But some of these terms may have special meaning to particular groups or individuals. For example, when teachers plan lessons together or study a subject together, that's a form of staff development. A teacher who observes another teacher teach is also participating in a form of staff development. If a teacher is being coached by another teacher, that's staff development. Communities need to recognize the importance of improving teacher quality.
Schools are no different from that.
You've probably heard teachers talk about these as prep hours or prep periods. In addition to those prep periods, many schools also provide a common meeting time for teachers who teach the same grade or the same subject. For example, in many middle schools, all of the teachers on one team share the same free hour and use that as a daily meeting time. Although those activities contribute directly to their work with students, they also are excellent staff development opportunities for the teachers. But if staff development is part of the teacher's workday, that still means my child doesn't get as much time with the teacher.