High-Quality Professional Development for Teachers
BY Amanda “Amy” Passmore, Ph.D. | 7 MIN READ
Learners inspire learners—educators who engage in professional development drive improvement in U.S. schools. Because of this, many states require yearly continuing education for teachers to maintain their professional educator licensure, and many metrics of educator evaluation attend to how individuals are contributing to their continued development as professionals.
While most teachers have strong desire for continuous development and believe in the benefits of lifelong learning, many find themselves attending lackluster or uninspiring professional development sessions. Given the time constraints and workplace stress, engaging in professional development that is not useful or applicable can be extremely disheartening and frustrating. With advancements in technology and social media, professional development providers must incorporate adult learning principles that meet the needs of 21st-century educators.
What Are the Characteristics of High-Quality Professional Development?
Professional development is defined as interactions that can enhance educators’ knowledge and skills, enhance their teaching practice, and contribute to their personal, social and emotional growth (Cohen et al., 1993). While the structure and content of continuing education for teachers can vary, researchers have identified the following components of effective professional development for educators (e.g., Desimone et al., 2002; Garet et al., 2001; Sancar et al., 2021):
- Focuses on Content. Professional development ensures that the content shared is focused and aligned with student outcomes.
- Utilizes Active Learning. Educators should not be passive learners. They should be given opportunities to engage with the content through active exploration, observation and feedback, as well as analysis of student work and constructive feedback. The level of engagement educators exhibit will depend on the content.
- Attends to Coherence. New learning should be intentionally connected to previous learning and consistent with school, district and state initiatives. Educators should consider how their new learning aligns with the broader context of their overall growth and development.
- Adheres to Appropriate Duration. Professional development for teachers should span a sufficient amount of time to ensure they have adequate opportunities to internalize and apply the concepts. Desimone and colleagues (2002) recommend 20 or more hours of contact time with educators, which can include a combination of professional development structures such as lesson studies, coaching, observation and learning communities.
- Encourages Collective Participation. Groups of educators with overlapping characteristics should engage in learning activities together, and professional development providers should facilitate an interactive learning community.
High-Quality Professional Development in Practice
Planning effective professional development begins with understanding the desired outcomes, the necessary organizational support, and the educator’s knowledge and skills to select an optional learning activity that addresses each of the five qualities of effective professional development (Guskey, 2014). Below are some examples of professional development structures that can be used individually or in conjunction with one another.
- Training Model. A traditional approach in which an expert delivers skill-based training, often through workshops or courses. Alternatively, an individual or group becomes skilled in a practice/strategy/innovation, enabling them to transfer that learning to others.
- Coaching. An experienced professional provides one-on-one guidance, observation, modeling, feedback and support to a colleague.
- Inquiry or Action Research. Individuals or teams investigate a student-related issue, reflect on their findings, and implement changes to improve their practice.
- Peer Observation. Colleagues observe each other in a non-evaluative format that focuses on shared goal setting.
- Individual Inquiry. Educators pursue learning goals based on their own needs and interests, develop a learning plan, participate in learning activities, and assess whether their goals have been achieved.
- Study Groups. Small groups (4-6); homogeneous or heterogeneous, meet to focus on specific aspects or issues of school-wide initiatives.
- Lesson Study. A long-term strategy where teachers work together to plan, observe and refine lessons relating to a shared area of focus.
- Mentoring. An informal process carried out within the context of an ongoing, caring relationship in which an experienced person (serving as a role model) teaches, sponsors, encourages, counsels and supports a newer educator.
- Video Discussions. Educators view relevant content videos (in part or whole) followed by dialogue to improve professional knowledge, skills, and attitudes.
21st Century Models of Teacher Professional Development
The rise of social media and artificial intelligence (AI) has opened avenues for educators to seek professional development outside the four walls of their school. Increasingly, educators are creating professional social media accounts to engage in online affinity spaces (e.g., “Teachergram,” “TeacherTok”).
Additionally, educators are utilizing AI to create personalized learning plans tailored to specific goals, interests and prior knowledge. AI and social media are appealing to educators as they enable flexible, asynchronous learning. In alignment with high-quality professional development indicators, these new mediums of professional learning prioritize active learning, sustained collective participation, and focus on a content area of interest to educators (Newton & Williams, 2022).
Online spaces can be particularly appealing for subsets of educators that often cite gaps in relevant professional development opportunities through their school or district (e.g., special education, multilingual educators). So, as professional development providers consider learning activities, they may also look toward the following 21st-century opportunities:
- Social Media. A technology-facilitated professional development tool that supports collaboration, reflection and feedback loops of educators through created visuals accompanied by captions.
- AI Personalized Learning Paths. Use artificial intelligence to tailor education to an individual’s needs, strengths and preferences. AI can be used to analyze an educator’s information to create customized learning experiences, adapt content difficulty and recommend specific resources.
What’s Next for Teacher Professional Development?
Attending high-quality and engaging professional development is vital for improving school and student success. While professional development providers can use these high-quality indicators to guide their creation of professional development, educators should also actively evaluate the professional development offered to them and advocate for best practices.
Additionally, professional development is not limited to school-based settings; nonprofits, businesses and organizations increasingly utilize professional development to enhance their staff. Historically, these entities have relied on the research and experience of educational institutions to develop their professional learning structures. Ultimately, educators and others should reflect on how they ensure outcomes through lifelong learning via effective professional development.
Lead Change with an M.Ed. from Elmhurst University
Seeking to take your education career further and position yourself to advocate for or facilitate higher-quality professional development in your school or district? Elmhurst University’s M.Ed. in Teacher Leadership program provides experienced teachers with the tools to lead change in their classrooms, schools and districts. With a flexible format geared to fit busy schedules and courses that focus on curriculum design, collaborative professional development, data-driven decision-making and more, the program prepares teachers to make an impact on the future of learning.
Explore Elmhurst University’s M.Ed. teacher leadership program today and take the next step in your education career. To learn more about the M.Ed. in Teacher Leadership, the Teacher Leader endorsement and School of Education at Elmhurst University, go to elmhurst.edu/Education or fill out the form below.
