An Ambitious Vision of Professional Development for Teachers

Abstract

Administrators play a critical role in teachers' professional development. An ambitious approach focuses on content, process, and context to ensure continuous improvement at the individual, collegial, and organizational level.Quality professional development for teachers has never been more important than it is today as the challenges they face intensify and the expectations for quality education increase. The nation's education reform agenda of increasing teacher effectiveness and student achievement requires teachers to learn new skills and perspectives while simultaneously unlearning practices and beliefs that have dominated their work for years (Darling-Hammond and McLaughlin 1996). Principals, as school leaders, must have an ambitious vision of professional development. Profesional development is broader in scope than staff development and includes such informal activities as reading professional publications, attending professional meetings, and even viewing television specials related to an academic discipline.Teachers have historically participated in professional development activities inside and outside schools. These activities have been sponsored by a variety of organizations, including schools, school districts, consortia of districts, professional organizations, teacher associations, state departments of education, private consultants, and institutions of higher education. They have most typically taken the form of inservice training, workshops, conferences, summer institutes, and graduate courses.Data on professional development as practiced in the mid-1990s indicate that more than 80 percent of teachers participated in workshops or inservice training in their assigned teaching area that was sponsored by schools, school districts, or affiliated organizations (National Center for Education Statistics, NCES, 1998). In addition, about half of these teachers participated in activities sponsored by professional associations and about a quarter enrolled in college or university courses (NCES 1998).A recent study by NCES (1999) reports that 99 percent of teachers surveyed in 1998 had participated in at least one of eight different professional Tom Ganser is director, Office of Field Experiences, University of Wisconsin, Whitewater. He is also a consultant in the design, implementation, and evaluation of mentor programs for teachers, including mentor training and workshops for beginning teachers. Correspondence concerning this article may be sent to gansert@mail.uww.edu.

The Dimensions of Identities and its Roles in Shaping Teachers’ Effectiveness

“…From the analysis, two main categories emerged: formal and informal approaches for teachers' professional development. The formal approach includes in-house and outside training, while informal refers to teachers' groups or communities in which they learn from each other (Ganser, 2000). Overall, majority teachers preferred informal learning through communities or teams in their current schools.…”

Teacher Education in Ethiopia: Growth and Development

“…The concept of professional development of teacher covers a broader aspect than the career development or the staff development aspect. When looking at professional development one must examine the content of the experiences, the processes by which the professional development will occur, and the context in which it will take place (Ganser, 2000;Fielding & Schalock, 1985). Previous studies confirm that development of teacher education provides teachers with satisfaction besides financial gain and it also have a positive impact on a teacher's beliefs and practices that may lead to better teaching of and learning by the students.…”

Teachers' Involvement in Communities of Practice: An Implication with Regard to the Current Approach of Teachers’ Professional Development in Malaysia

“…Teachers' professional development refers to the 'professional growth of teachers through gaining increased experience and examining his or her teaching systematically' (Glatthorn, 1995, p. 41). Learning how to teach effectively and how to become an excellent teacher requires an ongoing, long-term process (Glatthorn, 1995;Ganser, 2000). Through the development process, teachers also embrace certain values, attitudes and commitments (Villegas-Reimers, 2003).…”

“…Through the development process, teachers also embrace certain values, attitudes and commitments (Villegas-Reimers, 2003). Day (1999) and Ganser (2000) explain that professional development can be implemented through formal or informal approaches. The formal approach, according to Ganser (2000) can be seen in activities such as workshop attendance, professional meetings and mentoring, while the informal approach can be achieved through, for example, reading professional publications.…”

“…Effective professional development can be best implemented in a particular context where it is based in schools and linked to teachers' daily activities (Ancess, 2001;Ganser, 2000;McLaughlin & Zarrow, 2001). In this sense, schools are transformed into communities of learners and teachers are considered as learners in their professional communities (King & Newmann, 2000).…”