The second major type of PD opportunity for teachers in the U.S. is to attend conferences, seminars, webinars, summer or afterschool training often sponsored by local and state educational agencies. These opportunities, while providing some practical experience and real world examples, are often short in length and lacking in the necessary follow up support to fully enable implementation.
Turning our attention overseas we have seen great changes in professional development in many first world nations considered to be peers of the United States. In these nations, teacher education is approached in a more systemic way. Teachers enjoy extensive pre-service education, better compartative pay, adn more time for planning and collaboration. In Japan for example, teachers typically work 15-20 hours per week in the classroom and spend the remaining time working on designing curriculum, conducting research, and observation
of or collaboration with their peers. Hallmarks of the new paradigm include the development of teacher communities of professional practice, collaboration with experts outside the teaching community, and professional development that is more focued on content knowledge, involving active learning with hands on activities.
Clearly we have a long way to go in many U.S. schools. THe realities of state mandates such as No Child Left Behind Act (2000) and the move to CCSS and standards-based assessment make such change seem almost impossible.
The move to the new paradigm of professional development will require considerable leadership by local and state authorities. As overseas examples have shown, systemic change is needed and we need to look beyond the short term and focus our attention on the art of teaching and how to harness the best that technology has to offer in building the classroom of tomorrow.
14 CLASSROOM TECHNOLOGY