Career goals vs PD goals for teachers
Teachers’ career aspirations versus professional development aspirations
As an educator, it’s critical to be constantly on the lookout for new opportunities to improve your abilities and expand your knowledge. To make the progress you desire in your professional life, it is important to set career objectives. The distinction between pursuing career growth and pursuing professional development is critical to understand, as there are several important differences between the two.
Navigating professional development hours
The primary distinction between the two is the goal you are attempting to achieve. While career advancement entails moving up to a more senior position, career development refers to the development of one’s abilities and skills. Aside from that, professional development is qualitative, whereas professional growth is quantitative. Employees who want to advance in their careers set specific, measurable objectives to achieve success. Professional development, on the other hand, requires employees to expand their skill set to become experts in their respective fields of expertise.
Keeping track of professional development hours is difficult.
It’s important to keep a few things in mind when working toward your professional development goals. One of the most important aspects of professional development is the acquisition of new competencies. Before you begin the process of career development, take the time to reflect on your primary objectives and the strategies you intend to use to accomplish them. This will aid in the establishment of a solid foundation for long-term professional success.
As you look for opportunities to earn professional development hours, keep in mind that there are a variety of options for earning these hours. The possibilities include enrolling in a course or taking a class, as well as attending a conference and attending a workshop. Keep your options open, and don’t be afraid to experiment with different approaches until you find what works best for you and your situation.
Setting SMART Goals
The development of SMART goals is another useful strategy that can assist you in your professional development efforts. SMART goals are goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely.
- Specific
- Measurable
- Attainable
- Relevant
- Time-bound
When it comes to setting clear goals that you can achieve, specificity is essential. Following the completion of this exercise, you will be better prepared to pursue your objectives in your professional life. It’s also critical to make certain that your objectives are measurable. This means that you should define the physical manifestations of your goal for it to become more concrete and tangible.
To determine whether a goal is worthwhile pursuing, consider whether it is both attainable and relevant to your life. The only goal toward which you should strive should be consistent with your values, principles, and morals. This will increase your likelihood of sticking with your goal and eventually achieving it in the future.
Degree? Conference? Course?
To achieve proper professional development, you can choose from a variety of different routes. If you’re having trouble deciding between pursuing a continuing professional degree in education, attending a conference, and enrolling in a course, here are the main advantages and disadvantages of each option. Continuing Professional Degree in Education
Pursuing a degree
The decision to pursue a continuous professional degree in education comes with several advantages and disadvantages that should be taken into consideration. One of the most significant advantages of taking this route is that you can keep up with other teachers in your field. Even though not everyone progresses at the same rate in education, working toward a continuing education degree can help to level the playing field for everyone.
Furthermore, a professional degree enhances the effectiveness with which you perform your job and can even deepen your enthusiasm for the subject matter that you teach. One potential disadvantage of this option is that teachers will be expected to devote a significant amount of time and resources to continuing professional development activities.
Attending a conference is something I enjoy doing.
Conferences provide excellent opportunities to learn about evidence-based teaching methods as well as exciting new developments in your field of expertise. They also provide you with the tools you need to improve your teaching practice, build a stronger relationship with your students, and ultimately assist them in meeting the learning objectives of each lesson.
Unfortunately, educational conferences can be a prohibitively expensive option for teachers to choose from. Not to mention that attending these events may make it more difficult to catch up on any missed work obligations afterwards.
Taking a course is a good idea.
Teachers are lifelong learners, and enrolling in a course allows you to continue your education. If you choose the right course, you can broaden your horizons and approach your job from a fresh perspective. Many courses, as well as conferences, can be prohibitively expensive. It’s important to budget for these expenses ahead of time so that you’ll be well prepared for the experience.
Summer conferences are held every year.
Are you interested in incorporating professional development for teachers into your summer activities? When you browse our collection of education conferences, you’ll find conferences, networking events, and pieces of training from a variety of organizations and members of our Resilience Coalition.
Trauma-informed practice and education
Unfortunately, trauma has become an increasingly important part of the educational experience of today’s students. Trauma is a broad term that refers to any deeply upsetting experience that hurts a person’s ability to cope with the situation. A traumatic event may be accompanied by violence, but this is not always the case. Bullying, divorce, the death of a loved one, an outbreak of an infectious disease such as a pandemic, or other distressing events can all result in psychological trauma.
Trauma affects millions of students across the country, and each individual responds to it uniquely. Being aware of the potential impact of traumatic events on students, as well as being prepared to address them healthily and productively, is your responsibility as a teacher. Trauma-informed teaching is essential because research has demonstrated that trauma can have a significant impact on students’ learning and development. Children who have experienced trauma can develop resilience and achieve their goals despite the difficulties they have faced if they have access to the appropriate support system.
Maintaining an open mind when adopting a trauma-informed teaching approach is critical when realising that this approach does not correspond to a specific curriculum or teaching method. As an alternative, teachers should think of trauma-informed teaching as a lens through which they can view their students and their situations. If you understand the difficulties that your students may be experiencing, you will be able to approach your teaching with greater empathy. As a result, each student will have the opportunity to feel seen and understood, which will have a positive impact on both their academic performance and emotional health.
It is well worth your time to learn more about the trauma-informed approach to enhance your teaching abilities in the future. To ensure that a course or degree program provides the qualifications you seek during your professional development journey, double-check that the program’s accreditation is recognized by your employer. Your choice of course or degree program should be in line with your values and professional goals in trauma-informed teaching. The best programme to find is one that will assist you in bringing out the best in your students who are dealing with the effects of trauma in their lives.