Professional and Personal Development for Teachers

Most educators agree that the ultimate goal of education is always to foster effective student learning.  I believe, however, that an essential part of effective education is the professional and personal growth of the teacher. Teaching is a unique career because instead of building new understandings through a variety of projects, teachers may often teach the same subject the same way for decades. Teachers can get stuck in the appeal of recycled lessons, reused assessments and hand-me-down textbooks or resources. Getting stuck in this mode of regurgiation can be detrimental for student and teacher learning. I do not want to be the predictable teacher who teaches the same way for forty years. The teacher who was considered a joke by students and rigid by co-workers. I want to try new approaches to teaching and learning. I want to challenge my students and challenge myself. Therefore, I truly believe that professional and personal development for teachers is so important in for their careers and individual identity.

Traditional teachers of the Old Story often seem afraid of professional development. Technology, student diversity and the fear of the unknown inhibit teachers from reaching beyond their comfort zone. They are afraid of being eclipsed by new avenues to learning and challenged by the growing diversity of students. It is easy to teach the same way for forty years. Teachers often employ the phrase "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." But I believe there is something fundamentally broken about our education system not only with student learning but teacher's professional growth as well. Teachers must keep up with the New Story of education. They must expand their thinking and develop their understanding of new approaches to teaching and learning if they have any hope of successfully adapting to 21st century education.

Source: http://www.duplinschools.net/Page/9675

To illustrate my point, I'd like to offer a comparison. Let's say a doctor graduated from medical school in 1988 and then directly entered his career. By 2014, if the doctor hadn't engaged in any professional development since medical school, never learning about new diseases or medicines or treatments, she or he would probably have no patients. It is required in that career to explore and understand new approaches to health. Teaching should be no different.

Teachers must engage in professional and personal development in order to utilize the New Story properly. In our textbook, teachers identified several traits they valued in their profession. I believe the most important traits relating to professional and personal development were teacher enthusiasm, engagement, collaboration, connectedness and a drive for self-improvement (Drake, Reid, & Kolohon, 2014, p. 150). Establishing personal learning networks (PLN) and professional learning communities (PLC) for teachers is an important step toward developing these teacher traits (Drake, et al., 2014, p. 157). PLN and PLC offers teachers the opportunity to learn important skills and approaches through collaboration, refresh their lesson plans, and ignite their excitement and engagement in teaching again.

Mesquite Elementary School (which I have mentioned in previous blogs) is a true embodiment of professional development. Mesquite administrators and teachers created a program called "Beyond Textbooks" as an online collaborative resource base for teachers throughout the school and across the district and state as well. Teachers at Mesquite developed an interactive Wiki website for teachers to collaboratively share ideas and teaching concepts with each other. Rather than using outdated and overused textbooks, Mesquite is utilizing teachers as resources through professional development. Students are also aware of the collaborative Wiki, which instills a sense of connectedness to fellow students across the school system. Kevin Carney, the director of "Beyond Textbooks" for Mesquite's Vail School District emphasized the importance of teacher's collaboration and professional development when he said that teaching shouldn't be an "isolated endeavour," but instead an opportunity to collaborate with others teachers in order to better foster student learning across the school, board and state.

                           Mesquite Elementary School: "Beyond Textbooks" 

Professional and personal development often intertwine as well. I believe personal development occurs when teachers' preconceived notions of schooling, teaching and learning are challenged and consequently evolve to encompass a much greater understanding of education. Teachers often enter the profession with preconceived ideas about which students are worthy of their effort, which teaching styles are most effective and what knowledge is the most important to instil in students. If a teacher is open to personal development, however, they will find that these preconceived notions actually inhibit effective learning cultures. Teachers must be ready to challenge their personal values and beliefs in order to connect with students from diverse backgrounds and open their minds to new values and beliefs.

It is easy for teachers to fall back on the traditional model and Old Story of education. But 21st century educators must embody a passion and dedication to the students and themselves through professional and personal development in order to foster true learning and progressive education. Education rests on the shoulders of teachers so if teachers are stagnant, education will be as well. Teachers must learn to cope with a changing educational environment in terms of content (curriculum), objectives (learning) and audience (students). Only with the professional and personal development of teachers will 21st century education effectively reach every student and foster learning, which after all is the ultimate goal of education.

Source: http://www.teachers.ab.ca/Publications/ATA%20News/Volume%2041/Number%206/
In%20the%20News/Page/Professional%20growth%20opportunities%20in%20Alberta.aspx

Let it be,
Emily RS

References 

Drake, S.M. & Reid, J.L. & Kolohon, W. (2014). Interweaving curriculum and classroom assessment: Engaging the 21 
            Century Learner. Toronto, ON: Oxford University Press. 

Edutopia. How Teachers Collaborate Online and in School. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U0tMDxhLRaA. Accessed    
           November 4, 2014.