5 Resources For Professional Development For Teachers

Teachers constantly encourage their students to grow and change. It is also important for teachers to learn new things and develop the skills needed to lead and grow professionally. Teachers must continuously be creative and exciting in the fast-paced world of today. Every established system is going through a revolution, with many visible changes.

Here revolution emphasises practical skills and expertise more than general knowledge. As a result, professional development has become the need of the hour, and implementing these changes in the classroom is essential.

Five resources for teachers’ professional development are included in this article. These tools will encourage teachers to learn, experiment with new teaching methods, and be the change they want to see in the educational system.

1. Parallax Inc. – Professional Development and Robotics for education Parallax Inc is well known in the world of robotics for education. It offers both online and offline programs which aim at teachers’ development. Undoubtedly, robotics provides students interdisciplinary abilities like problem-solving, algorithm thinking, and many others. The parallax team understands the importance of nurturing kids with the necessary skills to lead and succeed in the 21st century.
2. TUFTS University: Engineering Education and Professional Development for TeachersThe university offers several professional programmes for teachers and graduates, equipping them with multiple tools they can execute in the classrooms. It is a private university situated in Medford, Massachusetts.Regarding engineering education, the Center for Engineering Education and Outreach (CEEO) does not stop innovating through its alliance with LEGO education. Implementing these tools into their programs has allowed them to develop a highly valuable curriculum.Meredith Portmore from this university is a professional who can inspire people within the fields of professional development for teachers.
3. Edutopia: From Star Wars to EducationEdutopia is a well-known voice in exhibiting what works in education. This organisation is part of the George Lucas foundation, which is working on educating people on how to continue learning in this evolving environment and adopt the best practices and innovation.They regularly host events and create materials so they can offer various courses to teachers in emotional and social learning, implementing project-based learning, integrated studies, comprehensive assessment and technology integration.
4. ASCD: More than 70 years of helping teachersThe Association of supervision and curriculum development (ASCD) was founded in 1943. The ASCD delivers innovative and expert ideas in capacity and skill building, teachers’ professional development, and educational leadership courses. ASCD is the world leader in offering innovative products and services that help teachers assist each learner’s success.ASCD has over 115,000 members, including principals, teachers, superintendents and advocates from more than 128 countries. ASCD has become a synonym for teachers’ professional and educational development. It is evident that in today’s era, teachers are required to update themselves to educate the learners, and for that purpose, it is mandatory to receive training in new skills and subjects.
5. Coderz and Intelitek: STEM, Cyber and Professional Development for TeachersCoderz is like the newborn baby of Intelitek, and the parent company believes that the coderz is growing very fast. Intelitek has been in professional development for educators and teachers for the past 30 years.Intelitek has been organising Professional development events for educators online in the New England and Houston areas since the beginning of Coderz and even before the announcement of full compatibility with the LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3. Some of the courses offered are on topics such as Robotics for education and Education 4.0, which help educators get exciting new skills and tips for their classrooms. Each course provided passes through the Formative Assessment.

Conclusion

A teacher educates the students. But, with the constantly changing needs of the students, they also need support to adapt to the changes and implement them in the classroom. Therefore, various platforms offer several professional development courses to acquire new skills.

Several types of research have shown that in the students’ achievements, a key role is played by the teachers, which culminates the importance of professional development courses for teachers.