Recently, we looked at the importance of having an impactful teacher development programme. Here we are going to look at implementing a needs-based programme, and over the next few weeks, we will discuss the other principles that can lead to more successful professional development in practice.
‘N for Needs-Based’
In the Cambridge Papers in ELT research paper due to be published later this month, Effective professional development: Principles and best practice, we’ve set out some basic principles that provide the foundation for successful CPD programmes. These principles form the handy acronym: INSPIRE.
This week, we show you how that second letter: ‘N for Needs-based’, can inspire better practice.
Needs-based means that your professional development programme is built around your specific needs as a teacher. It isn’t ‘one size fits all’, because every teacher is at a different stage in their career, and has different needs for their professional development.
What you need to develop as a newly-qualified teacher will be very different to what you need after 10 or more years’ experience. What you require will also depend on your professional context: not just your own needs, but equally those of your learners, and those of the school you work at.
How does it work?
Moving to needs-based professional development involves:
1. You choosing the areas and activities for your development.
The more involved you are, the more motivated you’re likely to feel when undertaking the activity, and you’ll get more out of it.
2. Your institution having a good understanding of what is needed for their staff, at a group and at an individual level. This understanding can be enriched through:
- lesson observations, to view the different needs of teachers and learners
- focus groups with students and staff, to ensure informal feedback is received from different stakeholders
- external consultants visiting the institution and carrying out a needs analysis, so that an objective, detailed assessment can be made before development plans are put in place.
All of this might sound quite time-consuming, but the initial investment of time and planning is worth it. The more your professional development fits your specific needs, as well as those of your students and institution, the more successful it is likely to be in the longer term.