If teachers take professional development, it will create better classrooms. Courses and seminars provide educators with the tools, advice, and methods they’ll need to deal with any experience they may encounter in the classroom or within the school community.
Professional development is as important at the beginning of a teacher’s career as it is during. This is because the best teachers keep informed. To be the best-informed teacher, you will need to remain on top of the latest and newest teaching methods and information available.
Training and supporting both new and veteran educators is incredibly important to creating and sustaining great teachers to maximize students’ learning. Having teachers with up-to-date skills influences the degree of student success in the classroom.
Students respond to an effective teacher who is motivated, inspired, creative and well-informed on the presented subject matter. Deliver the lesson content in an interesting, fun, and effective way. So if you want to reach your students and make a positive difference in their lives, it is important to devote your time to professional development.
Time Requirements
A lot of concern and time is taken to developing new teachers. First, there is the time spent in the classroom learning content knowledge and teaching methods and techniques.
Student teaching experiences also provide excellent hands-on training for new teachers to develop their classroom skills while being mentored by a veteran teacher. When novice teachers graduate into their own classrooms, they are equipped with a lot of knowledge from their education and practical experience from student-teaching experiences.
Time and effort need to be spent during the development process. There’s no substitute for experience, no matter how much education you may have. While schooling is important, time spent in the classroom under an experienced, seasoned teacher is invaluable.
Extra-Curricular Professional Development
To stay on top of your teaching and your subject matter, it is important that, throughout your teaching career, you continue your education through professional development.
Veteran teachers can learn from each other and take seminars and courses to brush up on the latest information. Professional development will keep you abreast of the latest technology trends, teaching resources, and the latest developments in understanding the growing brain.
There are always new strategies and methods for reaching young learners, so it’s important to stay current with the latest teaching practices.
If you use online social networking, it’s a great way to access in-person and online training and events. Utilizing webinars, meet-and-greets, in-person seminars, and conferences are all great ways to stay on top of new and developing ideas in your field.
Always be sure to reach out to your network so they know that you’re on the lookout for professional development opportunities and can recommend them as they come along. If you work for a nonprofit organization or attend a volunteer capacity, many of these events offer discounted (or even free) rates for educators.
As you attend events and build your professional network, be sure to follow people on Twitter, friend them using Facebook, and connect with LinkedIn. You’ll find that people spread tons of useful information just by retweeting/sharing articles, research, and studies through these more informal means.
Like in many other professions, you cannot expect to stay on top of your craft if you don’t continue educating yourself. Ongoing and collaborative professional development is the way to ensure you remain a great teacher.
Please share what you have done lately to increase your skills; other school teachers or administrators will gain from your experiences.
