The Whats, Wheres, and Whys of Professional Development
By: Andrew Mills
Tags: Self Improvement, Teaching And Learning, Professional Development, Education, Self Learning

Over the course of their careers, most teachers are required to complete some form of professional development (PD). Whether they need to renew their teaching licenses and certificates, or they need to complete PD as part of their job requirements for other reasons, teachers often seek out opportunities that will enrich their teaching, offer flexible schedules, and won’t break the bank.

I am a licensed history and social studies teacher in the Commonwealth of Virginia (see here), and the State of Maryland. Each state has its own renewal and recertification requirements, and while they differ, I believe discussing requirements in the context of general PD will be helpful in determining which types of learning experiences are right for different individuals. Given my familiarity with Virginia’s policies and procedures, I will frame our discussion around Virginia’s renewal process.

Virginia’s Point System and the General Reader

The Commonwealth of Virginia requires teachers to renew their licenses every five years. Within these timeframe, teachers are expected to complete a significant amount of professional development, and each PD opportunity must meet one or more of the following categories (names changed to meet more general audiences):

While these categories were made for Virginia teachers, they are helpful beyond the Commonwealth’s borders. Teachers aiming to develop their knowledge and skills can use these classifications to determine which PD opportunities best fit their needs. For example, a teacher hoping to develop their differentiation skills will probably focus on Categories 3–6, rather than on Categories 1 and 2.

Virginia’s PD categories help teachers classify types of PD that will benefit them; however, they do not provide examples of specific professional development activities. This is where Virginia’s Renewal Options provide the most help. As part of the renewal process, teachers must complete 180 professional development points — matching the aforementioned categories — along with a long list of other steps (Virginia Licensure Renewal Manual, 2017, p. 5–7). For the purposes of this article, we will examine only on the completion of professional development points, which Virginia breaks down into the eight renewal options (Image 1). These options are helpful in determining how you can participate in professional development.

Virginia’s process is extensive and detailed; though it is somewhat confusing, the list of categories provides audiences with a clear list of professional development options, which can help you make your own PD plan. For example, if you were seeking to advance your content- area knowledge, you might attend a conference that directly relates to your content area (more on this later). Conference attendance is clearly one of the eight options, and depending on the focus will meet at least one of the six categories. In our example, attending a content-based conference would meet Category 1, and could meet Categories 2–5.

The Purpose of PD: Self-Learning and Limitless Possibilities

When it comes to PD, I typically choose experiences based on a set of select criteria:

The PD must advance my content knowledge, The experience should improve my teaching practice and pedagogy, and/or The PD must adhere to my teaching philosophy (or challenge it to grow in some way).

If the experience counts towards my VA renewal it is even better; however, I will not eliminate opportunities solely because they do not count towards licensure renewal.

PD is more than a requirement; it is a revitalizer.

Professional Development should help teachers develop their skills and knowledge and provide them with the opportunity to advance their practice and participation within their fields of expertise. When I choose PD opportunities, I try to stick with options that advance my content specializations in East Asian and American history. For example, I recently attended a conference seminar in Osaka, Japan titled, “The International Asia-Pacific Studies Seminar.” My passion for East Asian history, of course, fuelled my desire to attend this conference. Now, some may scoff at the idea of attending a professional content-based conference. They may ask, “What if it is too content-heavy and not applicable to my students?” I urge those with such feelings to search for such conferences anyway. I have found that you can apply so much from these conferences into your classroom. Your students will rise to the occasion.

This brings us, now, to what I believe is the purpose of PD. Professional development should foster a sense of growth for teachers, and compel us to challenge our assumptions. It should encourage us to expand our horizons and advance our passions for the fields we teach.

It should increase our own love of learning.

In turn, we should express our passions to our students, so they can find and pursue their own passions with the same vigor and determination.

In choosing your own professional development options, I suggest the following:

Image 2: PD Search Procedure

The above PD Search Procedure (Image 2) is only a guide, of course. Feel free to modify it to suit your own needs. Also, be sure to remember that the final suggestion, Step 4, is not necessarily the most important. If you subscribe to my belief in PD, then it is only a secondary concern.

PD Review

While PD is an awesome way for teachers to advance their careers and passions, I would not want you to break the bank. PD can be expensive. I have created a list of three PD opportunities I chose to partake in over the course of this year. Some were free, others were not. Please feel free to make use of this list. I encourage you to explore each of the following and pursue what they have to offer to your heart’s content:

National Geographic Certified Educator Certificate

What is it?

National Geographic’s Educator Certification program is an excellent and free educator PD Program that offers Educators the chance to explore. The courses focuses on the National Geographic Framework, the modification or designing of a lesson to meet said framework, and the implementation of the newly designed lesson. The resulting capstone project, a video, asks you to showcase the impact your lesson had on your students and community.

If you subscribe to education’s importance beyond traditionalist modes of educational pedagogy, you will love National Geographic’s PD. While completing the project, I designed a lesson where my students studied the role of activism and protest in democratic societies. Their summative performance assessment, tasked them with writing letters of solidarity to the students of Parkland, Florida, who had recently suffered a tragic mass shooting.

Who is it geared towards?

National Geographic focuses on globalization, the connections between local and global processes, and the fostering of global geographic competencies across disciplines. Upon completing the certificate, you will connect with National Geographic’s learning community, where you can collaborate and discuss content with like-minded educators from across disciplines.

Recommendation

If you have some time and are already teaching, this PD is a great way to learn a new framework and to connect with others across the world.

International Baccalaureate Workshops

What is it?

Becoming an IB instructor is an amazing opportunity. You can attend graduate school to receive an IB-focused master’s degree, or you can take an IB Workshop. They offer both online and in-person workshops, but they can cost a lot (about $600.00 USD). However, the experience can be very beneficial.

I completed the DP History Category 1 (first level) online certification course, while holding a full-time teaching job in Tokyo, Japan. The course was quite extensive, but focused mostly on how you need to assess IB written work. The online course is about a month long (in-person courses are day-long weekend seminars), but it can be worth it, if you are planning on teaching in an IB school. Maybe you can even get your school to pay for the seminar for you.

The course is (as of Summer 2018) seems to be completing a transition period. Some of the features were quite confusing to use, and it was not always clear what we were supposed to be doing with the modules. However, the online course did offer an opportunity to connect with other educators that have similar professional goals and teaching philosophies. We had some amazing debates during the course of the PD experience.

Who is it geared towards?

Teachers interested in teaching IB/already teaching IB.

Recommendation

If you (or your school) can afford the hefty cost, I recommend the PD as an opportunity to learn more about the IB.

Google Certified Educator Certification

What is it?

Google Education’s certification is an extensive PD program that helps teachers become familiar with Google tools and applications. I completed both the Level 1 and Level 2 certifications and they were really interesting!

I learned how to use several Google Apps (e.g. Google Drawings) that I had not seen before. Additionally, I was introduced to some of the more nuanced add-ons found in the Google Extension Shop (e.g. add-ons for emailing).

Google’s PD for educators is not free. You have to pay about $25.00-$30.00 USD to obtain your certificate, and it does expire after a few years (to encourage educators to learn of any changes to the system). However, the relatively low cost may be worth it, if you can use the PD to renew your license every few years. Even if you only do the course once, you will surely learn something about Google that you were previously unfamiliar with.

Who is it geared towards?

Teachers interested in increasing their knowledge of educational tools by Google

Recommendation

Google Education is a great PD experience for a relatively low cost.

Miscellaneous PD Experiences

Instead of creating a separate heading for each of the following PD experiences, I thought it would be best to discuss them as a whole. Over the past few years, I completed several online workshops/modules through the Library of Congress, PBS TeacherLine, the Big History Project, others. These experiences were very quick, easy to use, and helped me develop my teaching in one way or another. For example, I was able to explore how to incorporate Big History — the teaching of history as an examination of increasing complexity from the Big Bang until the present — into my teaching as a result of the Big History Project. This was something that always eluded me as I explored Big History in other ways. The Library of Congress and PBS TeacherLine, too, offered easy ways to collect some PD hours (some will count for me, others will not) and to learn something in a different way. Even if it was just done as a refresher, I found it helpful. I think you will find that some of these PD experiences will be free, others will have some associated cost.

Recommendation

I recommend exploring places like the Library of Congress, PBS, and the Big History Project, to see what they can offer you. You may find something to help you develop your teaching in a cost-effective way.

Concluding Note

PD is meant to help you develop as a teacher. It is not a task to be completed half-heartedly. If you can get points to renew your licenses, or to complete job requirements, it is a plus. However, you should not ignore opportunities that will enrich your learning and drive your teaching to new heights.