teacher’s skill set is expanded through ongoing professional development, and the areas in which they are currently effective are further developed. It’s crucial to examine the keys to enhancing teacher professional development in order to improve PD and the development of teachers’ abilities. Understanding how to enhance teacher professional development would benefit not only the instructor but also the student.
The tactics must be evidence-based, reflective, and offer a platform for teacher professional development to be utilized in the classroom in order to enhance it. Too frequently, instructors believe that their professional development is “one size fits all.”
In professional learning contexts, it’s critical to differentiate the way teachers offer content. Teachers too require tailored training and content delivery, just like students do. Finding targeted and personalized professional development (PD) that improves a teacher’s skills is the key to bettering teacher preparation. Additionally, a key factor in enhancing teacher professional development is creating clear goals for the teacher and their growth.
A firm emphasis on the groups presents and their needs is necessary to enhance professional development for teachers. A platform 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 instructional practices 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.
The same is true for coaches and speakers who help teachers develop professionally. By getting teacher feedback, it is possible to customize the PD to each individual teacher’s requirements and to identify the components of the PD that were most beneficial and effective. Surveys, focus groups, and discussions are just a few of the platforms that may be utilized to get input from teachers.
Teachers can improve their own learning and teaching strategies by using approaches that are based on research and application. Students directly gain when good strategies are put into practice. This needs to be more than just giving PowerPoint slides or reviewing the outcomes of good practices. For educators to improve learning, effective best practices must be modeled.
By: Lani O. Ching, Teacher I, OUR LADY OF LOURDES ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
