Conceptual Framework
2. Deciding on the Purposes of the Professional Development
Teachers, like other professionals, need to have ongoing opportunities to deepen
their knowledge, reflect on their practice, and keep up with advances in their
field. While any group of teachers will have multiple learning needs, a single
professional development program, even a lengthy one, will likely focus only
on a subset of those needs. Deciding on the purposes of the professional development
should take place very early in the design process, after teachers' needs have
been identified, but before choices are made about professional development
strategies and materials to be used. If the purposes of the professional development
are modified during implementation, the program designers will likely need to
reconsider their selection of strategies and materials as well.
Materials in the TE-MAT database are categorized based on their purposes as
they relate to particular teacher learning needs:
While the purposes described above are particularly relevant to the professional
development of pre-service and in-service teachers, the database contains materials
that address a variety of other purposes that may also be a focus of professional
development programs. Other categories used in describing the purposes of database
materials include:
- Understanding national standards;
- Designing and implementing effective pre-service and in-service professional
development;
- Conducting/using research;
- Issues of school change and systemic reform; and
- Evaluating the quality and impact of professional development.
Continue: 2.1.
Deepening Teachers' Content Knowledge
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