EDL 645

Professional Development for Teachers

November 5, 2016
Beth A. Wylie

The article, Professional Development for Teachers, discussed the importance of teacher quality
and how we achieve that through various ways of optimizing professional development
opportunities. California has multiple ways that schools can employee teachers through waivers
and emergency permits. The article explores studies that show that students with properly trained
teachers tend to outperform students in classrooms with less qualified teachers. The article
concludes that quality teacher education and training is fundamental to student success.
Teachers come to the classroom from several different paths. Those who have pre-service
experience along with a good induction program that includes mentoring support, are more likely
to remain in the profession. In addition, they will be more effective in helping students learn.
Today, the induction programs that all beginning teachers must complete in their first five years
of service follow a model that is based on reflection with the support of a mentor. There are welldefined standards of practice and performance that are used to guide the beginning teacher in the
practice of reflection. The standards of practice are also commonly used as the evaluation
standards that schools use to measure teacher performance.
The article also outlined the importance of ongoing professional development that goes beyond
the workshop model and incorporates collaboration and sharing of knowledge as the educators
implement new practices. Many schools today have implemented the Professional Learning
Community (PLC) model that fosters regular modifications to teaching based on student learning
outcomes. Through the PLC model, formative and summative assessment is used to drive

EDL 645 Beth A. Wylie Nov. 2016

EDL 645
Professional Development for Teachers
November 5, 2016
Beth A. Wylie

instruction. At the same time, teachers are creating bridges between classrooms by regularly
meeting to discuss student outcomes and teaching strategies.
In the conclusion, the article outlined six policies that provide a foundation for quality teaching.
The six areas are: create a base of strong pre-service education for all candidates, support highquality induction models, expand incentives for National Board Certification of Teachers,
establish teacher academies, develop university and school-initiated summer institutes in content
pedagogical areas, and restructure teacher time in schools. In education today, many of these
suggested policies have been put into practice and some continue to be challenges for schools to
achieve. For example, credential programs include regular pre-service education for all
candidates and there are strong induction models in place across the state. At the same time,
schools are still struggling to give teachers time to prepare lessons and collaborate with their
colleagues.
As a school administrator our role is to find ways to support quality teaching and ongoing
professional development. Creating the climate of a learning community starts with the principal
at a school. In todays technological world we are able to connect with other educators and
professional development opportunities that are both local and far without leaving our school
campus. While funding challenges continue to impact the schools ability to fund professional
development, educators and researchers agree, that finding a way to ensure that teachers are
properly trained and continuously learning leads to student success.

EDL 645 Beth A. Wylie Nov. 2016