Professional Development for All Teachers
Posted by Judy on 21 Dec 2009 | Tagged as: Uncategorized
Professional Development for All
In mid November I attended the North Carolina Science Teachers Association (NCSTA) Professional Development Conference in Greensboro, NC along with six of my pre-service teachers. Professional Development is important for professional growth to all teachers regardless of their experience. I am a teacher with over 20 years of teaching experience and every time I attend a conference I hope to gather some new idea to implement in my classroom or a new theory to explore. New teachers perhaps have so many ideas it is hard to sort through and decide which ideas to use first in their classroom.
It is important to sort through the large mound of information you gather at a professional development conference within a few weeks of attending the event. You can recycle any papers you will not use or pass them on to a colleague. Try to implement something you learned within one month of attending the conference. At a team or grade level meeting share something you learned. You know the old saying, “if you don’t use it you loose it.” I believe that applies here as well.
I had a great principal who taught me how to attend a conference. He showed me how to use the lengthy program offerings and choose a first, second, and third choice for each session. It was most beneficial. I taught my students how to divide and conquer. We would meet after the sessions and share what we attended. This may have been the most important part of the conference. It was interesting to hear what they brought away from each session. The pre-service teachers really enjoyed the freebies offered by the concessionaires at the conference. In fact I even brought home a few ideas for the students who did not attend and my teaching colleagues at the college. Whether you are a first year teacher or have been at it for a while I strongly suggest you attend a professional development conference to refresh and renew your ideas for the classroom.


