1. Never Stop Growing
- Author
-
Reese, Susan
- Abstract
Learning is a lifelong process. That's something career and technical educators are always telling their students, but through their professional development activities they are also practicing what they are preaching. Why is professional development so important? According to the U.S. Department of Education initiative "Building Bridges: The Mission and Principles of Professional Development," professional development can play an important part in successful education reform, and its mission should be "to prepare and support educators to help all students achieve to high standards of learning and development." According to "Building Bridges," the principles of high-quality professional development are: (1) It focuses on teachers as central to student learning, yet includes all other members of the school community; (2) It focuses on individual, collegial and organizational improvement; (3) It respects and nurtures the intellectual and leadership capacity of teachers, principals and others in the school community; (4) It reflects the best available research and practice in teaching, learning and leadership; (5) It enables teachers to develop further expertise in subject content, teaching strategies, uses of technologies and other essential elements in teaching to high standards; (6) It promotes continuous inquiry and improvement embedded in the daily life of schools; (7) It is planned collaboratively by those who will participate in and facilitate that development; (8) It requires substantial time and other resources; (9) It is driven by a coherent long-term plan; and (10) It is evaluated ultimately on the basis of its impact on teacher effectiveness and student learning; and this assessment guides subsequent professional development efforts.
- Published
- 2004