Enrichment For Leaders Of Professional Development

Over the last few months, Professional Development (PD) leaders from various Academic Groups had the opportunity to attend several PD seminars and workshops organised by the Office of Graduate Studies and Professional Learning (GPL).

In January, a workshop on “The Importance Of Quality In NIE’s Provision Of Teacher Professional Development” was organised for PD leaders. Professor Toby Greany, Professor of Leadership and Innovation from the Institute of Education at University College London, who was on campus to assess and validate NIE’s Professional Development Quality Assurance framework, conducted the workshop.

In February, the PD leaders got to interact with Associate Professor Gillian Kidman, an international consultant withforthe Network for Leaders in Professional Development, who delivered a seminar on “Evidence-Informed PD Topics”.

The PD leaders took advantage of these events to raise an interesting range of issues faced in promoting NIE’s PD programmes, as well as identify and address quality concerns.Additionally, the two sessions allowed the PD leaders to examine the importance of innovative teaching and their own effectiveness at improving the knowledge, skills and expertise of teachers; encouraging research-informed practices and PD programmes; and informing schools about the range of distinctive pedagogies provided by NIE.

Ultimately, the aim of PD is to improve the learning of students. By creating a shared understanding of what quality looks like, PD leaders across all academic groups can work together to achieve a culture of providing quality PD. The experiences from the recent workshops have affirmed this perspective, and GPL is committed to organising more seminars and workshops that allow PD leaders to improve teaching and learning at NIE, so as to improve students’ learning in schools.