Professional Development: A Key to Lifelong Learning
by Gary R. Little, associate superintendent, Vancouver School District, Vancouver, British Columbia

"Successful teachers are thoughtful teachers," writes Carl Glickman1, renowned educator and author on education leadership.

How does one become a thoughtful teacher?  Equally importantly, how does one sustain an orientation of reflection and improvement?   The key is professional development.

Professional development is both formal and informal.  We are all familiar with the formal side of professional development:  workshops, training programs, staff development sessions and conferences.  What about the informal side of professional development?  How often do we as educators spend time in casual conversation with colleagues regarding a new approach to teaching and learning, the latest research on autistic learners, integrating technology into our classrooms, constructing lessons with the assessment/evaluation end already in mind or getting specific feedback regarding a specific element of our own professional practice?   For years, the answer sadly has been "not enough."  However, this is starting to change in an accelerating and profound way.

Today, educators realize that professional development is deeply intertwined with creating a strong and vibrant professional learning community.  Teachers, administrators and support staff must ask themselves, how might I do things more effectively in order to support student learning?  How do we collectively support one another towards the same end?

To foster an environment of professional reflection and growth, it is critical to identify the elements of effective and lifelong professional development. How do we ensure that everyone in our profession benefits? 

1. An effective professional development approach must meet the needs of the educator.  In order for this to happen, though, the educator must take the time to get accurate feedback, not only from colleagues and parents but also from the students themselves 2.
2. Professional development must be welcomed by the educator; it cannot be viewed as an irrelevant and irritating add-on to an already full plate. Therefore, it must be of high quality and deliver what it promises. 
3. Professional development must be transferable.  It is remarkable how often ideas, attitudes and strategies crackle in the workshop setting but lose much of their pop in the classroom. 
4. Productive professional development must "loop back" so that participants can discuss their successes and failures with one another in a non-threatening setting.  By doing so, they will be able to fine-tune their classroom approaches. 
5. Successful professional development must be valued by the district, the school administration and the parent community.  Professional days that are well done have great benefit for children.  They must be properly funded by the district and supported by the school's administrative team, which requires active participation as well as verbal support. Parents must understand the professional development benefit as well, and not just view these days as an annoyance regarding day-care arrangements or another "day off."

Our district, the Vancouver School Board, has gone so far as to integrate professional development into the contract structure that governs the contract renewals of school-based administrators.  This model requires that principals and vice-principals reflect on the various aspects of their work, develop a plan of professional growth that is succinct, reflective and relevant, and build their professional improvements on this model. 

My colleagues and I have been fortunate enough to make professional development a core part of who we are and what we do. We enjoy the support of those with whom we work and are part of a district that values the worth of professional development, even in the context of shrinking budgets and increased demands.

Bottom line, professional development is second only to the magic of learning in sustaining us and allowing us to find both meaning and fulfillment in the profession that we have chosen.   

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1 Glickman, C. "Developing Teacher Thought."  Journal of Staff Development. 7 (1) (1986): 99-113.
2 Reeves, D. Accountability for Learning. Alexandria:  ASCD, 2004.

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