Key points:
- Professional development should be challenging–and rewarding
- Education majors share why they want to become teachers
- 4 ways admins can support teachers’ technology use
- For more news on teacher PD, visit eSN’s Educational Leadership hub
Teacher professional development is undergoing a facelift of sorts, moving from static and uninteresting lectures to dynamic video coaching, mentorship programs, and approaches that engage teachers and empower them to take control of their instructional strategies.
Here’s a look at some recent trends in teacher PD:
What activities should be in a professional development plan?
Balancing teacher workload and maximizing the outcomes of PD–to create immediate impact, lasting skills, educator engagement–requires a thoughtful approach. As leaders, it’s imperative we remain focused on providing educators what they need to succeed as the education landscape continues to evolve. To truly excel in this dynamic field, educators require a broad array of tools in their toolkit. While the vast majority of teachers are well schooled in pedagogy, instruction, and assessment, many are not prepared to manage and support students with the increased occurrences of mental health issues and behavioral struggles. Learn more about professional development topics.
What is an example of a professional development goal?
Artificial intelligence in PD is guiding teachers through a self-coaching cycle aligned to common growth areas as they watch video of their classroom teaching in action. Just like educational technology is continually advancing, so are best practices for supporting teachers in classrooms. Professional development and professional development examples need to be relevant, engaging, and personalized. Learn more.
What is the most common professional development for teachers?
Video coaching encourages early education teachers to reflect on their own practice and take the lead in their professional growth. Many districts believe that successful mentoring and instructional coaching sustains teachers, especially new ones, throughout the year and improves their ability to build strong relationships with students and families. To ensure that mentoring and coaching is intentional, focused, and fits into everyone’s tight schedules, this district recently began using video. As we look at professional development for teachers, examples using video coaching abound. Here’s how it works.
What is professional development in education?
Mentorship is an essential aspect of professional growth and development for early childhood educators, but for many training programs, mentorship components are either not well supported or are missing altogether. But mentorship programs can support many fun professional development topics. Experience shows that it can be highly valuable for both the mentee and the mentor as well. Being a mentor to someone else is a rewarding leadership experience that allows one to give back to the profession and help shape the future of early childhood education. Learn more.
What is effective teacher professional development?
The hesitancy around AI and emerging technology in education is preventing many educators from harnessing its power. This hesitation is understandable, as any new technology brings about both excitement and trepidation. However, it is essential for educators and instructional coaches to embrace emerging technologies like AI, as doing otherwise would mean doing our students a disservice. By integrating AI into the classroom, we have the opportunity to enhance teaching practices, coaching conversations, and ultimately support student success in innovative and meaningful ways. Learn more about these professional development activities.
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