How important is Professional Development to Teachers?

When I was in college, my goal in life is to graduate and to be a public school teacher. I thought studying will stop after graduation in college. When I became a public school teacher, my colleagues encourage me to enrol in graduate studies but I refuse. I thought that I had enough knowledge and skills to be efficient and effective teacher. I didn’t realize I was wrong about it until I became a teacher. They say there is always a room for improvement and I agree with that. Education is an unending cycle. It is not going to stop after graduation and finding a job position. Continuing education helps career-minded individuals to continually improve their skills and become more professional in their field. It is particularly important for school administrators to enable professional development for teachers, not only to learn new trends, skills and techniques in teaching and to give their students the best learning results but also to be more effective, efficient and fulfilled throughout various other aspects of their career.

Professional development is defined as a continued training and education of an individual in regards to his or her career. The goal of professional development is to keep you updated on current trends as well as help you develop and learn new skills for the purpose of advancement in the field. It also provides an opportunity to learn new teaching techniques.

Through discovering new teaching techniques and strategies through professional development, school facilitators can go back to the classroom and make changes to their teaching styles to better cater their students ‘ needs. Professional development can also help teachers to plan their time effectively and stay organized. This makes teachers more efficient and focuses not on paperwork but students. It also allows teachers to expand their knowledge in their field of specialization. The more the professional development a teacher undergoes, the more he or she develops and acquires knowledge and insight.

Professional development and the setting of goals go hand in hand. The time allotted to courses and seminars may seem hectic, but the extra time is worth it to become the best teacher you can still be. Setting career teaching goals that are both realistic and achievable will help you achieve your goals. You must see how far you can go as a teacher.