Meaning of Professional development
Professional development refers to skills and knowledge attained for both personal development and career advancement.
Professional development encompasses all types of facilitated learning
opportunities, ranging from college degrees to formal coursework,
conferences and informal learning opportunities situated in practice.
Approaches to professional development and Role of ICT
There are a variety of approaches to professional
development, including consultation, coaching, and communities of
practice, lesson study, mentoring, reflective supervision and technical
assistance.
- Case Study Method - The case method is a teaching approach that consists in presenting the students with a case, putting them in the role of a decision maker facing a problem Here engagement process is implemented through viewing texts and simple graphics, and audio visual means and research process can be accomplished by searching and accessing the materials.
- Consultation - to assist an individual or group of individuals to clarify and address immediate concerns by following a systematic problem-solving process. Networked computing facilities create a distributed environment where learners can share work spaces, communicate with each other
- Coaching - to enhance a person’s competencies in a specific skill area by providing a process of observation, reflection, and action. ICT coaches play Role in the development of knowledge through networking, both virtually and face-to-face in your workplace and at less cost.
- Communities of Practice - to improve professional practice by engaging in shared inquiry and learning with people who have a common goal. Networked computing facilities create a distributed environment where learners can share work spaces, communicate with each other
- Lesson Study
- to solve practical dilemmas related to intervention or
instruction through participation with other professionals in
systematically examining practice through LiveJournals,
Web Group, Media-sharing services, Blogs, wikis,etc - Mentoring - to promote an individual’s awareness and refinement of his or her own professional development by providing and recommending structured opportunities for reflection and observation.
- Reflective Supervision - to support, develop, and ultimately evaluate the performance of employees through a process of inquiry that encourages their understanding and articulation of the rationale for their own practices.
- Technical Assistance - to assist individuals and their organization to improve by offering resources and information, supporting networking and change efforts.
Key Principles for Teachers professional development programmes
The following are key principles to be followed in the professional development programmes for teachers:
- Educational goals should be primary. The focus should not be on providing technical ICT skills only, but on the use of ICT to achieve learning outcomes.
- Teacher development programmes should provide teachers with situated/contextualised learning experiences. Programmes should be subject-specific and relevant to the learning areas.
- Teacher development programmes should be needs driven. Programmes should respond to the requirements of subjects such as Computer Application Technology, Information Technology, Geography, Design and Accounting.
- Ongoing support should be consistently available. This includes pedagogic support (particularly from subject advisers), technical support and creating communities of practice.
- Teacher development should be ongoing, due to the changing nature of ICT. Programmes should reflect new technologies and applications.
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