Professional Development For Teachers

Sudha Murthy recently suggested that teachers in India should take exams every three years to ensure accountability and professional growth. We’ve been saying it for years - exams shouldn’t dominate our education system for children. And now, we want to extend it to our teachers, Wow! If we center teacher evaluation around exams, will it not reduce everything to a single number? Just like with students, we might end up encouraging teachers to focus on “beating the exam system” rather than engaging in meaningful professional development. This approach misses the mark because it fails to address the true essence of teaching. A teacher’s success isn’t just about how much theoretical knowledge they can demonstrate on paper. It’s also about how they engage with their students, how they foster inquiry, how they adapt their lessons to meet individual learning needs, and how they inspire curiosity and critical thinking. None of these essential elements can be measured by a standardized exam. Once again, exams may become the end goal, instead of being one small part of a much broader, more nuanced conversation about quality education. Moreover, there’s the issue of stress and added pressure. Teachers in India already operate under challenging conditions - large class sizes, administrative workloads, and often insufficient support. Asking them to take exams every few years might increase this burden rather than alleviate it. For many, it could become more about surviving the system than about thriving as educators. I wonder what this would mean for teachers in rural or under-resourced schools, where access to professional training and preparation might be limited. Would such teachers be penalized simply because they lack the same resources as their urban counterparts? I agree our teachers lack accountability and there are deep issues but what we propose doesn't seem like a viable solution. Instead of focusing on mandatory testing, we should be asking different, more meaningful questions: How do we create a culture where teachers feel empowered to keep learning without the fear of punitive assessments? How do we give them access to high-quality, practical professional development that actually helps them in the classroom? How do we recognize and reward teachers’ diverse contributions beyond just their subject knowledge - such as their ability to foster empathy, manage classrooms effectively, or engage with parents and communities? Teaching is one of the most challenging professions - and one of the most essential. If we truly want to improve the quality of education, we need to move beyond the exam-centric mindset that has already taken such a toll on our students. Let’s not reduce teachers to just another number. Let’s rethink what real teacher growth looks like! #education #exams #teachers #schools #learning #priyankeducator

Am I wrong for thinking we are just wasting millions to billions of dollars on standardized testing in education? How can we keep justifying these outdated systems especially in a post-pandemic era?!? What's more, how can districts and board justify standardized testing when schools are still struggling to secure teachers? We can't expect to get any kind of accurate measure of a student's learning when there hasn't been a certified teacher there to guide them. Here's what doesn't work: Pouring $700+ Millions of dollars into testing corporations is not going to improve student learning. It's time to rethink how we use standardized testing funds in education. Instead of over-testing, let's invest in areas that truly benefit our students and teachers: 1️⃣ Enhanced Teacher Support: Continuous professional development, mentorship programs, and mental health support can empower our educators and improve retention. 2️⃣ Holistic Student Services: More counselors, wellness programs, and extracurricular activities can ensure students' mental, emotional, and physical well-being. 3️⃣ Innovative Learning Approaches: Personalized learning paths, project-based learning, and expanded STEAM programs can make education more engaging and relevant. By reallocating these funds, we can create a supportive and dynamic learning environment that prepares students for the future and supports teachers in their vital roles. What do you think? #TooManyTests #EducationMatters #SupportTeachers #StudentSuccess #EquityInEducation

I’ve put together 100 ideas for using GenAI in teacher education - and I’d love to share them with you. Whether you’re just starting to explore AI or you’re already experimenting with new approaches, these ideas are designed to spark practical, thoughtful, and sometimes playful uses of GenAI in teacher training. They’re not about replacing expertise - they’re about deepening professional thinking, supporting inclusive practice, and helping us prepare future teachers for an AI-enabled world. ✨ What’s inside? * Lesson planning experiments (generate, evaluate, and adapt AI-made plans) * Assessment challenges (critique model answers, refine questioning sequences) * SEND and inclusion tasks (design differentiated activities, adapt resources) * Reflective practice prompts (simulate trainee reflections, unpack emotional literacy) * Critical thinking activities (spot AI inaccuracies, uncover hidden biases) * Professional dialogue simulations (mentor feedback, parental conversations, safeguarding cases) * Curriculum and culture critiques (analyse policy writing, inclusivity, cultural assumptions) Each idea is ready to try, tweak, and discuss - whether you’re introducing AI for the first time or pushing your practice further. 🎯 How you might use it: Pick one idea that fits your course, session, or mentoring goal. Test it out - with your trainees, your mentors, your colleagues, or even in your own CPD. Reflect and discuss: What worked? What surprised you? What would you change? There’s no ‘perfect’ way - it’s about starting conversations, building confidence, and staying critical. 🤔 I’d love to hear from you: Which idea are you tempted to try first? What excites you most - or worries you most - about bringing GenAI into teacher education? 📅 And if you’d like to share how it went, we’ll be discussing ways we’re using GenAI in our next TeacherEd AI Network (TEAN) meeting on 16th May, 10-11am. Everyone is welcome - whether you’ve tried one idea, adapted it, or even completely disagreed with it! Drop your thoughts below ⬇️ - let’s learn from each other.

Do more with less. That’s the unspoken mantra in many schools. More work. More pressure. More challenges. More expectations. Less time. Less headspace. Less capacity to reflect. Less downtime outside of work. This is the reality for so many teachers right now. I was inspired to write this by Tom Rogers' post yesterday about getting the basics right in schools before asking teachers to engage with research. When you're in that space when your nervous system is permanently in survival mode, professional development doesn't feel exciting or empowering. It feels like just one more thing. Another pointless meeting. Another form to complete, another quiz to guess, or another video to skip through. As a Deputy Headteacher in charge of CPD, I learned this the hard way. I spent hours crafting whole-school strategies, building a CPD library, sharing research summaries, building development pathways, and felt disheartened when staff didn’t fully engage. But over time I realised: it wasn’t a lack of care. It was a lack of capacity. If we want CPD that makes an impact, we can’t just look at content (although it does have to be relevant). We have to look at culture. The way we use time. The expectations we set. The emotional climate we create. When teachers are exhausted, overworked and undervalued, even the best content will fall flat. And if you’re a school leader reading this, please don’t take it personally if your staff aren’t engaging. Ask yourself instead: What do my teachers really need? What's causing them the greatest workload? What's pulling them away from teaching? What would help this? And most importantly, we have to stop piling CPD on top of broken systems and expect it to fix everything. Let's be honest, research and professional development are at the bottom of most teachers' priority list.

Investments in people will not only help you to achieve your organizational goals, but it will create a culture of trust and encouragement. I was inspired by this recent blog from Laura Bernhard, PhD at California Competes about a recent initiative at San Diego Mesa College in preparing faculty for the growing demands of online instruction, and doing so by investing in the professional growth of those faculty. https://lnkd.in/gNb7SE_2 We did something similar at San Mateo County Community College District during the pandemic. Courses moved online, and there was a recognition that homegrown, project-based professional development was the key for our faculty. But what determined if someone was faculty? Tenure or tenure-track? Contingent/adjunct? Lecturer? Middle College? Dual enrollment? If you were to tease out the entirety of the group, the # of faculty reached close to 1000, more than 3x the number if we just stayed with traditional 'tenure/tenure-track' thinking. What did we do? We invested in people. We amended an existing four-week online teaching course. We aligned instructional designers and faculty support coaches to be onboarding courses every other week. We kept the faculty coaches available after the work was done. We made the course cumulative; the lessons of Week 1 were applied in practice in Week 2, and the theory of Week 2 was practiced in Week 3...so by the end of Week 4 the faculty had not only been certified in online education but had built *more than 80% of an online course* - and all of this in 25 hours! Oh yeah, and we funded it too. Learners were compensated. Support faculty were compensated. Designers were compensated. It was expensive. But by the end of the 2020 Summer, more than 85% of *ALL* instructors in the San Mateo County Community College District had successfully completed the course - tenure, adjunct, high school dual enrollment teacher, etc. By the end of the Fall, that number was above 90%. Learning is predicated by presence. The presence of the online committee and district leadership that resulted in the high-price decision to fund people not products resulted in a culture change, a recognition of the online environment and a presence in those spaces for students, for each other, and for the broader community.

💡𝐓𝐨𝐩 𝟓 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐈𝐁 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬 & 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐦✨ The shift from traditional teaching methods to an inquiry-based, student-centered approach often presents unexpected challenges. I remember being in the same position a decade ago, I assumed it would simply involve delivering lessons from a textbook. But on my very first day, I realized it was much more challenging than I had imagined. With time, after attending numerous workshops and receiving continuous support from colleagues, I gradually adapted to the IB framework and, even now, continue to learn. Based on my experience, here are the top 5 common challenges new IB teachers face and practical solutions to overcome them. 𝟏️. 𝐀𝐝𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐫𝐲-𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡- 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞: Both new teachers and those experienced in other curricula may find it challenging to shift from a content-driven to an inquiry-based teaching model. 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Participate in IB professional development workshops, observe experienced IB teachers, and practice facilitating student-led inquiries to build confidence in this approach. 𝟐. 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠- 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞: Blending different subjects into a unified learning experience can be overwhelming for newcomers and experienced educators alike. 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Use the IB unit planners as a guide, collaborate with colleagues to design interdisciplinary units, and start with small integration projects to gradually build your skills. 𝟑. 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭- 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞: Moving away from traditional exams to continuous formative assessment might be unfamiliar and Frightening. 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Begin by incorporating simple formative assessment techniques, such as student reflections and peer feedback, to track progress and adapt your teaching strategies. 𝟒. 𝐄𝐦𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐀𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲- 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞: Allowing students more control over their learning while maintaining classroom management can be difficult for both new and experienced teachers. 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Implement structured choices within lessons and gradually increase student autonomy, all while maintaining clear expectations and providing necessary support. 𝟓. 𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐁 𝐃𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠- 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞: The extensive documentation and reflective practices required in IB can be overwhelming for teachers new to this system. 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Develop a consistent documentation routine, utilize digital tools to organize your records, and seek guidance from mentors to streamline the reporting process. #IBTeacher #IB #Education #TeacherChallenges #InquiryBasedLearning #TransdisciplinaryLearning #FormativeAssessment #StudentAgency #EdChat #TeacherSupport #ProfessionalDevelopment #TeachingTips #EdTech #IBCurriculum

🤔Every time I attend educational events, I can’t help but get frustrated or even feel sad. ⁉️Professionals like myself, who’ve walked the challenging path of career growth, often find ourselves out of the education ecosystem. 🚨I don’t feel that the next generation are prepared for ever changing job market and on top of that us the professionals our insights, lessons learned, and lived experiences seem undervalued or even overlooked. This really frustrates me and it’s personal. I’ve faced struggles throughout my career that might have been mitigated with better integration between real-world expertise and educational frameworks. Unfortunately, I see similar struggles continuing for others, and it is disheartening. But it doesn’t have to be this way. I’ve been fortunate recently to collaborate with forward-thinking organisations focused on bridging the gap between education and the realities of work, careers, and the future. This experience has reinforced my belief that ✨collaboration is key ✅Integrating Professionals We need to bring industry experts into classrooms—not just for guest lectures, but for active involvement in curriculum design and mentorship. ✅Practical Experience & Soft Skills: Institutions should collaborate more deeply with industries to offer hands-on experience, case studies, and soft skills training that align with current market demands. ✅Open Forums & Policy Influence: Creating open platforms for dialogue between professionals, educators, and policymakers can help align educational programs with workforce realities and emerging trends. ✨I share these thoughts not to criticize but to shed the light on what needs attention. Change is possible when professionals, educators, and institutions come together to build inclusive, future-ready education systems that reflect the demands of the modern workforce. ⁉️How can we foster collaboration, break barriers, and create education systems that truly prepare the next generation for the future of work? Let’s keep pushing for change—together. #EducationReform #futureofeducation #FutureOfWork #Collaboration #BreakingBarriers #CareerGrowth

Steps to follow by a trainer to handle diverse audience 1. Know Your Audience Gather detailed information about your participants’ backgrounds, cultures, learning preferences, and expectations before the session. This can be done via pre-session surveys, questionnaires, or informal discussions. Understanding their needs helps tailor the content and delivery style appropriately. 2. Adapt Your Content and Methods Customize your training materials to be relevant and relatable to the diverse group. Use examples, case studies, and scenarios that reflect the participants’ varied experiences and cultural contexts. Incorporate multiple teaching methods such as lectures, interactive activities, group discussions, and multimedia to cater to different learning styles (visual, auditory, kinesthetic) Provide materials in various formats (written, visual, audio) to enhance accessibility and comprehension. 3. Set a Tone of Inclusivity Begin the session by establishing an environment of respect, openness, and mutual learning.Use icebreakers that encourage participants to share about their cultural or personal backgrounds, fostering a sense of belonging and appreciation for diversity. 4. Communicate Clearly and Inclusively Use simple, clear language and avoid idiomatic expressions that might confuse non-native speakers. Be mindful of your tone and word choices to avoid unconscious bias or alienation. Use body language, voice inflections, and visual aids to reinforce understanding and inclusion. 5. Build Concrete, Actionable Skills Focus on developing practical pro-diversity skills such as advocacy, inclusive language, allyship, and self-reflection on unconscious biases. Encourage participants to set personal diversity-related goals to foster commitment and behavioral change. 6. Engage Your Audience Actively Incorporate interactive elements like Q&A sessions, group exercises, and discussions that allow participants to share their perspectives and learn from each other. Listen actively and respond to participant feedback to show that their voices are valued. 7. Evaluate and Reflect Assess the effectiveness of your training through feedback and evaluations. Reflect on what worked well and what could be improved for future sessions to better meet the needs of diverse learners. By following these steps, trainers can create a learning environment that respects and leverages diversity, making the training more effective and impactful for all participants.

Embracing Growth Mindset - A Key to Unlocking School Potential During my time as a school principal, one concept stood out for its profound ability to transform schools - the Growth Mindset. It's the belief that abilities can be developed through dedication and hard work. And as school leaders, fostering this mindset is not just beneficial; it's essential. Why Growth Mindset? Research by Carol Dweck and others has illuminated that students who embrace growth mindsets are more likely to persevere in the face of challenges, show resilience in the face of failures, and ultimately achieve higher levels of success. But its power isn't limited to students; it's equally transformative for teachers and staff. Implementing a growth mindset begins with ourselves. As leaders, we must model the attitude we wish to instil in our educators and students. Here’s a simple yet powerful strategy to start: ·      Reflective practice - encourage your staff to adopt reflective practices. After a lesson or a day at school, ask them to reflect on what worked, what didn’t, and how they can improve. Emphasis should be on progress, not perfection. ·      Praise effort, not just achievement - shift the focus from praising innate talent to acknowledging effort, strategy, and progress. This reinforces the value of persistence and encourages a learning-oriented environment. ·      Professional Development Workshops - organise workshops that focus on growth mindset development for educators. This could include problem-solving scenarios, collaborative discussions, and sharing personal stories of growth and resilience. By integrating these practices, you can foster an environment where challenges are embraced, effort is celebrated, and continuous learning is the norm, not the exception. Remember, the goal isn't to eliminate setbacks but to build a community that sees them as natural steps in the learning process. As we nurture growth mindsets, we don't just teach; we inspire. We don't just educate; we empower. Let's make our schools not just places of learning but workshops of possibility. #EducationalGrowth #SchoolCulture #LeadershipDevelopment #TeacherPD #StudentEngagement #ContinuousImprovement #principals #aspiringprincipals https://lnkd.in/dt-VGHbV

Educators are taught Bloom’s Taxonomy and Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs but often forget that without one, they cannot truly have the other. Students, even the youngest ones, are sent to us to learn every day, but when their basic needs aren’t met, learning can be almost impossible. If there was one thing I would love every teacher and parent to understand, it would be this- we must Maslow before we can Bloom. Maslow taught us that the following needs must be met in order for children to learn: Physiological (water, food, shelter, sleep and clothing), Safety (personal security, resources, health, property), Love & Belonging (friendship, intimacy, family, sense of connection), Esteem (respect, self-esteem, status, recognition, strength, freedom) and Self-actualization (desire to become the most one can be). If a child comes to us hungry, tired, sad, alone, feeling disconnected or unsafe, how can they possibly be ready to learn? As teachers, we must ensure that our students have their basic needs met when they are with us. We must meet their basic social emotional needs whether it be with a hug, kind word or a little extra patience so they can be relaxed and ready to learn. This task can seem impossible at times, especially when you have a full class of little people with big emotions that can manifest as behaviors, outbursts and other challenges, but it is possible. If we take the time to get to know our students, show them we care and become a reliable source of comfort for them, we can help them meet their needs and BLOOM as learners!