Professional Development of Teachers

This week, I will attempt to speak on what I perceived to be my role in the professional development of teachers in ICT implementation.

As part of my contribution to affecting learning on students, my role include encouraging fellow teachers to try something new such as designing ICT based on pedagogy, reexamine assumptions, i.e. drill and practice may not be the best way, look at their teaching from different perspectives namely conceptual understanding versus mere manipulating, rethink how teaching can be better enhanced using ICT. Hence, my role in professional development is part of a set of practices as a leader, and they are especially important at this early stage of ICT implementation. But such development occurs in informal as well as formal ways. This really depends on the teachers’ current understanding of learning.

I believed that to get ICT implementation going, I need to purposely build and strengthen the teachers by providing appropriate professional development opportunities, in-service training, workshops, peer observation and learning.

I also believe that it is critical to respect the teachers’ autonomy and support them in their professional development. More importantly, I need to ensure that the teachers have a reasonable amount of time to participate in professional development. I have invited outside expert advisors such as AsknLearn and Ace Learning to deliver in-service training in the school. More such experts will be invited to help the teachers. Moreover, when teachers want to attempt to use ICT in their lessons, these teachers were offered expert’s help to find best ways to do so. Workshops and seminars were also offered along with an individualized approach to meet the teachers’ learning needs as well.

Such training must be practical so that the teachers will find such intellectual stimulation valuable. So I need to note that, for example, “the experts should run in-services on “What is using ICT for collaborative and self-directed learning all about? What does it look like? What will be look it without ICT?” This is to address the teachers’ concerns about “never even seen CoL and SDL and so does not know what to prepare the students for.” At the same time, the ICT mentors need to be involved in coaching to help teachers deliver a ICT program. This is the informal help which I believed the teachers will find more valuable. The ICT mentors need to be given time for this. Currently, they are heavily loaded with other duties. Together with the external experts in providing in-service for teachers, the ICT mentors will be one of the important pillars who can plan ICT integration with IP Head as well as support the teachers around subject instructions and facilitate discussions with teachers at the department level.