How do teachers across the globe view professional development? This is a question that the main author (Mary) has been asking teachers during in-depth interviews for the last two years in her work as an education researcher. After talking with 136 teachers in 29 countries across six continents, Mary was not surprised to find that teachers’ experiences with PD vary greatly. Many had never participated in professional development but were eager for the opportunity. Others participated in PD opportunities but were disappointed by their lack of relevance; and a fortunate group were empowered and engaged by the PD in which they participated.
Surprisingly, despite these distinct experiences, teachers from all three groups—the eager, the disillusioned, and the empowered—arrived at the same set of principles that they believe are crucial to designing valuable and meaningful professional learning. Schools don't need to overhaul professional development with fancy, new approaches. Instead, they should focus on ensuring these core universal principles are always present for educators.
1. Make PD relevant
For the teachers interviewed, effective PD must be, first and foremost, relevant to their daily classroom experiences. Relevant PD is subject-specific and rooted in evidence-based best practices, addressing the most common challenges these teachers say they confront—supporting students with special needs, accommodating neurodivergent learners, and integrating technology effectively into teaching and learning. Relevant PD is active—it models the techniques teachers are expected to implement and provides ample opportunity for practice and reflection. Most crucially, it offers practical, immediately applicable strategies, ensuring that professional learning translates directly into improved teaching, and, ultimately, improved student learning.
At Henrietta Lacks Health and Bioscience High School in Vancouver, Washington, teachers find the most relevant professional development comes through intensive coaching cycles. These four- to five-week collaborations pair educators with a school-based coach to tackle the most pressing classroom challenges identified by teachers. Such a targeted approach allows teachers to address the most relevant and immediate issues they face and enhance their instructional practice.
2. Make PD collaborative
Teachers want to learn with and from their colleagues, and the PD teachers value most is grounded in teacher collaboration. Team-based learning, open classrooms where teachers observe one another, peer coaching, common planning time, and opportunities for interdisciplinary learning are all cited by teachers as the most effective vehicles for learning.
Teachers want to learn with and from their colleagues, and the PD teachers value most is grounded in teacher collaboration.
At Lysterfield Primary School in Australia, "peer triads" are employed to enhance collaboration among teachers. These triads consist of three teachers from different level teams or curriculum areas who work together for a year. The school allocates specific time for teams to collaborate, allowing them to examine evidence-based pedagogical practices, engage in discussions to refine their understanding, conduct focused observations of each other's teaching, and collectively reflect on their observations and learnings. This structured approach promotes continuous professional development and cross-curricular collaboration among the teaching staff.
For teachers, collaborative PD not only deepens and broadens professional learning, but it also creates a supportive and safe professional community within which learning occurs, fostering an environment of continuous improvement, codified practice, and a shared language. Encouraging teacher-led initiatives where educators share their expertise with colleagues can create a rich, internal knowledge base and improve the overall collective efficacy of the school.
3. Make PD continuous
As teachers repeatedly shared in interviews, they view teaching as a lifelong journey of professional growth. Professional learning, in turn, must furnish the necessary support structures for this long-term growth. As we know, one-off PD sessions rarely lead to the sustained changes critical to improved classroom practice. Instead, effective PD must be continuous and ongoing, providing regular opportunities for teachers to learn, reflect on, implement, and revise approaches and techniques.
Teachers want professional learning that is integrated into the school day or school week—and many schools are taking note of this. For example, Parklands College in Cape Town, South Africa, folds professional development into weekly Monday morning meetings and allocates regular time each quarter for teachers to work together across disciplines. At Carrigaline Community School in County Cork, Ireland, teachers learn from one another through ongoing “open classrooms,” in which teachers invite peers to observe classroom lessons and provide feedback.
School-based instructional coaches and learning specialists (like Zahra, the co-author) help ensure that new learning is properly understood and implemented. These coaches and specialists model best practices for teachers, observe implementation in the classroom, and provide feedback to teachers to improve classroom practice. This continuous approach ensures that PD is transferred and embedded into instruction, resulting in more meaningful changes in teaching practices over time.
4. Empower teachers
For many of the teachers with whom we spoke, professional development is often done to them—not with them. Teachers recognize that school improvement plans and district-mandated initiatives may necessitate certain types of professional development. But they also want formal learning opportunities that respect their professional judgment, align with their individual needs and interests, and ensure that they have autonomy in choosing their growth path.
Teachers have numerous ideas to make this a reality. Education systems can organize daylong professional development conferences led by teachers for teachers. The Canadian province of New Brunswick, for example, hosts a popular annual daylong conference with all sessions designed and delivered by teachers for teachers. Education systems can also integrate peer observations into teacher schedules, like the open lessons mentioned previously, and establish teacher-led PD committees to shape the school or district’s professional learning strategy.
Giving teachers a voice in the design of professional development acknowledges and capitalizes on teacher expertise.
Giving teachers a voice in the design of professional development, like the example from New Brunswick, acknowledges and capitalizes on teacher expertise. Offering teachers greater choice in the types of professional development activities in which they participate fosters a greater sense of teacher ownership and agency. And helping teachers feel valued and heard in the PD process ensures greater engagement and commitment to the learning process. Cumulatively, these approaches—voice, choice, and value—create a powerful framework for professional learning that resonates with teachers all around the globe.
Author’s note: Thank you to the teachers in the following countries for sharing your time, your views, and your experiences: Angola, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, East Timor, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Jamaica, Lebanon, Mexico, Micronesia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Tunisia, the United States, and Zambia.
