What is Continuing Professional Development?
Any process or activity, planned or otherwise, that contributes to an increase in or the maintenance of knowledge, skills and personal qualities to learning, teaching [clinical care] and broader academic practice. This includes leadership, management and administration. (Norris 2003)It’s strange how we often ignore the most important aspect of education i.e. teachers!
Continuing professional development is the means by which members of the profession maintain, improve and broaden their knowledge, expertise and competence, and develop the personal and professional qualities required throughout their professional lives. The CPD cycle involves reviewing practice, identifying learning needs, planning and participating in relevant learning activities, and reflecting on the value of these activities (ANMC 2009)
Aim of Continuing Professional Development
The aim of continuing professional development is to ensure knowledge and competence acquired during undergraduate and post-graduate education remains current and new information is acquired and translated into practice. It is a professional responsibility for all practicing nurses and midwives to maintain their competence to practice.
Continuing Professional Development
· Enhances clinical, academic, leadership and managerial skills in the short term and
· Facilitates longer-term professional effectiveness and career development.
Principles for Continuing Professional Development
Continuing Professional Development;
· is a process of lifelong learning for all nurses and midwives and enhances professional effectiveness
· assists nurses and midwives to maintain and enhance theoretical knowledge, clinical skills, leadership and managerial skills
· should be largely self-directed; incorporate reflective practice; and be relevant to the individual nurse’s/midwives’ professional practice
· can occur in any setting and can be formal structured learning, or experiential learning that includes reflection in and on practice, which is a way of validating day-to-day practice.
THE 13 MUST KNOW PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WEBSITES FOR TEACHERS
1- Education World
This is a great website that offers all the resources you need to grow professionally. It has different sections with each one full of PDFs, books, articles an many more .
2- Discovery Education
There is no way that you did not hear about this awesome website. Discovery Education provides high quality, dynamic, digital content to everyone be it a teacher, an administrator,student or even parents.
3- Staff Develop
This is another great resource for professional development.It provides articles, books, workshops, and many resources links.
4- Ed Week
Ed Week is a also one of the leading websites in education. It helps teachers and educators grow professionally by providing all kinds of resources for free.
5- Educators Professional Development
The title says it all. EPD is the largest online database of professional development conferences and workshops for educators and teachers from Early Learning to Grade 12.
6- Read Write Think
This has a separate section dedicated to professional development resources . check it out , it is really great.
7- Teacher Vision
Teacher Vision provides a wide range of professional development resources for educators such as articles, lesson plans, links and many more.
8- Teachers Domain
This is a free digital media service for educational use from public broadcasting and its partners. You will find thousands of media resources, support materials, and tools for classroom lessons, and teacher professional learning communities.
9- Getting Smart
Getting Smart offers several resources for professional development. It has links, innovative ideas, books, articles and many more.
10- Common Sense Media
CSM is dedicated to improving the lives of students and educators by providing some great resources, information, education, and independent voice they need to thrive in a world of media and technology.
11- Teacher Trap
Teacher Trap is a free , professional development resource that helps educators and librarians address common questions about the use of technology in teaching and learning by providing easy access to practical, online resources and activities.
12- Teachers Network
Teachers Network provides great resources on professional development such as lesson plans, how-to-articles, free videos and many more.
13- Intel Teach Elements
This is a free professional development platform from Intel that provides a series of compelling courses on the 21st century learning concepts.
Teachers are the one working with students and are the key for reaching where we want to be in life. Teachers’ professional development is one thing that is not given the importance all education institutions should actually give (with exceptions of course).
While working on students learning, curriculum and professional development it is essential to put equal or more weightage on professional development because if you don’t have the best teachers, the best curriculum won’t be effective and that will reflect on students’ learning. With technology integration, it is even more important to provide teachers with professional development as they need to learn new technologies so they can aid students better in classrooms.
Below are some videos that will help you learn more about innovative teacher professional development.
Watch them now!
1. Providing Effective Professional Development for Educators
The video talks about why is it necessary to provide professional development to educator, where we are lacking and what we can do cover the gap.
2. Rethinking Professional Development For Teachers
A nice video highlighting how and why Professional Development for teachers should be community centered, learner centered, knowledge centered and assessment centered.
3. 21st Century Teachers Must be 21st Century Learner
Because teachers need to learn how to teach students the way they want to learn.
4. Flipping Professional Development: No teacher bored in the background
Stillwater Area Public Schools not just flipped the classroom for their students to experience education but also flipped their educators’ professional development session. Check out how in the video above.
5. Professional Development - Nurturing the Teacher as Learner
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