Positive And Negative Experiences Of Professional Development

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I have been a teacher for fifteen years, worked in two different school districts, and I have attended many professional development classes. I have had both positive and negative experiences from professional development.

My first job was in an inner city school where every teacher had to have 45 hours of professional development each year. From the article "Why Professional Development Matters", the article states that most professional development typically takes place in the educator 's school district and on the educator 's own time. We were offered workshops after school hours within our district. We were given a booklet of all the workshops offered in our district at the beginning of the year and we were able to chose what …show more content…

The article "7 Profound Professional Development Questions for Administrators", talks about choice and how it carves our own destiny when it comes to professional development. This is what my school district did. They gave us a choice on what we wanted to attend. There was a wide variety of classes to chose from. Using cartoons in the classroom, using Microsoft Word, analyzing content standards, lifeguard certification, and geoboards are just a few classes I remembered that were offered. I didn 't have a problem attending any of the classes but, as a first year teacher I was excited to learn and improve my teaching. I did not realize how much extra time 45 hours is. As a veteran teacher, 45 hours is a lot of hours to put in, especially for teachers of have children who are involved in extra curricular activities.

Falling victim of the RIF (Reduction in Force), I obtained another job in a smaller rural district. The first year at my new district, I was told I had to be qualified in the areas I teach. At the time, I was a special …show more content…

I want to give the teachers a choice. I want to provide them with techniques, websites, and other resources that can help engage students in learning. I do not want to force anyone to use a technique or teach a certain way because it is the newest fad. I believe that this is the main key to break down the barriers of the dreaded professional development. There will be teachers who do not want to go to any but there will be teachers who do and share the information with the teachers who do not. Whenever I learn something new that I find useful, I always share with my colleagues. Even through this class, I have shared information with my colleagues. Paperrater was one that I shared. The information shared doesn 't have to be used much but it is a resource that can be helpful. If a teacher can take one thing learned and apply it to their classroom makes professional development

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