Attending a lecture about multiple intelligences. Taking a curriculum development course. Writing in your journal. Conversing with a colleague. Working in your garden.
Every single one can serve as a professional development opportunity.
Teachers use many skills and many facets of their personalities in their work, and positive growth in any interest or ability can serve the children they teach. Unfortunately, many teachers who have suffered through a mandated lecture or an irrelevant workshop are often put off by the mere mention of professional development. One key to our professional growth is that we ourselves can choose the ways in which we want to develop. We may seek opportunities to redress what we see as our limitations, to bolster our strengths, or to satisfy our curiosities. By making our own decisions, we are more likely to engage in activities that benefit our teaching, and thus, our students' learning.