PROFESSIONAL+DEVELOPMENT

= Implement Curriculum ~ Train Educat **ors ** =

North Carolina and my school district both offer several opportunities for professional development. **North Carolina Center for the Advancement of Teaching** offers professional development activities, including residential seminars, teacher-scholar residencies, and other programs. They also offer webinars which offer the luxury of flexible scheduling for educators. District wide there are technology workshops, curriculum based meetings, PLC's, and numerous other opportunities to implement curriculum and to train other educators.

Edmodo is a web-based site that resembles FaceBook. It is geared toward education and can be used by teachers with their students or by teachers for their own professional development. Using media type="custom" key="7348645", teachers can connect with other professionals in their schools or anywhere in the world, actually. It takes professional development to the next step, the gloain otherbal connection. Membership is free and if you know how to use FaceBook, you will have no difficulty with Edmodo.

The state of Pennsylvania also sponsors media type="custom" key="7348649" which is very similar to Edmodo. It was designed specifically for teachers in Pennsylvania; you can only join from a school computer using a district email address. After a teacher joins, he or she can access the site from any computer. I am a member of both of these social networks and find that there are many, many discussion threads that provide information and insight to the teaching profession.  K. Landa

Professional Development Ideas There are many sites to peruse relating to professional development. I have included a few of my personal favorites. I receive emails alerting me to possible opportunities. C. Sanders

http://www.edutopia.org/ http://www.nsta.org/ http://www.ascd.org/

= I began my search for professional development ideas. As I was searching, I came across the following website: []. This website has a database full of professional development conferences available in several countries. On this website, you can search conferences, search by keywords, and search by location. "Educator's Professional Development is the largest online database of professional development conferences and workshops for educators and teachers from Early Learning to Grade 12". I was able to find many possible conferences that I could use for professional development. = = Mandy = = = = =

= Hunzicker, J. (2010). Characteristics of Effective Professional Development: A Checklist. Online Submission. Retrieved from ERIC database. = = = = This article summarizes current research on effective professional development and offers a checklist for school leaders to use when designing learning opportunities for teachers. Effective professional development engages teachers in learning opportunities that are supportive, job-embedded, instructionally-focused, collaborative, and ongoing. When guided by these characteristics, school leaders can design meaningful learning experiences for all teachers. = = = = Mandy = = = = =

**Tools**: -Christy Cole
 * Teacher portfolios are a “focused collection of teacher work”. These portfolios can be used for “self-reflection purposes, shared with others, and reviewed.” ([|www.tcet.unt.edu/START/profdev/port.htm])
 * Professional development management software- this is a program that records and manages educators online professional development sessions. ([|www.tcet.unt.edu/START/profdev/manage.htm]

Professional development and learning is an essential component to continuous improvement for teachers. Teacher and administration education in instruction, management, advances in curriculum, pedagogy, psychology, and academic change is fundamental in providing the best education possible. Funding for development can be burdensome, and taking the time away from the classroom for teacher enrichment also causes difficulty. There are many conferences, courses, workshops, and seminars offered throughout the world. Most schools support growth. I have found that if a proposal is made to attend a conference, that usually I can attend.

Websites for professional development:

National Staff Development Council []

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 * Professional &Leadership Development **

[] Partnership for 21st Century Skills

__ http://www.curriculum21.com/home __ Curriculum 21 Helen Adams