The Importance of Relevant Professional Development

Teacher professional development is key to helping teachers stay connected, enthused, well-informed, and engaged in meeting the demands of our ever-changing profession. The purpose of this study was to investigate how effective the current model of professional development, and reinforce how the one-size-fits-all model of training is not meeting the growing needs of today’s teacher. Through the qualitative process of surveys and informal interviews I was able to extract information from my participants that aligned with the research that was conducted. Teachers overwhelming expressed that professional development that was individualized, that they had a say in choosing, was much more meaningful, provided strategies that they implemented in a timely manner, and added value and excitement into their daily classroom instruction and student engagement. Another purpose of this study was to research who decided what professional development was needed and who received it? It was concluded that principals or administrators needed to be actively performing observations, and providing relevant feedback so that they are aware of the strengths and weaknesses of their staff. Then professional development could be structured to fill the gaps in a teacher’s pedagogy. Participants strongly advocated for collaboration time to compare, share, and plan successful next steps. To conclude, participants surveyed overwhelming stated that professional development that they attended that was their choice, had a greater impact on their confidence, willingness to implement, and stay with it, as compared to the one-size-fits-all model that they felt was a waste of their time and precious school funds.