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Job Embedded Professional Development: A Achieving The Desired Success Strategies

By Joseph Patterson


For years, a lot of classroom teachers have exhibited some misgivings on professional development. To most teachers, the idea of teaching and handling the unique personalities and behavior of students for a great part of the day and still close the day with a workshop, training or in-service is not appealing. To make Job Embedded Professional Development for teachers appealing, three guiding principles ought to be considered: engagement, relevance, and opportunities for ongoing support.

The most common question posed by classroom educators is how the professional learning workshop applies to him/her as a teacher. If educators can't figure out how they fit into the equation, they will be present physically but rather disengaged mentally. This, in essence, implies that not all PD opportunities apply to all teachers.

There are various PD seminars that are very helpful to fresh graduates and professionals. PD seminars provide efficient training and resources, essential to integrate the potential of beginners and those already working. The managerial students get the opportunity to learn the development of an organizational approach, by training in leadership and management skills.

In addition to relevance, PD opportunities should also allow teachers to participate in learning engagements. These learning engagements should be developed to allow time for teachers to receive guided, shared and independent practice in instructional practices that are modeled by the administrator. During this time, the administrator is afforded the opportunity to observe and to provide supportive feedback to classroom teachers, while the teachers can learn alongside their colleagues and pose questions for clarification.

Other approaches take advantage of the free for all method. In this approach, everyone shares their specials skills within a group. The member of the group all talk about their strengths and weaknesses and may pair up to help one another.

In the teaching career, English in Action (EIA) might play a vital role to develop the weaknesses of the English teachers of primary and secondary level. This can be achieved through introducing communicative English Language Skills to them as well as raising awareness on PD issues so that the concerned teachers can cascade their new knowledge and interesting ideas to the classroom more effectively. English teachers should remember that they should teach the language, not about the language. "When we listen, we forget when we see, we remember when we do, we really understand."

Professional learning opportunities that work must be teacher-centered and integrate adult-learning theories. This is similar to classroom instruction which is geared toward student-centeredness and child development theories. The effectiveness of these opportunities must be grounded in the idea that staff developers and facilitators design workshops that will leave a positive impression upon teachers and that easily transfer into their classroom instruction.

The PD gives educators a day away from 'the kids', a day to recharge the batteries and re-energize themselves. It is also a chance for the teachers to interact, socialize, and sharpen their competencies and management skills. This learning program enhances the educators' self-reflection, ability to prepare need-based learning materials for students and engage students in a manner of ways.




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