Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is important for achieving the school improvement plan(SIP) targets.

 

 

All what schools plan for is to establish a learning environment which promotes excellence to improve the students’ achievement. But this is never achievable unless we understand the new generation composition. The new generation is a demanding generation. Students nowadays learn differently compared with how we learned. They are multi-task and their technological skills are advanced. They want to be the center of learning. They want to explore themselves and try to perform. They want to be leaders and make an impact in their schools.

 

 

 

Teachers need to develop new approaches to be able to coop with the new demands. Teachers want to know more and are seeking suitable opportunities all the time.   Teachers understand that the subject knowledge and the mastery of the content will not make them outstanding performers. When they graduated from universities the structure of their study program did not expose them to the new approaches that are blooming now in the educational field. For that reason, we notice that most of them are desperate to learn and improve. They travel aboard to participate in development programs with high expectations that what they will learn will be unique and important. Many studies showed that majority of teachers find a major gap between the methodology promoted in the programs and their daily life experiences. Teachers are the field fighters and they are the ones who will implement new teaching approaches and be accountable for the results. So, meeting their needs and expectations in this process should be the most important factor.

 

 

 

Nowadays, the reformation of the educational system calls for significant changes in professional development practices. Schools are seeking improvements at all levels. This is a demand that is undeniable in the educational marketplace.  The change needs efforts from within the school as well as the other agencies that have an impact on the learning environment. All parties within the school should have the same level of awareness and educational background to be able to have a paradigm shift. The reformation of the educational system needs a whole package of continuous professional development. The development of the school members, in particular teachers, needs to be continuous, coherent, systematic, relevant, and well structured.  Schools need a program that allows teachers to understand the new methodology, grasp the new practices and implement them with confidence.

 

 

 

One of the most essential components of a school provision is teachers’ professional development. Schools are investing in many areas to offer a better quality of learning but professional development is the most rewarding investment. It allows teachers to spend time with other knowledgeable educators to have peer discussions, share best practices and discuss new teaching and learning engagements and enrichment.

 

 

 

Nowadays, development programs are not called so anymore; they are called continuous professional development. Continuous professional development is an ongoing learning journey that produces changes in teachers’ instructional practices. Through preparing, supporting and providing teachers with knowledge and skills we improve the students’ achievements.

 

 

 

Continuous professional development is changing to become trading programs, round table discussions and hands-on workshops. Attendees are called participants. Every person present contributes to the program. Participants interact, talk, model, and discuss to reflect upon what is taking place before they start implementing. There is a designed follow up methodology to scaffold the participants to resolve any arising issues when applying the theory in practice. The programs are designed based on the curriculum needs, cultural values and social climate. Teachers are able to reflect, criticize, practice, ample peer support and expand their learning opportunities. Such change that we are noticing enables the participants to be fully aware of what to teach, how to teach it, why they are teaching it and what impact does it have on increasing the students’ knowledge and enhance their abilities to learn.

 

 

 

Continuous professional development program are extended beyond the venue where the program is conducted. Throughout the program, the presenter and participants blend together and interact to make the best out of the content. Participants discuss the obstacles and the expected difficulties and consult the presenter before they leave. The follow up and feedback plays a major role to help participants even after. The criteria for evaluating the success and impact is shared with the school leaders and many follow up sessions are designed after to insure continuity.