Professional Development - Ongoing Improvement

Dr. Terri and the Academic Road said: "So I am making you create a professional development plan when most schools are freezing their pay scales - what value do you see professional development offers you as a teacher? a person? A parent? A Professional?  What can you be your intrinsic and extrinsic motivation to stay current?"

Why is professional development important? There are a variety of answers to that question in my mind. As a teacher, a professional development plan and the execution of that plan will help me improve my teaching skills and lean more and more ways to apply those skills successfully in the classroom. As a person, professional development means continuous opportunities for learning! I have always been a person who loves to learn and I eagerly look forward to new learning opportunities. I approach each professional development workshop or conference as a new experience and I look for strategies and skills and even ideas that I can apply in my own life. As a parent, professional development means that there are always new ideas being circulated and new parenting strategies to apply. I approach each professional development opportunity with an open mind and, as a parent, I take careful notes and find things to take away that I can apply with my own family. For instance, one early literacy workshop I attended had a make and take portion where we designed envelope books with alphabet and word cards in them. The book I made for my then-two-year-old son was happily accepted at home and I have since used the same concept to teach the letters of their names with each of my younger children. Finally, as a professional, professional development is integral to skill improvement. As long as the workshop or conference applies to my position, I feel it is very worthwhile. While I am always open to learning opportunities, I feel like those opportunities that can be applied most directly to my position are the most meaningful, especially when such opportunities include technical assistance or guidance from other professionals in the same field. As I am a person who takes my job seriously and with passion, I am always looking for ways to not only improve my own professional skills but also for ways to improve the way I administer the programs for which I am responsible. In my position, it always goes back to the population we serve, the children and families, and as I implement strategies that will streamline the program with them in mind, the resulting services provided will be higher in quality and more meaningful to the children and families. Essentially, professional development is invaluable to me as a professional, a parent, a person, and even as a teacher.