We have a fully-organised, need-based, year-long Staff Development Programme for our teachers. Workshop are conducted on a wide range of topics, for example, various pedagogical approaches, the how-to of teaching various subjects innovatively, development of various skills, classroom management and SEL.
CPD is defined as learning experiences which help one to develop and improve one’s professional practice. This can include building on strengths, as well as developing oneself where capability gaps exist.
Our Approach to CPD
Over the years we have tried different approaches to managing CPD days to cater to individual needs and ensure teachers remain interested and find learning enjoyable. We send selected teachers to workshops organized by teacher training institutes and also organize our own in-house CPD Programme.
We have built in five Saturdays in our Annual Calendar for CPD and four additional weekdays, two in each term. These four days are dedicated to Social-Emotional Learning (SEL). On these weekdays, we have online classes for students from 8.00-11.00 am and then a self-study plan for students to continue their “school-day” at home, when the teachers come to school for their workshop.
1. CPD Saturdays: These days are built into the Annual Calendar and take place on the last Saturday of certain months.
2. CPD TF Fridays: TF stands for Teacher-Focussed. These are conducted as per needs identified by the Heads of each section, on Fridays from 12.30 -1.30.
3. SEL Days: On these days we focus on the SEL Goals we have adopted and work on planning for SEL implementation in the classroom and strengthening adult SEL.
4. External Workshops: As the name suggests these are workshops that are organised by external teacher training institutions. We review the content carefully, examine the value for our school and suggest names of teachers who should attend.
5. Peer Observation: This happens when a teacher wants to learn a certain classroom strategy/skill to improve her teaching practice and negotiates a classroom observation with a respected colleague. The observation is followed by a discussion between the two.
6. Learning Journal: All teachers maintain a Learning Journal which is exclusively for their professional learning. The writing helps teachers to reflect on and analyse their learning experiences from workshops and reading about research/theories/innovative practices that are circulated in school. The purpose is for teachers to determine what results in the best outcome and most constructive learning environment/method for their students.