The Most Valuable Professional Development Tool? Our Students!

The Importance of Professional Development

Professional Development is a critical aspect of any job. Whether it be as a teacher or even as a sports coach, one must continually assess their methods to see if they are effective in generating the very best results.

The development of teachers beyond their initial training can serve a number of objectives (OECD, 1998), including:
• to update individuals’ knowledge of a subject in light of recent advances in the area;
• to update individuals’ skills, attitudes and approaches in light of the development of new teaching techniques and objectives, new circumstances and new educational research;
• to enable individuals to apply changes made to curricula or other aspects of teaching practice;
• to enable schools to develop and apply new strategies concerning the curriculum and other aspects of teaching practice;
• to exchange information and expertise among teachers and others, e.g. academics, industrialists; and • to help weaker teachers become more effective.


As educators, we are always reviewing our practices and methodology. Did an activity work well? Were students engaged? Did it produce the results you were looking for? Did the students learn anything? Even if something did work well, there is something we may consider adapting for a further lesson. This on-going reflective process enables professionals to remain professional.

One Important Factor

For me, I believe that our students are one of the most significant factors in professional development. I have just started a 'suggestion box' with my students. It is anonymous, and I encourage them to tell me what they liked and if they had an idea for something else. Maybe they really enjoyed an activity or conversely, they didn't enjoy an activity. Creating this dialogue with your students will mean that you become more effective in the classroom and they become more engaged and feel respected because you value their opinions.

I would always think of this as an experiment. We would always want to have participants that are a representative sample. Here, my sample is my students, and my results from them indicate what I should keep doing and what I should change in future lessons.