Professional Development

Effective professional development is vital to improving teaching practice and the quality of our schools (Desimone, 2011).  School districts that are intentional about providing formal and informal professional development opportunities promote success in their schools.  Seminars, workshops, conferences, and local or national professional organizations provide access to knowledge, skills, and best practices of educators and experts across the country (Professional Organizations Webquest). 

Additionally, cultivating a collaborative school culture allows teachers the chance to learn from one another and provide support for new (and returning) educators.  This year, my school implemented a bi-monthly requirement for teachers to spend at least 45 minutes collaborating with other teachers in the school.  Though this is something I already do often, it is a great reminder to collaborate more intentionally.  Teachers prepare a brief report of what is discussed during their collaboration meetings and submit it to our administrators by the end of the week.  This report provides accountability and is a useful tool for summarizing the ideas, problems, and/or solutions discussed while collaborating.  

Administrators have also changed our district's in-service formats to include workshops and seminars that give teachers opportunities to learn from the expertise and experience of educators in our district. These changes demonstrate a new era professional development in our school district.  I look forward to seeing the results of these new formats on our professional practice.