Effective and competent academic professionals are the most important resources of academic institutions. Thereby, the continuous development of these professionals of is enormously important in the vitality of the industry and the betterment of the posterity. The dynamics of professional development now centers the ideology that academic professionals are instrumental in advocating, facilitating and renewing affirmative and constructive changes for the academic industry. In an environment where lifelong learning is a commonplace, professional development was perceived to be the panacea. The development of professional knowledge and abilities is an integral component of professional development.
One amongst the educator-centered association that aids collaboration as an instrument in upholding professional knowledge and abilities is the Association of American Educators (AAE), the largest national, non-union professional teacher association in the United States. Three of the benefits of this association are free or low-cost in-service training workshops, subscription to ‘Education Matters’ and an opportunity to have opinions to be heard. Members of AAE are invited to attend workshops that are held across the country. Not only will the teacher-members learn about the changes in the academic sphere but also the political, social and economical rationales behind these changes.
Signifying the development of intellectual, affective and psychomotor domains of an individual, professional development enables teachers to expand and fulfill their personal and professional potential as well as meeting the present and future demands of the job and the workplace – formally and or unplanned and unstructured. As a process of acquiring knowledge, experience and skills, professional development assures teachers to meet the required expertise and competencies that relate to the evolving professional practice (Gaff, Festa and Gaff, 2006). Through workshops and other trainings provided, teachers will be able to increase awareness of the role. Specifically, teachers will be able to determine how their knowledge, skills and attitudes and competencies could be furthered. Teachers are then enabled to build greater confidence and accountability among personal career goals and objectives. Gapanovich-Kajdalova (2009) noted that the existence of a steady motivation to educate oneself further implicates professional readiness. This can be done through mastering new kinds of activity overtime.
Perceived to be effective role models, teachers must, and are expected to, be committed in lifelong learning. Teacher development is the key to enhance the quality of teaching and learning whereby classroom practices and student learning outcomes are directly influenced. Teacher learning, or the objective general process, then is crucial in order to respond to changes that are occurring in the world around them. As such, for the continuing professional development of teachers to flourish, professional knowledge must be updated and professional competence must be improved. Teachers’ professional development focuses on developing process, leadership and tasks skills. Process and leadership skills contend with effectiveness, functioning and systems thinking whereas task skills are those that are required on the accomplishment of a specific undertaking.
Further, subscription to ‘Education Matters’ will keep the teachers informed on key issues on education affecting their professional lives. AAE offers a competent perspective that aims at making teachers think, decide and act. Impacting the professional development of each teachers involve, individual contributions should be equally valued despite the fact that it can vary greatly. The evidences of miscommunication and frustration will be apparent if the collaborating teachers lack goal sharing. Aside from recognizing that inputs are integral to the collaborative effort, the activities and processes toward proactive teacher development must be built on sound goals. Shred responsibility for key decisions and shared accountability for outcomes would be pivotal for this endeavor. According to Friend and Cook (1992), each teacher is equal in making fundamental decisions as an effort to reinforce the sense of parity that exists among them. Teachers should be also held accountable for the results of these decisions either positive or negative.
Collaboration is very important on the design of professional development but unless the school community recognizes the value of collaboration because it impacts student learning, the creation of such culture would only be rhetoric. Professional learning communities consist of participants that interact on the basis of professional matter such as pedagogy, content and assessment. As such professional communities are communities that build mutual trust and respect and culture of sharing. Since collaborative skills are used in overcoming fragmented individualism in the teachers’ pool, collaborative culture recognizes that conflicts are part of the process (as cited in NPEAT, n.d. p. 11). Since collaboration cultivates a harmonious relationship within the national academic system, AAE provides teachers the opportunity to express their ideas, priorities and perspectives which are then supplied to the national media, educational policy makers and the US Congress. In this way, teachers could achieve personal empowerment resulting to greater productivity and proficiency. Career-wise, collaboration could promote self-actualization value and foster individuality.
References
Friend, M., & Cook, L. (1992). Interactions: Collaboration skills for school professionals. White Plains, NY: Longman
Gaff, S. S., Festa, C. and Gaff, J. G. (2006). Professional Development: A Guide to Resources. Transaction Publishers.
Gapanovich-Kajdalova, E. V. (2009). Teachers’ Motivation for Receiving Second Education (Psychology). Problems of Education in the 21st Century, 13: 161-169.
National Partnership for Excellence and Accountability in Teaching (NPEAT). (n.d.). What learner-centered professional development looks like – Revisioning Professional Development. Report.
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