In education, professional development (PD) refers to a broad variety of specialized training, advanced professional learning, or formal education which intends to help teachers, administrators, and other educators improve their knowledge, skills, and effectiveness.
Professional development training can be funded by a district, school, foundation grant, or private sources. It may be delivered in person or online and through 1-on-1 interactions or in group situations. Read this article to learn more about the importance of professional development in education.
WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT?
Professional development keeps teachers up-to-date on new technological tools for the classroom, new findings on how children learn, and new curriculum resources. Professional development in education is important because what teachers do in the classroom have a huge impact on student learning.
Through professional development, educators can improve their skills and become more proficient at their jobs. School administrators should realize the advantages of further education and encourage teachers to pursue PD to achieve the best learning outcomes for students. The following are the importance and benefits of professional development in education:
1. Better Learning Outcomes for Students – Professional development transforms teachers into better educators by enabling them to create tailored and relevant course instructions for today’s students. Research done by the US Department of Education showed that student achievement could improve by up to 21 percentile points when teachers participate in professional development programs.
2. Educators learn better ways to teach – Professional development for teachers makes educators more efficient in their presentations and course evaluations by exposing them to new lecture styles and delivery methods.
3. Better organization and planning skills – Professional development training helps teachers become more organized and better at planning their time. It makes them more efficient, giving them more time to focus on students rather than the paperwork.
4. Teachers gain knowledge and insight – When teachers sign up for professional development programs, it allows them to expand their knowledge base in various subject areas. It will enable them to become experts in the subject matters they teach.
5. Continuing education – Through professional development programs, teachers can learn from education specialists and upgrade their knowledge and skills. PD provides schools with leadership resources, consultative services, and technical assistance with improved student achievement as the primary goal.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TOPICS AND OBJECTIVES
Most teachers participate in some forms of professional development during each school year. The following are some examples of professional development topics and objectives:
• Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a proactive approach that aims to promote positive behavior and create positive school environments. PBIS utilizes behavior analysis to develop school-wide and targeted interventions to improve school climate for all students in both classroom and non-classroom settings. It helps students achieve social, emotional, and academic success.
• Response to Intervention (RTI) is a multi-tier approach that involves the early identification and support of students with behavior and learning needs. Students are provided interventions at increasing levels of intensity to accelerate their rate of learning. RTI can be used both for general education and special education.
• Developing analytical skills useful for evaluating a student’s performance, and using the findings to make modifications to teaching techniques and academic programs.
• Improving potential teaching techniques such as Classroom Management and framing questions in ways that encourage deeper thinking and more substantive responses from students.
• Training in specialized teaching techniques that can be used in many subject areas. One example is differentiation – varying teaching techniques based on a student’s learning needs and interests.
• One of the advantages of further education is learning how to teach subject area content and concepts more effectively.
• Acquiring leadership skills which can be used to develop a school improvement initiative or a community volunteer program.
• Pairing new teachers with “mentor teachers” or “instructional coaches” who expose less experienced teachers to new skills and ideas and give constructive feedback.
• Through PD, educators can develop specialized skills to teach and support certain populations of students, such as students with learning disabilities.
• Conducting action research to have a better understanding of what’s working and what’s not in a school’s academic program, and using the findings to improve educational quality.
About INcompassing Education
INcompassing Education offers professional development for teachers, educators, coaches, principals, and school administrators. Topics include strategic planning, classroom management, curriculum mapping, alternative education, leadership mentoring, and so much more. To know more about INcompassing Education, please visit http://incompassinged.com/.
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