Educators must understand the concepts in processing professional development and what it means to education. Professional development refers to the development of a person in his or her professional role. Professional workshops, trainings, seminars and other formally related meetings are a part of the professional development experience for teacher. Sometimes the division office or their district office initiate this for teachers. Much broader in scope than career development, professional development is defined as a growth that occurs through the professional cycle of a teacher (Glattenhorn, 1987). I remember that the schools where I used to work before would always offer professional development and other organized in-service programs that are deigned to foster the growth of teachers that can be used for their further development. Sometimes we go for out of town trainings and seminars as sponsored or initiated by the the Department of Education or the Division Office of the City where the school is.
Nowadays, teaching position has already become competitive. It will be an advantage for the teacher if she or he has masteral degree. Regular opportunities and experiences for professional development over the past few years had yielded systematic growth and development in the teaching profession. Teachers aspire to develop and aim for professional growth, however there are some barriers that hinder them for achieving such goal. In the current system of our country, financial support from schools and the government with regards to training and courses often become an issue. Even if the eacher wants to puruse a course, they are hindered due to financial problems. Some also have family and other responsibilities that even make it harder for them to carry on. Some feel awkward going back to studies becasue of tehir age. They feel that they are too old to do further studies, bt I beleive that age should not e a hindrance for development.
Just when I was doing the module discussion, I had a chat with my sister. It was kind of an intellectual discussion. She was telling to me about the situation of their school where she is working in Qatar. It has come to my knowledge that in the continuous pursuit of the Department Education for K to 12 curriculum, it is requiring teachers to do some trainings and courses for particular areas or subjects. The thing is, the teacher should will also be obliged to spend on their own. No finances will be provided by the government or school. However, if the teacher has trainings and has taken courses, this will be a big help for her to advance her career or get promoted to a higher salary grade.
All teachers and even other professionals should always hunger for professional growth and development. I believe that is advantageous and benficial. not only to herself but to the students as well. It helps the teacher to become more effective. The module has really enlighted me about the different ways of becoming effective. Hence, professional growth is one of them. SoTL and professional learning community should be futher promoted in the country, since there are still schools and institutions that do not have it yet and government support will play a big role to it.
Much of the available research on professional development involves its relationship to student achievement. Researchers differ on the degree of this relationship. Variables are the school, teacher, student level related to the level of learning within the classroom, parent and community involvement, instructional strategies, classroom management, curriculum design, student background knowledge, and student motivation (Marzano, 2003). Based upon a review of several studies, Marzano (2003) concluded that the professional development activities experienced by teachers have a similar impact on student achievement to those of the aforementioned variables.
Opportunities for active learning, content knowledge, and the overall coherence of staff development are the top three characteristics of professional development. Opportunities for active learning and content specific strategies for staff development refer to a focus on teacher application of learned material. Overall coherence refers to the staff development program perceived as an integrated whole and development activities building upon each other in a consecutive fashion.
Reference:
http://www.evolllution.com/opinions/why-professional-development-for-teachers-is-critical/
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/why-quality-professional-development-teachers-matters-ben-johnson
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