Continuous Professional Development
CPD, or Continuing Professional Development, refers to the ongoing learning activities that professionals engage in to maintain and enhance their knowledge and skills needed to deliver a professional service. CPD is important for ensuring that one continues to be competent and advance in their profession.
When it comes to teacher CPD, its importance is even greater because quality teaching is vital for improving student learning and there is a strong body of evidence that shows that high-quality CPD for teachers can have a significant effect on pupils’ learning outcomes [1].
Some studies point to the gains for students to be equal to more than two years’ progress in one year. These gains have been shown to be even greater for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, therefore having the potential to improve the life chances of all students [2].
Furthermore, teacher professional development could increase teachers’ confidence and self-efficacy, leading to better job satisfaction, sense of well-being and therefore the likelihood they remain in the profession [3]. That is an important consideration for tackling the teacher recruitment and retention issues experienced in many parts of the world.
High-quality CPD is based on the best available evidence about teaching and learning. Professional development is most effective when it is relevant, collaborative and focused on student outcomes, and when it supports teachers to reflect on, question, and continuously improve their practice [4].
Effective CPD uses lesson observation as a basis for discussion about its impact and is supported by coaching or mentoring. Video can play an important role in facilitating authentic and objective classroom experiences.
There is evidence that video technology used synchronously, and particularly asynchronously, can extend the quantity and quality of lesson observation. This is achieved by enabling teachers to rewind and review the recording as many times as necessary in order to study more easily the complexities of the classroom setting and develop their capacity for comparative and critical reflection on their own practice [5].
Video supports collaborative professional learning by overcoming the challenges of distance and time and co-creating a library of recorded practice for ongoing development, sharing and knowledge building.
[1] Cordingley et al. (2015) and Darling-Hammond et al. (2017)
[2] Timperley et al. (2007) and William (2016)
[3] Coldwell et al. (2017)
[4] Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership 2012
[5] Harford & MacRuairc (2008) and Chilton & McCracken (2017)
