Professional Development

In this episode, Michele Eller, Director of Secondary Instruction and CTE at Eufaula City Schools, Alabama, discusses changes in the Alabama school district.

San Francisco, CA [August 30, 2016] — To help educators teach their students how to use technology safely, respectfully, and responsibly, Common Sense Education and Public Consulting Group (PCG) have partnered to offer Digital Citizenship courses through Pepper, PCG’s online professional learning network.

As teachers, administrators and students take their first steps through the front doors of their schools we can’t help but reflect on the endless professional development which took place this summer.

Howard Pitler on how teachers can become Instructional Coaches and what to expect.

Mike Lawrence, CEO of CUE, talks with Dr. Berger about professional development and the role CUE plays in advancing technology and learning. Lawrence also speaks about advocacy efforts and the growing number of conferences and learning events to support CUE members including the CUE 2016 Fall and National Conferences. 

We caught up with regular edCircuit contributor, Howard Pitler, at the ASCD annual conference to discuss what is and is not formative assessment in education.

Check out this interview with ASCD author and educator Pete Hall as the season begins to shift to Friday night football and school dances. Hall and Dr. Berger met up at this year’s ASCD conference. Hall shares insights into his new book The Principal Influence.

The word sabbatical brings to mind connotations of higher education. It’s unheard of for K-12 teachers to take time a one-year leave and dedicate themselves to research. Why is this not widely accepted? If teachers plan on remaining in their profession for an extended period, how will they build relevant knowledge and be better educators for their students?
Should teachers still learn? Scientific American understands the challenges of doing so. Teaching is a labor-intensive profession. It’s challenging to find access to innovative and informative workshops, and a new standard of professional development should be put into place.

This post, COMPETENCY-BASED EDUCATION: The Working Definition, was originally published in SEEN Magazine and reprinted with Permission. 
The advocacy for competency-based education (CBE) has grown considerably in mainstream education over the last few years. Out from the shadows of alternative education, the idea that skills based mastery leads to achievement has come of age. Universities, colleges, and K12 education now consider competency-based education a viable option for improving the quality and effectiveness of teaching.
Competency-based education has at its core an emphasis on achievement.