How to Be a Better Teacher: Professional Development Guide for Educators

Written By Kristen Rogers

How to Be a Better Teacher

Teachers are a crucial part of the education system, handling a variety of tasks to provide a better learning environment for their students. Being a teacher is much more than just presenting lessons and grading papers; teachers have a major impact on the educational development of students.

Being a good teacher means effectively teaching students the required materials and having them understand the concepts. It is also reflected in how the teacher instructs the students. Good teachers have strong communication skills and can listen to the needs of students. They are patient with their students and work to find solutions when necessary. Good teachers also engage with their students, allowing them to contribute ideas to class discussions, which can boost students' confidence. While some of these qualities are improved on or learned through experience, there are also ways to grow through professional development.

Teachers can use many types of strategies and methods to grow and provide a better learning environment. There are also many ways teachers can work on improving their soft skills, which are the types of skills that are not technical in scope, like communication and patience. Learning how to be a better teacher through professional development is important as it impacts both teacher workload and student learning experience.

Why Professional Development is Important for Teachers

Professional development helps those in the workforce to stay on track with specific skills needed for their career and up to date on new trends and technology. It allows workers to grow in their roles, providing them with the tools needed to be promoted within their line of work.

For teachers, professional development is crucial, because "Teaching in a classroom is not about checking boxes. However, the skills developed in teacher education programs help future educators know how to handle multiple aspects of teaching that are not always as clear cut as a textbook," explains Dr. John Essington of Blackburn College.

Benefits for Students

The reason why professional development is essential for teachers is that it impacts the education of all the students that they teach. Professional development can help teachers to make a difference in the overall learning environment for students. This can have a direct impact on their grades and overall academic success.

Teachers who are updated with current industry practices and trends can help provide a better learning outcome for their students. A study conducted by the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences found that elementary students' achievement was increased by 21 percentile points for those whose teachers had worked to improve their professional development.

Benefits for Teachers

Teachers also can see the benefits of professional development in their work. Understanding new methods and techniques in the classroom can help teachers make their job easier as they can find the best ways to teach their students using methods that work for their particular classroom.

Teachers also gain more insight into their industry and can have a better understanding of their line of work. Through professional development, teachers can also gain organizational skills and learn how to better manage their time in the classroom.

Working to improve professional development can also be helpful for teachers who want to specialize in certain areas. Teachers who are well versed in specific areas of education, such as special education or music education, can eventually work toward becoming specialized to teach for these purposes.

Professional Development Plan for Teachers

A professional development plan, often abbreviated as PDP, is used in the workplace for employees to track their progress toward their goals. The PDP is a document that lists the necessary skills and experience to reach certain goals and places them into a timeframe. It can be updated as the employee grows in their career and adds other achievements. It can be used by all types of careers in a variety of industries and at any job level, whether at mid-career or the very beginning of one's career.

The Importance of PDP for Teachers

The professional development plan for teachers is an important part of becoming a better teacher. It allows the teacher to set goals on where they want to be and provides a timeframe for reaching those goals. It may include one main goal, several small goals, or a combination of the two. As teachers work towards implementing new strategies in the classroom, they can evaluate which methods work and which ones don't.

For example, let's say a fourth-grade teacher wants to improve her teaching methods so that her students achieve high scores on their yearly standardized tests. The teacher would first need to assess where she is currently at in her career and what skills she has that can already be applied in the classroom. She can also note how her current skills will help her reach her professional goals and what areas may need improvement.

How to Create a PDP

Typically, the PDP is created in conjunction with a supervisor or human resources manager. While the teacher can implement a self-assessment, the manager can also create their own assessment based on the teacher's performance. This allows the teacher to see other strengths and weaknesses that haven't already been identified in the PDP.

After the assessments take place, the teacher should determine what specific goals she wants to work towards and list these within the PDP document. This should be specific; instead of simply stating that she wants her students to achieve high scores, she should provide a number or range to track this value and determine if there is progress along the way. The goals should be realistic, considering the tools at hand and the capabilities of the students.

Implementing a PDP

After creating the PDP, it's time to put it to use. In our example, the teacher can then work to try new learning strategies in the classroom. She may opt to create some overall strategies on how she plans to improve these test scores, such as assigning specific homework assignments and scheduling meetings with students who are falling behind.

She may also include some strategies she may try to implement in the classroom for students. For example, she may decide to implement a new strategy each week and see whether the students engage better by creating quizzes that can assess if they understand the topics discussed for that week. She can list each of the strategies in the PDP along the way, note the impact of each strategy on the class, and make changes as needed, depending on how well these strategies work.

As the strategies become clearer, she can gather the necessary resources to help the students achieve higher test scores. This can be as simple as creating more flashcards, which have proven to be effective in the class, or even online access to prep courses. The teacher can then begin tracking the progress of the students to see how well they are doing. She can then track this in her PDP to determine if she can reach her goal within the given timeline.

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PDP Focus Areas

A professional development plan is typically divided into several sections, each with a certain focus area. This may vary depending on the job. For teachers, this can also be set up in different ways. Generally, there will be focus areas that look at development in specific areas, like professional learning goals, technical skills development, and areas for improvement.

Professional Learning Goals

The professional development plan for teachers should include a section for professional learning goals. This is learning specifically made for the teacher instead of the students. These learning goals may be actual courses the teacher is taking or even a degree the teacher is pursuing. It might also be as simple as expanding skills in a learning management system to understand all the features it offers. Keeping up with learning goals and great teacher inservice ideas is crucial for teachers as they grow in their careers. This helps the teacher to stay up to date with trends and other standards in the industry.

Technical Skills Development

Technical skills development is another common focus that might be listed on a PDP. This includes more specific goals, such as understanding how to use social media in the classroom or learning how to create online quizzes specific to the class. Technical skills can make the teacher's job much easier.

Areas for Improvement

Areas for improvement are often listed on many types of professional development plans. This section allows the employee or the manager to identify what areas need to be worked on. Teachers can list what they believe needs to be one of their focuses as they teach and explain what actions they can take to work toward improvement.

Teaching Techniques and Methods

Depending on the needs of the classroom, the teacher may also include other more specific focus areas like active learning and collaboration techniques. Teachers may list active learning techniques on their PDP for classes that can benefit from the teacher becoming more engaged with the learning materials.

They may also include learning collaboration techniques they hope to implement in the classroom. For example, a science teacher who finds that the students engage better when they perform the experiments in groups may look for new ways to create lessons based on these group activities. This could then be listed as a goal for collaboration in the classroom, along with the strategies for doing so and the resources that would be needed.

Areas for Professional Development

There are some key areas for professional development teachers can start with as they determine what they want to work on and assess where they stand. These areas are focused on some of the qualities that make a good teacher, as mentioned. Having set standards concerning these qualities and their importance in the classroom can help teachers strive to develop skills in these areas. Some of these qualities, such as leadership and communication, are common in many types of jobs in the field of education.

Leadership

Teachers are the leaders of their class. Students look up to teachers, not only for the academic portion but for general advice and direction. Teachers need to keep a certain level of professionalism. They should be respected by students but also be approachable so students feel comfortable asking questions and communicating their needs. Leadership can be improved with practice, as well as courses that provide tips and strategies specifically for teachers.

Organization

For teachers, organization is crucial since they must manage and keep track of the work of many students. Improving organization skills by finding new methods and strategies to use in the classroom can help. Classroom management is typically a focus area within organization. There are often many projects to juggle, papers to grade, and benchmarks to meet for each student in the class. Organized teachers can work through their shifts easily and effectively, providing the class with the necessary materials in a productive manner.

Communication

Being able to teach a lesson requires clear communication that is understandable for the learners. Not only is communication important with students during class lectures and lessons but it is important with faculty members, school administrators, and parents of the students. While a teacher can essentially work to improve their communication skills with daily practice in their classroom, they should determine how they can also improve these skills when conducting parent-teacher conferences and meeting with school administrators.

Listening and Engaging

Listening requires teachers to take the time to focus their attention on the needs of the students. Improving their listening skills can impact their communication skills, and it can work in improving student engagement. Students who engage in the classroom can learn better by taking part in discussions and giving their input and ideas.

Expertise in Subject Matter

Teachers who fully comprehend the material they are teaching to their class can provide a better education experience for the students. Students often have many questions, down to the smallest details. If teachers can work towards increasing their expertise in the areas they teach, they can answer the students' questions with clear explanations, helping students better grasp the topics. While many teachers may already be specialized in their area of expertise, there is always room to grow and develop new skills in the subfields of those subjects.

Professional Goals for Teachers

Teachers should create goals to become better educators. Like many other types of goals, they are generally considered more attainable if they are SMART goals.

SMART goals are:

• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Relevant
• Time-bound

Goals should specify what the teacher wants to accomplish. They should also be measurable so that the teacher can track their progress. SMART goals are also achievable (or attainable) in that it is possible to reach the goal as intended. Goals for teachers should be relevant for classroom purposes and helpful when instructing students. In general, professional goals should be time-bound to set goals that should be met within a set timeframe.

Teachers can work towards these goals using various strategies. A few basic examples that can apply to many types of goals include:

• Taking online classes to improve skills in specific areas
• Finding a mentor who has worked towards similar goals
• Visiting other schools to observe classrooms and how they work
• Attending workshops to improve specific skills and qualities
• Researching strategies for attaining these goals

Examples of Professional Goals

Teachers can implement many types of professional goals in the classroom. Some may be more long-term than others. Some may involve student engagement to achieve these goals, while others might only focus on the teacher's skills. Examples of professional goals for teachers include:

Earning a Master's Degree

A teacher might aim to be better by obtaining a master's degree. This goal is specific, as it pertains to improving education, as well as measurable since each of the credit hours received helps track the progress of the degree. The teacher would need to ensure it is achievable given the current workload and relevant to the areas of interest.

Gaining Specific Technical Skills

Teachers can list goals that help them improve their technical skills. For example, a teacher can aim to improve their skills using a learning management system. This might be so that the class can take advantage of all the features it has to offer or for the teacher to work more efficiently to assign homework. The goals here are specific to the technology and achievable if the teacher already has some knowledge of the system. They are relevant to classroom projects and should be time-bound so that the teacher can implement the additional features within the specified timeframe.

Becoming a Better Teacher

A common goal a teacher might set is simply becoming a better teacher. While this may be vague, the teacher can be more detailed in this goal and explain exactly why they want to become a better teacher. This may be focused on one of the good qualities of a teacher, such as improving leadership or being a better communicator, or it may be more specific. For example, a teacher might opt to become a better teacher by creating more projects based on the student preferences.