How can teacher development programs help teachers create engaging classrooms?

Yes, practical! The programs should be creative in allowing teachers to practice with students. Often times educators are learning new strategies in theory and then perform the practices with their colleagues; it works with them because they are cooperative. Teachers have a difficult time transferring it to the students. Additionally, “one and done” professional learning sessions to learn new practices can create gaps in the implementation. We have to think about transitional development that allows teachers to experience these practices over a short time period.

The key word in all of this is “practical”. Strategies should come from experienced educators who have used and modified them in a classroom setting.

It is important that as teachers we keep up with the latest educational skills and trends. Engaging in teacher development programs connect us with more experience leaders with proven strategies that could help teachers learn how best to activate and strategically apply the required skills for maximum results

Student engagement through multiple delivery styles ( e.g., visual, auditory, kinesthetic, etc.) to access student learning strengths and preferences, even though some teachers will prefer what is most “comfortable” for them.

A formação de professores deveria sempre envolver a aplicação do seu conhecimento na prática de sala de aula e também oportunidades para refletir sobre esta prática. Este conhecimento inclui estratégias de ensino mas não apenas estratégias. É muito comum o interesse nas estratégias de ensino sem dar atenção devida ao objetivo de aprendizagem e seus critérios de sucesso, além do planejamento focado no resultado da aprendizagem. É fundamental que professores desenvolvam uma "caixa de ferramentas" para ensinar, que inclui inúmeras estratégias. Mas também é fundamental que professores saibam utilizar as estratégias com muita intencionalidade e sejam capazes de avaliar o impacto de uma estratégia na aprendizagem dos seus estudantes.

Offering observations to assist in affirming what works and suggesting alternatives to what has not is collegial. The teacher and observer should discuss what is planned in the classroom beforehand. At the post-observation conference, the teacher should speak first about what worked, followed by the observer’s comments. Then the teacher should pinpoint what might have been done differently or what did not work. The observer then offers his/her perspective. Finally, joint decisions should be made on the two or three areas most in need of improvement.

Feedback and coaching is where teacher development programs fall short. There simply is not enough of either happening. As is typical, one teacher mentors a student teacher. That student teacher should be exposed to more mentors to gain more perspective.

Feedback para professores e coaching centrado na aprendizagem dos estudantes é uma abordagem com enorme impacto no sucesso do ensino. O coaching de professores não é uma prática muito difundida no Brasil, mas já é mais conhecido nos EUA. Já o feedback necessita de gestores que saibam observar uma sala de aula com foco, de preferência um foco negociado com o(a) professor, e que saiba oferecer um feedback específico e útil. Para isso, gestores precisam ter clareza, foco, coerência e persistência nos objetivos de desenvolvimento da instituição.

Es muy valioso instalar una cultura de retroalimentación entre pares o bien hacia el docente. Las rúbricas o las encuestas periódicas con una tabulación de resultados pueden ser instrumentos para considerar en esta práctica. Cuando se instala esta cultura y se toman con seriedad los resultados, son muy potentes para la mejora y el crecimiento personal.

Collaboration and networking among a cohort of prospective teachers can work IF those leading the cohort have bought into it. Too many times the prospective teachers I went through university with sat in classrooms to only listen to the professor. Much more would have been gained by listening to the cohort members’ experiences.

A nosotros nos ha resultado una gran oportunidad crear comunidades de aprendizaje entre docentes, en las que pudieran compartir buenas prácticas, observar sus clases entre pares y generar un espacio de intercambio y retroalimentación posterior. Estas prácticas eran presenciales pero también se pueden generar documentos colaborativos en línea a través de los cuales se compartan experiencias o se creen nuevas prácticas con el aporte profesional de los participantes.

Engaging in Continuous Teacher development program should never leave a teacher the same. It gets you to reflect on your strategies so far and keep on doing it as time goes on. There is always a new perspective that questions your prior actions, activates a mind shift ,stir up a better version of you, your skills and strategies and inturn produces great results.

Embracing teacher development programs has been transformative in my journey. Through reflection and inquiry, I've cultivated a habit of maintaining a reflective journal, providing me with a deeper understanding of my teaching practices. This introspective process has allowed me to scrutinize my beliefs and goals, contributing to my growth as an educator.

I remember how enthusiastic I was to put theory into practice immediately following professional learning experiences. What helped was a supportive administration and flexible co-teachers who recognized the value of trying new ways to engage students in the classroom. Without that supportive environment, it would have been more difficult to consider how I could improve my practice with new strategies and techniques. We often discuss the need for students to feel safe and supported. The same tenets hold for educators. If teachers fear repercussions from “failing,” they may be less likely to take calculated risks with their professional learning, leading to fewer opportunities to try new techniques that may really benefit their students.

A good way to get motivated to upskill is to engage in Teacher development programs. The exposure to proven skills and strategies, Networking and collaboration would easily prompt teachers who want to upskill professionally and personally.

Allowing the new teacher or perspective teacher to visit engaging rooms. Give them opportunities to learn procedures to put in place to help them manage the room allowing for engaging lessons.

In order to teach well, teachers must come into the classroom with their “batteries” well charged. This means getting their own needs first in order to be motivated to tackle the challenge of successful instruction. Next, they need to understand different student learning styles and distress patterns in order to engage students. Well crafted delivery may not always result in student learning. Motivated students (those whose personal needs are met) are better learners, even if the instructional delivery style is not their preferred one. They are able to “shift”. Assessment of student learning should be more than the ability to meet teacher expectations. It should be grounded in a broader accepted standard.

Interested before interesting. Teacher prep programs need to teach more strategies for knowing your students. Not just learners but as humans. Classroom management that maintains and fosters connection, not compliance. Until teachers are taught how to be interested in the humans in the room, those humans won’t find curriculum or instructional strategies as interesting as they could. Interested before interesting.

Considering that we’re in this highly advanced technologicial era, I think it should be a priority for teacher development programs (especially those in colleges/universities) to integrate courses within their curriculum that teach pre-service teachers how to integrate AI, online learning apps and other types of educational learning software into their daily practice. Whether schools want to acknowledge it or not, social media isn’t going anywhere and so it is to the benefit of teachers to utilize it as a tool to increase student engagement in the classroom. Apps such as TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube provide potential opportunities for students to engage in collaborative learning with each other.