Personal Growth and Professional Development

Personal Growth and Professional Development A Must for Teachers (by Milagros T. Alberto  7/9/2012)

“Education is a continuous process.” This quote of a writer gives us a challenge to think and decide for ourselves what can greatly help in meeting our needs and aspirations. An ideal teacher according to NCBTS Handbook serves as the model of all the positive values associated with learning and with high regard to personal growth and professional development. This means that the best teacher responds to reform initiatives to meet new expectations and deepen their content knowledge and learn new methods of teaching. In most schools or districts, professional development is thought of almost exclusively in terms of enrolling to graduate studies, subscribing professional magazines and participation to seminars and trainings. The seminars or trainings supplemented by School Lac Sessions (SLACs) several times a year. Most teachers actually have no idea of what they are actually spending on professional development. It is in this context that the Teacher Strengths and Training Needs Assessment (TSNA) Tool was designed. The TSNA is anchored on the overarching concept of teacher professional development. It is formative as a tool that will encourage teachers in taking personal responsibility for their own growth and professional advancement. The information taken from the individual TSNA will be utilized in the formulation of the teacher’s Individual Professional Development Plan that shall also serve as input to the school- based capacity building of teachers such as mentoring, coaching, training, and LAC sessions among others. Personal and Professional development are also considering factor in rating our CB-PAST, so we can conclude that empowering teachers is now a must in our system. Since teachers are called the front-liners in education, the deliverers of knowledge and facilitators of learning in the process of developing and enriching a curriculum, we must abreast with the latest trend of teaching methodologies. Although, National trainings are limited only to a selected few we could create a School Professional Development wherein it was formed in collaboration between school heads and neighboring school to cluster with. We can also ask our fellow teachers who are computer literate as our Teacher Researcher. Technology has a lot to offer when it comes to research. Involving teachers in research can stimulate discussion, and through discussion we all grow professionally. | Share |