6 Professional Development / Learning Goals for Teachers (w/ Examples) (2023)

He who would learn to fly one day must first learn to stand and walk and run and climb and dance; one cannot fly into flying. ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

Professional development for teachers has an impact in and out of the classroom. Not only does it keep teachers motivated and engaged professionally, but it also improves student outcomes. In turn, it boosts school district performance and ratings, allowing school districts to track teachers’ progress throughout the school year and work toward district-wide goals.

At Alludo, we work closely with our clients to customize a professional learning experience to align with school and district goals, as well as to meet the professional development needs of individual educators. One of the questions we get asked most frequently is this:

“What are some good professional development goals?”

Setting an achievable, strategic goal is an essential part of any professional learning program. Strategic goals help educators at every level improve and do their jobs as effectively as possible. They also help students directly and indirectly by giving teachers the tools they need to engage their students. With that in mind, here are six professional development goal examples to inspire you.

Table of Contents

  1. #1 Learn Classroom Management Techniques
  2. #2: Learn New Teaching Techniques and Theories
  3. #3: Master New Technologies
  4. #4: Improve Your Classroom Presentations
  5. #5: Increase Student Engagement
  6. #6: Meet State Licensure Requirements
  7. Alludo’s Take

6 Professional Development / Learning Goals for Teachers (w/ Examples) (1)

(Video) 6 Teacher Goals for 2021

#1: Learn Classroom Management Techniques

Teachers work hard to manage an array of tasks and responsibilities, including everything from lesson planning to grading student work to personal development. In the classroom they are responsible for keeping students engaged and focused and learning proper classroom management techniques and communication skills can help.

A 2016 meta-analysis of studies found that using classroom management techniques to handle teacher performance, student behavior, student social-emotional development, and teacher-student relationships all improved student outcomes, with the biggest improvement seen with students’ social-emotional development. On a related note, a 2019 report in the Journal of Economic Development found that only a small percentage of teachers received the assistance they needed to improve classroom management in the form of teacher’s aides or a reduced teaching schedule. School districts must provide teachers with both the professional development they need to manage the classroom properly as well as the assistance they need to put what they learn to work.

School districts can incorporate classroom management tools and techniques into their professional goals to give teachers the strategies they need to keep students engaged and give them the best possible learning environment.

6 Professional Development / Learning Goals for Teachers (w/ Examples) (2)

#2: Learn New Teaching Techniques and Theories

New teaching techniques and learning theories are developing all the time. Some school districts mandate which techniques teachers should use while others give teachers the option of adapting their techniques to different classes and students.

There are five theories of modern learning, including the following:

  • Behaviorism
  • Cognitivism
  • Constructivism
  • Humanism
  • Connectivism

A 2020 review in Heliyon explored the theory of connectivism and how it might relate to incorporating technology into the classroom. The review concluded that more study was needed, but noted promising observations in terms of how connectivism might explain how technology reshapes the brains of students and teachers.

Likewise, a 2019 review of student and teacher roles in the classroom found that an approach where both students and teachers feel that they are contributing to the learning environment in terms of structure, behavior, and social activity is more effective than an environment where the roles are more limited.

(Video) Goals, Objectives, and Learning Outcomes

Learning new theories of teaching and learning can help students do a better job of connecting with students and helping them learn in a way that feels accessible and natural to them. The net result is an improvement in student outcomes and in teacher engagement.

#3: Master New Technologies

Our first professional development goal example is about learning and mastering new technologies. The COVID-19 pandemic forced an educational system that had put little emphasis on online learning to adapt quickly to ensure that students could still learn while at home. It’s worth noting that as of 2016, only 5% of teacher training programs included any instruction on how to work in online learning environments.

Zoom is the obvious example here as it is the platform that many schools and teachers used to stay connected with their students during school shutdowns. However, there are many other examples. Technology can and should enhance teaching and learning. Considering that today’s students are all digital natives, it makes sense to incorporate technology into both classroom and remote learning. We believe that school districts should require technology training and allow teachers to pursue individual, self-selected goals in technology.

To be a SMART goal, broad technology goals should be broken down into short and achievable steps. For example, many teachers who were unfamiliar with Zoom started by learning how to schedule a Zoom meeting. From there they learned how to use Zoom’s features and how to adapt their teaching style to work on Zoom.

6 Professional Development / Learning Goals for Teachers (w/ Examples) (3)

With help from Alludo, the Hueneme Elementary School District created COAST to help teachers adapt to their technology-first mission. One hundred thirty teachers and administrators participated in the initial launch and many more have joined the program since. We anticipate that more school districts will be incorporating technology into their professional development requirements.

#4: Improve Your Classroom Presentations

A big part of engaging with students is making classroom presentations interesting, informative, and captivating. For that reason, professional growth goals related to improving classroom presentations can do a lot to improve teacher and student performance in the classroom.

A 2018 study in the journal Computers & Education concluded that adding gamification to learning could enhance student learning. That’s something we do at Alludo Learning. In the study, student learning was significantly enhanced among those who participated in online learning with gamification. The study also found that gamification did a good job of engaging students with jobs, which is one reason that we believe it works so well for professional learning.

(Video) SMART Goals Quick Overview with 21 SMART Goals Examples

Of course, gamification is only one way to enhance classroom presentations. Many of the districts we work with at Alludo incorporate other technology into their presentations, including Google tools, Nearpod, and Flipgrid.

#5: Increase Student Engagement

Student engagement is essential for learning. If students are disengaged or disinterested in the classroom, it is impossible for teachers and school districts to get to positive student outcomes and meet their performance goals.

In a well-designed professional learning environment, teachers have the opportunity to learn new skills and techniques to increase student engagement. While student engagement has always been a priority, it has become even more important in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. A 2021 survey of students and teachers found that 50% of students reported feeling less engaged than they were before the pandemic and 87% of teachers said that students seemed less engaged in class.

The good news is that focusing professional development on student engagement is likely to have a positive impact on student outcomes. A 2019 Gallup survey found that:

6 Professional Development / Learning Goals for Teachers (w/ Examples) (4)

Improving student engagement has been linked to improvements in student performance. According to Dr. David Sousa, students who are engaged are more likely to be motivated in class, enjoy the process of learning and reaching their learning goals, and perhaps most importantly, to persist through learning difficulties. The last point is one that has been hugely important throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, when many students have struggled with morale and motivation.

#6: Meet State Licensure Requirements

Every state has professional development requirements for teachers and they are tied to licensure and teaching credentials. Teachers must meet the requirements each year in order to retain their licenses and continue to work in the classroom. It’s for this reason that almost every professional learning environment includes meeting state requirements as a career goal.

For example, in Illinois, the state requires teachers to log 120 hours of documented professional development to renew their licenses, and administrators must log 100 hours. That means Illinois school districts must find ways to make it easy and convenient for teachers to meet the requirement.

(Video) Big Ben & Mike Tomlin share SBXLIII stories, talk best defense Tomlin has coached, and more! Ep. 23

Alludo worked with the Springfield Public Schools to create an online personal development plan for teachers and administrators.The result was a system that awarded teachers Illinois Continuing Professional Development Units for completing coursework and included a New Teacher Toolbox to help new hires get up to speed with professional development.

6 Professional Development / Learning Goals for Teachers (w/ Examples) (5)

Alludo’s Take

At Alludo, we are dedicated to helping school districts create engaging and exciting professional learning environments for teachers, paraeducators, and administrators at every level. We recognize that setting goals for career development is essential. Realistic goal setting helps with the all of the following:

  • Ensure teacher compliance with state-mandated professional development requirements for license renewal.
  • Keep teachers excited about their jobs by fostering an environment of constant improvement and learning.
  • Minimize teacher turnover and help school districts save money on teacher recruitment and training.
  • Increase student engagement by giving teachers the tools they need to keep students interested in what they’re learning and by using the right strategies and presentation skills to communicate concepts and ideas to students.
  • Help schools and school districts meet their annual and long-term goals in terms of student performance and outcomes.
  • Improve student learning and outcomes. Research shows that the right kind of professional development leads to more engaged students, better grades, lower dropout rates, better scores on standardized tests, and overall improvement in school performance and ratings.

6 Professional Development / Learning Goals for Teachers (w/ Examples) (6)

We work closely with district and school leaders to create curricula and learning modules that encourage teachers to set personal development goals and pursue both learning that is required and learning they are passionate about. By gamifying the process, we offer teachers the opportunity to measure their results and get rewards for their progress. We also make it easy for school districts to measure teachers’ progress and track their professional development on an ongoing basis.

Setting Professional Development Goals Leads to Better Teaching and Learning

How do you make a professional development plan that’s effective and has proven results? It all starts with specific goal setting in a professional development system that’s learner centered. The Alludo method and platform allows school districts to create and make accessible learning modules that help teachers grow professionally while connecting with and engaging their students.

Experience personalized learning for all levels of educators with a free trial of Alludo’s professional development platform. You’ll enjoy:

  • Hundreds of core topics
  • Asynchronous microlearning activities
  • Timely and specific feedback
  • Analytics that show learning impact
  • Access anytime, anywhere

6 Professional Development / Learning Goals for Teachers (w/ Examples) (7)

(Video) Take Control of Your Mind & Manifest Your Dreams | Dr Joe Dispenza and Marie Forleo

FAQs

What is an example of a professional development goal for teachers? ›

Mentoring students' intellects by helping them develop problem-solving, critical- and creative-thinking skills. Helping them find and hone their voice by working on developing communication skills and confidence in expressing themselves.

What are some examples of professional development for teachers? ›

The top three types of teacher professional development are periodic workshops, in-class observation, and single-session seminars.

What are examples of professional learning goals? ›

10 examples of professional development goals
  • Develop a new skill set. ...
  • Develop your workplace skills. ...
  • Take up leadership responsibilities. ...
  • Expand your professional network. ...
  • Level-up your credentials. ...
  • Consume media in your field. ...
  • Find other ways to deepen job satisfaction. ...
  • Take a relevant course.
Feb 28, 2023

What are professional learning goals in teaching? ›

Professional Learning Goals (PLGs) are based on student learning data, performance evaluation data, and school improvement goals. The purpose of PLGs is to drive job-embedded learning for the educator. Developed by individual educators based, at a minimum, on annual performance data.

What are common development goals give example? ›

Peace, pollution-free environment, improved health and literacy levels, awareness and control on population are common development goals of the people.

What is professional learning for teachers? ›

Any activities that teachers engage in that develop their professional knowledge and practice to support student learning and that are relevant to their teaching context can be counted as professional learning.

What is professional development in teacher education? ›

Professional development programs will allow teachers to expand their knowledge base in various areas of the subject. The more the professional development a teacher undergoes, the more he or she develops knowledge and insight into the industry. Teachers find it easy to get burdened with the grind of teaching.

What is professional development in teaching and learning? ›

Professional development is the set of tools, resources, and training sessions for educators to improve their teaching quality and effectiveness. These resources allow instructors to further their knowledge in their subject area and allows for mentorship and the opportunity to learn new teaching techniques.

What are your professional goals answer? ›

The best way to answer this question is to be specific and give a concise overview of the next goal you've set for your career. For example, if you're looking to move into leadership, you could say: I'm looking to become a team leader within the next five years.

What are some professional smart goals for teachers? ›

Here's an example of a SMART goal for a teacher: suppose that you want to improve the quality and frequency of your classroom discussions. You could set a goal to have discussions every week (Specific, Achievable) for the rest of the school year (Time-bound, Measurable) on a subject your class is studying (Relevant).

What are the five goals of teacher education? ›

The objective of teacher education is to develop a good command of the subject matter of the assignment given to him in the colleges.
  • Equipping the prospective teachers with necessary pedagogic skills: ...
  • Enabling the teacher to acquire understanding of child psychology: ...
  • Developing proper attitudes towards teaching:

How do I write my own development goals? ›

There are seven steps to writing a PDP: Set yourself goals. Prioritise those goals. Set yourself deadlines for when you want to achieve them.
...
When doing this, it's important that your goals are SMART:
  1. Specific. Avoid large, ambiguous steps. ...
  2. Measureable. ...
  3. Attainable. ...
  4. Relevant. ...
  5. Time-bound.
Jan 5, 2023

What is a good professional goal? ›

Professional goals (or work goals) are objectives you set for yourself in order to grow over the course of your career. You might set short-term professional goals like finding a mentor, networking with leaders in your industry, or acquiring a certification in your field.

What are the 8 development goals? ›

United Nations Millenium Development Goals (UN MDG)
  • Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. ...
  • Achieve universal primary education. ...
  • Promote gender and equality and empower women. ...
  • Reduce child mortality. ...
  • Improve maternal health. ...
  • Combat HIV/AIDS malaria and other diseases. ...
  • Ensure environmental sustainability.

What is your professional development plan best answer? ›

Mention what you hope to do in the immediate future to grow professionally and advance your skill set, which can include working in the position for which you're interviewing. From here, detail your long-term aspirations and motivations for achieving such objectives.

What are the 3 most important areas of development for you professionally? ›

7 Key employee development areas
  • Flexibility.
  • Communication skills.
  • Bonus: Conflict Resolution, Tactfulness, Work ethic.
  • Leadership Skills.
  • Organizational Skills.
  • Creativity Skills.
  • Bonus: Stress Management.
Dec 30, 2021

What is the best professional learning for teachers? ›

What types of professional learning should you undertake?
  • Classroom-based learning, including: observation of practice. ...
  • face to face learning, including: conferences. ...
  • formal study, including: post-graduate study. ...
  • research, including: professional reading. ...
  • online learning, including: ...
  • communities of practice, including:

Why is professional learning important as a teacher? ›

Effective professional learning leads to improved teacher knowledge, skills and practice. It has the power to shift attitudes, behaviours, relationships and every day interactions. Effective professional learning empowers teachers to pursue a moral purpose of helping students to thrive.

Why is professional development important for a teacher? ›

The more professional development teachers get, the more likely students are to succeed. Whether it is a workshop, a conference, or a meeting, all new teachers should take part in some form of professional development to set themselves up for success.

What are teacher professional skills? ›

Some qualities of a good teacher include skills in communication, listening, collaboration, adaptability, empathy and patience. Other characteristics of effective teaching include an engaging classroom presence, value in real-world learning, exchange of best practices and a lifelong love of learning.

What is a good learning goal? ›

Good learning goals are specific, measurable and focused on the students' abilities. You already do this either explicitly by writing down your goals for your students to read or implicitly by giving your students assessments (exams, quizzes, homework, projects, etc.)

What are the 5 smart goals examples? ›

Examples of SMART Goals
  • Studying. Simple Goal: I need to study more. ...
  • Writing. Simple Goal: ...
  • Reading More Books. Simple Goal: ...
  • Mastering Emotions. Simple Goal: ...
  • Exercising More. Simple Goal: ...
  • Improving Your Diet. Simple Goal: ...
  • Becoming More Productive. Simple Goal: ...
  • Time Management. Simple Goal:
Oct 14, 2022

What are the 3 types of goals examples? ›

There are three types of goals- process, performance, and outcome goals.
  • Process goals are specific actions or 'processes' of performing. For example, aiming to study for 2 hours after dinner every day . ...
  • Performance goals are based on personal standard. ...
  • Outcome goals are based on winning.

What top 10 goals do you want to accomplish in your work as an educator? ›

Examples of 10 educational goals
  • Think positive to stay focused. Positive thinking can make it easier for you to focus on tasks that need to be done and learn new information. ...
  • Stay resilient. ...
  • 3. Make time to read. ...
  • Manage your time. ...
  • Find time to relax. ...
  • Strive for excellence. ...
  • Build a strong network. ...
  • Build good study habits.
Feb 3, 2023

What is the most effective professional development for teachers? ›

It finds that the most effective forms of professional development focus on improving what teachers do in classrooms—their day-to-day practice. It also has an element of accountability involved, so teachers are motivated to change and improve.

What are examples of professional development give 3? ›

Professional Development Examples
  • Continuing Education.
  • Participation in professional organizations.
  • Research.
  • Improve job performance.
  • Increased duties and responsibilities.
  • Approaches to professional development:
  • Skill Based Training.
  • Job Assignments.

What are the 5 smart goals for teachers? ›

The SMART goal format is shown below:
  • Specific – Be more specific about your objective. ...
  • Measurable – Define how you will measure success. ...
  • Attainable – Make it possible to achieve your goal. ...
  • Realistic – Don't expect perfection. ...
  • Time-bound – Set deadlines for when you need to achieve your goal.

What is effective professional learning for teachers? ›

Effective professional learning is collaborative, inquiry focused and embedded in teaching practice. It is guided by the needs of the students and reflects the broader school strategic direction (articulated in the school's Annual Implementation Plan).

What are the 5 learning goals? ›

RIT's Five Educational Goals
  • Critical Thinking. Critical Thinking refers to those processes required to understand and evaluate complex claims of various sorts. ...
  • Global Interconnectedness. ...
  • Ethical Reasoning. ...
  • Integrative Literacies. ...
  • Creative and Innovative Thinking.

What are the 3 important goals of education? ›

To impart knowledge and skills to prepare students for the real world. To produce learners, who can think deeply and solve problems. To create an authentic learning environment, where students can apply their learned skills and knowledge to solve real-world challenges and come up with meaningful solutions.

How to answer what are your goals for professional development? ›

How to answer "What is your professional development plan?"
  1. Think about your overall career goals. ...
  2. Consider what development opportunities can help you achieve your goals. ...
  3. Discuss your professional journey. ...
  4. Outline both your short-term and long-term goals. ...
  5. Explain your plan. ...
  6. Align your plan with organizational goals.
4 days ago

What are the 5 areas of professional development? ›

5 professional development opportunities employees want
  • Management and leadership training. ...
  • Professional certifications. ...
  • Technical skills training. ...
  • Teamwork and interpersonal skills training. ...
  • Employer-subsidized degrees.

What is an example of professional development activity? ›

What is Professional Development? Professional development can help you advance in your career and may come in the form of formal learning, which includes coursework and internships or apprenticeships, or informal learning, which may include activities such as attending conferences and seminars or networking.

Videos

1. S.M.A.R.T. Goals for Teachers
(Teacher Resource Room)
2. Purposeful Assessment for Learning (6-12 Grade Professional Development)
(Kelly Hilton)
3. Professional Development Webinar for English Teachers: Unique Students; Unique Lessons
(LCC International University)
4. Bloom's Taxonomy In 5 Minutes | Bloom's Taxonomy Explained | What Is Bloom's Taxonomy? | Simplilearn
(Simplilearn)
5. Reshma 1st | Meghan 1st | Money 1st | Moms . . . .We'll See ;)
(Ibble Dibble)
6. A Complete Guide to Goal Setting
(The Art of Improvement)

References

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Allyn Kozey

Last Updated: 04/10/2023

Views: 5404

Rating: 4.2 / 5 (63 voted)

Reviews: 94% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Allyn Kozey

Birthday: 1993-12-21

Address: Suite 454 40343 Larson Union, Port Melia, TX 16164

Phone: +2456904400762

Job: Investor Administrator

Hobby: Sketching, Puzzles, Pet, Mountaineering, Skydiving, Dowsing, Sports

Introduction: My name is Allyn Kozey, I am a outstanding, colorful, adventurous, encouraging, zealous, tender, helpful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.