Professional+Development+Requirements

While there is not a lot of information on what makes a professional development opportunity a true success, there are some suggestions based on the information available from No Child Left Behind. As most learners would agree, being able to have a hands-on interaction with the concepts being discussed in professional development or any learning situation helps the learner better understand the abstract concept in a concrete way. One way to enhance many professional development opportunities with the iPad would be to provide the teachers the same iPad they would be using and teaching with their students.

Successful professional development should be...
 * An ongoing process, continually changing to provide learning for all.
 * Related to daily classroom needs rather than occasional lessons.
 * Focus on teaching/learning activities relevant to teachers such as planning, assessing, developing and enhancing classroom curriculum.
 * An opportunity for teachers to collaborate and share their own learning.
 * Focus on increasing student achievement and understanding.
 * Give teachers the opportunity to explore, play, and experience the device.

An example of a 30-minute professional development opportunity could look like this...
 * 2 minutes: Introduction
 * 5 minutes: Teachers discuss current issues with iPad concepts related to current presentation. Also discuss where students need more support in the curriculum.
 * 10 minutes: Teachers watch and guided practice with the presenter on main concept
 * 5 minutes: Teachers are given free time to interact with the presented material and get support from presenters.
 * 8 minutes: Discuss and collaborate with team members as to how you might use this new concept in the classroom with your content.

Please continue to our next page, What Types of Professional Development?