lundi 21 novembre 2016

Professional Development For Teachers Should Be A Very High Priority

By Douglas Cole


One would think that the working environment of educators is very social. After all, they spend all day among people. In most cases, just the opposite is true. Educators often work in isolation. They are overloaded and their classes are too big. There is little time to spend with colleagues. Even worse, the heavy burden that they carry make it very difficult for them to become part of any program aimed at professional development for teachers.

Many people think that educators just teach and that they therefore have a short working day. The facts are that educators carry a heavy work load. They have to be involved in extra curricular activities, they have to attend many meetings and they have numerous administrative responsibilities. In addition, they have to attend school functions and sports events. Most educators have to take some of their work home.

Apart from carrying a heavy work load, educators also have to work within a system that is woefully short of every imaginable resource. There are not enough teaching aids, not enough support staff or educators and definitely not enough funds to provide students with the opportunity to receive an education in a well equipped environment. Educators have very few opportunities to develop professionally in order to advance in their careers.

One easy and extremely economical way in which to help educators to develop professionally is to introduce an instructional rounds program. This type of program has been proven to benefit educators. Small groups of teachers attend the lesson of another, more experienced educator. The idea is to learn from him, observe his teaching methods and to garner new ideas. Where instructional rounds programs are already in place it is very popular.

Surveys have shown that highly successful educators use technology to help them grow professionally. They belong to forums and discussion groups that focus on educational matters. There they can ask questions, share ideas and learn about the latest developments in the field of education. They make use of the opportunities to attend on line seminars and many are enrolled for formal on line courses.

The internet is also richly populated with sites that give educators access to teaching resources. These vary from illustrations, sample exercises and multimedia presentations that can do much to simplify complex concepts. Using such technology can only improve the proficiency of the educator but also makes it easier for the students to do well at school and to actually look forward to their classes.

Educators play a crucial role in defining the quality of education and, therefore, the futures of their students. They need to be given every possible opportunity to develop professionally. Experts say that many more bursaries should be made available to educators. Excellent results should be rewarded with bonuses and every effort to improve should be applauded.

Programs aiming at developing educators professionally should be a priority for every educational authority. Everyone benefits. The educator grows, the students benefit from that growth, the results improve and the quality of education is raised. This must surely be the result everyone wants.




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