Professional Development Guide Introduction

7 Characteristics of Great Professional Development

1. Teachers prefer PD that is relevant to their context.

Seems like a no-brainer right?
But how often have we sat in meetings listening to someone talking about something that isn’t directly relevant to what we teach? To be fair, that’s an overly simplistic way to look at this. But for the cynical teacher (and really all teachers) who’s been to this rodeo before it’s important to be intentional in including and growing PD from your teacher’s voices.
So ask them what they want and what they need, but place it in the context of the school’s Mission and Vision (you’ve clarified those right?) and their own personal purpose and growth. Are they aligned? Are their short-term and stretch goals that they’re working on? Are they beginning teachers or experienced? How do they see themselves in the ecosystem of the school and district?
What do they need to know and be able to do better in order to achieve their ideal selves?

2. Teachers prefer PD that helps them plan and improve their instruction.

This doesn’t mean that everything in your PD should be lesson planning time. It does mean that teachers should have ample work time to plan and meaningful processes to reflect and refine their instruction. Sometimes this means challenging each other and themselves by discussing new approaches. Or perhaps teachers are critiquing each other’s planning and teaching through the lens of a quality rubric.
What about significant work time with thought partners from both inside and outside of the school to collaborate and ask questions? What it can’t be is large chunks of time spent on things that teachers don’t see as helpful in improving teaching and learning.

3. Teachers prefer PD that is teacher-driven.

Teacher-driven doesn’t necessarily mean that teachers are the ones ‘leading’ the work. While ‘unconference’ types of PD where teachers are presenters like