Importance Of Professional Development Strategies

Assignment 9.1: PD Strategies

I have been a part of many professional development sessions, some of which have provided a plethora of valuable information that I refer back to on a weekly basis, and others that have seemingly been provided for reasons that I do not understand. Most, I will admit, have been very useful. One of the most beneficial professional developments I had attended was one at the beginning of the school year, in which teachers congregated at the high school, simply because it was the largest of buildings in its district and could appropriately house all teachers, administrators, and other staff members. During this professional development, we unexpectedly participated in a mock lockdown; however, this simulation and drill

Teachers and administrators who routinely develop their own knowledge and skills model for students that learning is important and useful,” (Mizell, 2010). Typically, students learn best when they are engaged and find interest in the material taught. As noted earlier in this response, I was excited, but eager to learn about how to appropriately handle a lockdown situation should one occur. Just as students learn when they find purpose and meaning in learning, adults function very similarly. Professional developments should seek to meet the needs of all teachers, administrators, or staff members. Despite the fact that this may seem difficult in larger districts, priorities need to be set higher to differentiate professional developments just as teachers are expected to differentiate within our classrooms. Because our district is so small, we are fortunate enough to have money set aside so teachers can utilize the finances to attend local, regional, state-wide, or national conferences relevant to one’s content area, grade level(s), and interests. I understand this is unique; however, it seems appropriate that these sessions are tailored to benefit the classroom instruction. This classroom instruction, we provide to our students, should be geared towards 21st century education that prepares them college or a career. Supported in Mizell’s article, Why Professional Development Matters, “effective teaching is the result of study, reflection, practice, and hard work. A teacher can never know enough about how a student learns, what impedes the student’s learning, and how the teacher’s instruction can increase the student’s learning,” (Mizell, 2010). He additionally supports this with the indication that students learn more if teachers are occupied by superior conferences that allow them to acquire much