School Professional Development
Teachers effectiveness is measured by how teachers strive to connect with their learners in the learning environment and how they connect with themselves for professional development. In any learning culture, teachers are key if success is to be realized. Without a team of motivated, dedicated, committed and professionally developed teachers, learners cannot realize their dream goals. Likewise, such a learning centre can never achieve its mission and vision that is at the centre of every learning centre.
As a way to improving learners’ performance in the school, school heads have embarked on engaging their teachers on professional development programs. These professional development programs are meant to train teachers on leadership skills that teachers need to connect with their learners and ensure meaningful learning (Spero, 2016). In these professional development programs, collaborative teamwork is encouraged, along with learners being allowed to share their opinions on matters that concern their academic performance. In my school, we have employed the Artisan teaching model as a professional development program to enable us to connect with teachers and learners for active learning.
The Program and How It Ensures Teachers Development and Achievement of School Vision and Mission
The artisan teaching model is a development program that integrates the concept of teamwork and artisan apprentice connections. The model seeks to ensure collaborative teamwork among the teachers where new members of the staff work together with the veteran teachers to gain more knowledge and skills on instruction delivery in the classroom setting. The school uses the Artisan professional model with the belief that great teachers can be made through continuous learning and development, and team working can deliver results (Baum & Krulwich, 2017). The school mission is to soar above limits. This, however, can only be achieved with a team of talented and dedicated teachers who knows what is expected by them, as well as a team of motivated learners. Through this model, teachers get to share and work collaboratively to advance their knowledge of effective teaching practices that would increase their productivity in class, resulting in better grades among learners. This will, in turn, help the school realize its dream goals of soaring above limits.
Principal’s Role in The Development of the Program
By utilizing this model, the role of the principle is to oversee the training development sessions for teachers. The principal assembles all the resources that may be needed for the success of the program by way of financial support. The principle also engages with learners through interviews to evaluate the success of the program and appeal for changes if necessary.
Teachers’ Role in The Development of the Program
The model places teachers and students at the centre. Teachers are expected to collaboratively work together among themselves by sharing practical ways they can employ in classroom teaching to engage with learners. The model is geared towards transforming teachers’ mindsets as it relates to impactful leadership; hence, it aims at transforming teachers’ effectiveness in teaching, which will translate into better school performance.
Alignment to School’s Improvement Continuous Plan
The school has employed testing learners to observe how they interact with learning materials and recognize areas they trip up and adjusting them. This program aligns with this approach because it is result-oriented. After three months, an evaluation would be carried out to determine its effectiveness.
Emphasis On Best Practices
The program stresses on best practices in instruction delivery. This, it does by engaging g teachers in small conferences and meetings. In these conferences and meetings, teachers get to be trained in effective ways of instruction delivery. Also, they get to share with new teachers on how successful these strategies have been and the best way to implement them. This, in turn, ensures effective teaching in the classroom. It also focuses on what teachers need in professional development (Matherson & Windle, 2017). Hence, bridging the gap between teachers need in delivering in the classroom and what learners really need for success would ensure a better performance.
Evaluating The Program
Since the program places both learners and teachers at the centre, it is easy to evaluate its success by looking at learners’ performance. The program focuses on teachers engaging learners in the classroom settings to find ways of making every one of them successful. Hence, through learners’ performance, it would be easy to evaluate how effective the program is and whether or not it should be recommended for future use.
References
Baum, K., & Krulwich, D. (2017). A New Approach to PD–and Growing Leaders. Educational Leadership, 74(8), 62-66.
Matherson, L., & Windle, T. M. (2017). What do teachers want from their professional development? Four emerging themes. Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin, 83(3), 28.
Spero, K. (2016). Engaging principals in professional development. Principal Leadership, 42-45.