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1 Professional Development Overview

Professional Development Overview

Introduction

Professional Development (PD) refers to the various types of learning opportunities that result in the personal and professional growth of an employee. PD is the process by which an employee may engage in targeted trainings,conferences, seminars, on the job training, and formal coahing to enhance their peformance and better prepare themselves for future responsibilities. A school may adopt a formal PD plan in order to train its teachers and principals to improve their knowledge and skills in regards to certain subject and content areas, provide them with the latest techniques in teaching, and improve their abilities to achieve the best results from their students. Please see below for several resources related to Professional Development, including definitions of Professional Development, research from the Professional Development Institute, and an outline for creating a Professional Development Plan. Please click here to return to the Teacher Quality Portal.

Math Teacher Professional Development

This section provides data on teachers' participation in various types of professional development. These types include integrating IT into the Mathematics classroom, improving students' critical thinking or problems solving skills, developing Mathematics pedagogy or instruction, content, and asessment. Each question requires a yes or no answer and these answers are represented on the charts in the following links. On the TIMSS questionnaire the questions were posed in this format:
"In the past two years have you participated in professional development in any of the following?"

Integrating Information Technology into Mathematics
Improving Students' Critical Thinking Skills
Mathematics Curriculum
Mathematics Pedagogy/Instruction
Mathematics Content
Mathematics Assessment

See Math Teacher Education and Quality Indicators for more information.

Additional Resources

Professional Development Institute	Since 1973, the Professional Development Institute Inc. (PDI) at the University of North Texas has provided education, information and training. By attending our programs on topics ranging from oil and gas accounting and other energy titles to financial management, private investigations, legal and assorted business skills, more than 500,000 professionals have gained tools that increase performance. We work with experts from around the world to provide results-oriented programs.
National Institute for Early Childhood Professional Development	NAEYC is the leading membership association for those working with and on behalf of young children. NAEYC convenes thought leaders, teachers and other practitioners, researchers, and other stakeholders and sets standards of excellence for programs and teachers in early childhood education. NAEYC members include teachers, paraeducators, center directors, trainers, college educators, families of young children, and the public at large. Membership is open to all individuals who share a desire to serve and act on behalf of the needs and rights of all young children.
Creating a Professional Development Plan	This guide was developed by EDUCAUSE, a nonprofit organization that advances higher education through information technology, for practitioners to develop their own PD plans to benefit their career and help them reach their professional goals.
Education Week: Professional Development Portal	This portal collects recent news, research, and commentary to assist teachers build their personal and professional skills.