Tip:
You may have the best intentions for professional development to work with your teachers but find it still fails. Some of the reasons may include:
- Not identifying or focusing on professional development that is needed.
- Budget spreads money around to provide PD for everyone.
- PD tries to be all things to all people.
- PD needs relate to goals of PD department, not the needs of the teachers and administrators.
- Teachers’ and students’ needs were not taken into account.
- Professional development was irrelevant and impractical.
- Examples shared were unrealistic and unrelated.
- Professional development was short one-shot workshops.
- The administrator was not involved.
Sometimes professional development opportunities are created to fulfill the requirements of the PD department’s needs; i.e. number of workshops offered, number of teachers attending workshops, evaluation reports, etc.)
Submitted by:Barbara Bray
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