4 Features of Good Professional Development for Teachers

Hey, district leaders, principals, and administrators, it’s quiz time! 

What’s the single most important influencer of student achievement?

A. Schools with 3D printers

B. High-quality teachers who are confident in their pedagogy, content knowledge, and classroom management

C. Active participation in extracurriculars

D. Friday afternoon pizza parties 

Easy, right? While 3D printers, extracurriculars, and pizza can be fun, teacher quality has the biggest impact on students. 

We’re guessing you already knew this, so here’s a more challenging question.

One of the most effective ways to build and support high-quality teaching in your school or district is to: 

A. Require teachers to submit weekly lesson plans.

B. Invest in meaningful and ongoing professional development for all teachers.

C. Give teachers more time off.

D. Let teachers have extra pizza at those Friday parties.      

Did you choose B? If so, you’re two for two. You already know that professional development is a crucial investment in your people, school, district, and students.

But what’s the best way to deliver meaningful professional learning? How can administrators best assist teachers in honing their craft and positively impacting their students?  

Best Practices for Professional Development for Teachers

According to the Learning Policy Institute, for professional learning to be effective, it needs to meet specific criteria. A whopping 90% of teachers report that the professional development they’ve attended is not helpful. So what does ideal professional learning looks like?

As you select or develop professional development, consider these four characteristics that are key to effective teacher learning.

1. Professional Learning Should Respect Teacher Autonomy 

Most teachers have attended more than their fair share of “sit-and-get” sessions, and they’ve probably forgotten most of them.

Attending ineffectual professional development is like eating at a fancy restaurant and going home hungry. You know you should gain something memorable from the experience, but you leave unsatisfied.

Teachers are an active, passionate, and collaborative bunch, and professional learning should reflect their agency and autonomy. Just as we want students to take responsibility for and have some control over their learning, the same is true for teachers. 

According to a study by the British Educational Research Association, teacher autonomy and agency positively correlate with their engagement and motivation in the classroom. For professional learning to stick, teachers need to feel trusted and respected. 

2. Professional Development Should Help Teachers Implement New Strategies 

According to research, if teachers don't implement a new technique within 90 days of learning it, they are unlikely to do so at all. This is particularly true of newer teachers, although it also applies to veteran teachers. 

Teachers can learn new strategies, but, in order to implement them, they need to have structured support. Otherwise, even the best professional learning will remain unused. Strong professional development moves from theory to practice quickly.

3. Professional Learning Should Use Educational Best Practices 

So much professional development does not employ educational best practices. And it’s not like teachers won’t notice this. They’re teachers! 

We are told to foster active engagement and allow our students collaborate with one another. And then we’re asked to sit and listen to a lecture for three straight days. It makes no sense. 

Research from Head Start tells us that teaching students by asking them to talk to and listen to each other is valuable. Teachers need to experience this, too.

Teachers are more likely to find value in flexible professional learning. Teachers should leave PD sessions thinking about how they can adapt strategies, rather than worrying about strict fidelity.

4. Professional Development Should Be Specific to Discipline and Grade Level

As an English teacher, I shared an office with the same colleague for ten years. Before professional development days, we would reflect on what would be helpful and we put in some requests.

Some of the things we wanted to learn included how to improve student writing and how to make older texts engaging. We scoured the web looking for people and programs to teach us. We even found experts at local colleges and universities that wouldn’t have to travel too far. 

Our requests for discipline-specific professional learning always lost to general all-school initiatives. It felt demoralizing.   

The best professional development addresses specific challenges and opportunities of a teacher’s discipline and grade level. While there are universal aspects of teaching, a math teacher's daily experience is different from an ELA teacher's experience. Effective professional development should acknowledge to these differences. 

Discipline- and grade-specific professional learning is good for building effective pedagogy and curriculum. It also lets teachers deepen content knowledge which will boost their confidence, build morale, and ultimately improve student outcomes.

Learn By Doing^® at Professional Learning Academies

One professional learning service with all four of the above characteristics is the Professional Learning Academies. These immersive, multi-day workshops for K-12 math and literacy educators deliver a Learning By Doing® environment. Teachers receive content development and pedagogical strategies to amplify their impact in the classroom.   

Professional learning isn’t something you do to your teachers. It’s something you do with them.  

We wouldn't have it any other way.