We may have often heard that in learning, there are no full stops but only commas. Henry Ford said- “Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.” We all do understand that learning is a cycle without an end. Walking along these lines of thought every individual, especially school leaders and teachers, dealing with teaching and learning need to commit themselves to lifelong learning. It is so pertinent for them to embrace diversity with differentiated pedagogical practices and get into the continuous learning programmes. Leadership and Learning are indispensable to each other.
Prudence School as one of the number one schools in Delhi; the focus is on the professional development of school leaders and teachers. It has become a key part of its educational reform. Implementing the advancement of professional education has advantages for both teachers and students, but, more so, it helps teachers become better educators and grow into qualified future school administrators.
To help the teaching community be well equipped, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has also been conducting free online training sessions. Teachers and school leaders in number 1 school in Delhi would be updating their competencies and getting better prepared to face all different situations in imparting knowledge, especially during this ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Continuous Professional Development (CPD) is the term used to describe the learning activities educators engage in, to develop and enhance their abilities and become conscious and proactive, rather than passive and reactive. The Board has informed as per the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, teachers and principals should participate in at least 50 hours of the CPD programme every year.
Very often, it is what we know already, often prevents us from learning. Hence one must keep oneself aware of this impediment and consciously keep oneself abreast of the change and be on the ongoing learning process. Professional development basically helps us understand how to do our work better. They help us be well guided to give our students the best learning results and also to be more effective and fulfilled.
Studies seem to have shown that students taught by the teachers who have better professional training had higher scores in all subjects as compared to the students of the teachers without sound knowledge of the new teaching strategies.
In the past, different students were taught in similar ways but today teachers need a rich repertoire of different teaching strategies, the ability to combine approaches, and the knowledge of how and when to use appropriate methods and strategies for different types of learners. By discovering new teaching strategies through continuous professional development, educators can go back to the classroom and make changes to their teaching styles and curricula to better attend to their students‘ changing needs. By introducing educators to new delivery techniques, assessment styles, and record-keeping approaches, these training programmes make them more effective in their presentations and course assessments.
Any number one school in Delhi would understand that teachers and school leaders need to make the most of a training programme available online. That it is very important to discuss with the concerned heads regarding reasons for attending, what one hopes to get out of it; have a debriefing session post-conference, discuss what one has learnt at the training session and how one might immediately apply it. It may seem hard to extract time to devote to courses and seminars, but the extra time is worth it, to become the best teacher one can be.
Much of the teachers’ time is spent on paperwork in addition to the hours spent in classroom preparation. Professional development for teachers can help teachers to plan their time better and stay organized. This makes teachers more efficient and gives them extra time to focus not on paperwork but on students.
In today’s world of enriching power of communication, collaborative flows are increasing. Today, where every keen learner can access content on search engines, teachers and school leaders definitely need to attend the continuous professional development programmes and remain updated and well equipped with the new-age skills.