Giving Compass' Take:

• Roger Riddell argues that personalized professional development is the most beneficial approach to teacher improvement. 

• What support do schools need to access quality professional development? 

• Learn about a mentoring approach to support early-career teachers.


As with students, the way in which professional learning opportunities are delivered to educators is rapidly changing. Lecture-driven "sit-and-get" approaches are no longer enough in either scenario, and in many cases, it's likely beneficial that educators receive their PD in a model similar to the ones they're now expected to use with students.

In a survey last year, educators provided their thoughts on the PD experiences they preferred, suggesting high-quality student-teaching experiences as the most critical for pre-service teachers, effective principals and assigned and informal mentors for novice teachers, National Board Certification and graduate coursework for career stage teachers, and service as mentors or coaches for teacher leaders.

Ultimately, PD needs to be as relevant to teachers' needs and as personalized as possible, lest boredom should set in.

Read the full article about teacher professional development by Roger Riddell at Education Dive.