Literacy Today March/April 2016

Welcome to interactive presentation, created with Publuu. Enjoy the reading!

am sure you all have heard or read that professional development (PD) is critical to

every educator’s ability to be effective in his or her role, so I am not here to preach to

the choir and try to convince you why you should engage in it. I am here, however, to

convey my belief in why PD can be the most powerful tool for an educator.

Professional development is the process of improving and increasing

one’s capacity through access to education, training, collaborative learning, or

observation. In this year of the Summer Olympics, liken PD, if you will, to the

training of a world-class athlete preparing for the grand stage in Brazil. With the

goal in mind to be the absolute best in the world, careful planning, preparation,

and training become the formula for success.

The same formula can be applied to the teaching profession, with even

greater results.

How can a teacher outperform an Olympic athlete, you may ask? A winning

athlete comes around once every four years for just a few moments in time; a

By Stephen Sye

AN UNSEEN POWER

Why you should never let the potential of PD

go untapped

Stephen Sye

(ssye@reading.org) is the

associate executive director

of ILA.

OUR VIEW

6

March/April 2016 | LITERACY TODAY

Made with Publuu - flipbook maker