Professional development is the process of acquiring knowledge, skills, and abilities through training and educational experiences. The purpose of professional development may differ slightly from company to company, but it is typically the means of meeting business needs or objectives. In any organization, development serves as a mechanism for improving productivity and enhancing quality of service delivery. There are many types of professional development offered in the workplace. These include:
Most companies offer formal, classroom-based professional development workshops and sessions. These sessions are designed to teach employees how to market themselves to current customers, how to effectively perform their jobs, and provide information on career planning, development, and retirement. A typical workshop will have a series of lesson study sessions lasting between two and four days. Within each session, employees will be given the opportunity to learn new skills, to practice those skills in real work settings, and to develop new concepts.
Professional development also takes the form of educational seminars and classes. These seminars allow employees to learn new skills and to improve their professional development. Some seminars focus on areas of industry or particular interest to individual teachers. Others may focus on various pedagogical approaches such as lesson study, instructional design, and the application of instructional design principles. Still others may combine aspects of all three forms of professional development.
For teachers, professional development often involves the development of effective teacher management skills. Effective teacher management practices involve encouraging student learning, providing supportive interventions when necessary, managing student attention spans, providing students with personal space and time, maintaining a positive teaching mood, and maintaining open communication lines with students. Professional development can also include the promotion of effective classroom management techniques. In this vein, professional education curricula promotes the development of classroom conditions that foster effective student learning. In this regard, professional development can encompass a wide variety of classroom management practices, such as differentiated instruction, planned spontaneity, the elimination of distracting background noises, eliminating any unnecessary student distractions, and the scheduling of student learning times.
Teachers who wish to increase their professional knowledge and skills can take courses that teach them to critically think and analyze information that they are presented with. Some colleges and universities sponsor courses and workshops on critical thinking skills. Teachers can use these courses to learn how to evaluate alternative perspectives, view disputed information critically, formulate reasonable arguments, and so forth. Such training can prepare teachers for teaching job positions in K-12 schools, higher education, and other professional settings. Professional development may also be offered through professional associations, such as the Council of Teachers of Criminal Justice Education or the Association for Latino/olarship in Education. Professional development may be offered by the office of the Secretary of Education, the National Association of School Psychologists, or the National Association of Social Work Educators.
Teachers, like other professionals, must make time for themselves. One way for teachers to do this is to get organized with a volunteer program. Volunteer programs give teachers time to network with other teachers, serve on committees and boards, learn about new technologies, and more. An effective professional development program will allow teachers to be organized, which can lead to more effective work habits and, therefore, students who learn more. For example, a teacher who is able to stay organized can keep track of her student progress and make suggestions as to how she might have helped the student to learn more.
There are also professional development opportunities available online. Teachers can take advantage of a wide variety of professional development opportunities online. In some cases, teachers are able to use technology to their advantage and incorporate it into their classrooms. Online professionals can take courses and receive online credits that can be added up as a credit in their student's school day record. Teachers who have access to a computer can print off course work, assignments, research results, notes and other documents that they need for the school day.
With a focus on professional and graduate school education, teachers not only have a chance to develop their teaching skills, but also improve their leadership skills. Effective leaders are those who inspire students to become well-rounded individuals who want to positively impact their community, society and the world at large. As a teacher, you have an important role in this process and you can benefit from professional development courses to enhance your teaching skills and leadership skills. These courses will prepare you for the best professional opportunities available to you in the future and you can use the training to reach your fullest potential in the classroom.
