Personalized PD Competency-based PD
As the name implies, Personalized PD
is designed for a “person” and as such is
tantamount to differentiated PD. This
differentiation can and should take place as a
natural part of a sector-wide PD programme.
The term personalized may also imply a
group of “person(s)”, suggesting that it is
not just one person. At the individual level,
Personalized PD is easily interpreted as the
PD activities that a professional would design
for himself/herself based on evidenced needs
in their practice, as well as their interests,
inclusive of learning style. At the school,
national and regional level: Personalized PD
is such that it caters to the individual needs
of persons for whom the PD is designed. It
advocates against one-size-fits-all models of
PD and necessitates PD that is adequately
informed by data. It also requires adequate
flexibility in the scheduling and designing to
allow for different needs to be addressed in
strategic ways. In competency-based PD, data is used to
identify the specific areas where teachers
need to improve and place them on a
spectrum from novice to mastery. While it
is not necessary to use the terminology of
“novice” or “master”, particularly considering
the dynamic nature of knowledge and
learning, the idea is that a professional may
be completely new to a particular aspect of
education or may be weak in some practice
that is required. Conversely, a teacher may
demonstrate excellent knowledge and skill
in a particular area. Competency-based
PD identifies where the educator is on the
spectrum and develops a pathway to mastery.
The activities are not necessarily different
from those of general PD programmes, but
the intention is specific: grow and develop
in the identified area towards mastery,
and then move on to the next area where
mastery is required. Given the nature of
learning, of course, the application of this
component may not be linear. In other words,
a professional may be moving
towards mastery in more than
one area, depending on his/
her abilities, needs, interests
and circumstances. This aspect
of PD may be designed by the
individual, but normally would
be driven by Supervisors in
collaboration with the target
audience.
Teacher-Led PD
Teacher-led PD is exactly what
the name says: PD that is led
by teachers, from concept to
completion. It foregrounds
existing teacher competencies
and expertise, placing high
value on the contributions
they can make. It encourages
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