What development practices must teachers engage themselves in?

Educators today find themselves in a rapidly evolving learning environment that is transforming so fast, making it possibly the most challenging of eras to be a teacher. The demand on their abilities has never been greater as they cope with technological advances throwing up answers so quickly that questions are "beyond the textbook" in classrooms. When imparting knowledge alone isn't part of the job description, the only way to cope with the 21st century learner is if teachers continuously invest in "skills upgradation". Access to information has never been easier, and therefore there isn't a logical defence for teachers to remain "by the book". 

Teachers have to cope with differentiation in their home-room, focus more on multi-dimensional approaches and accept what worked a day before in one class, may not necessarily work with another set of children. The teacher, therefore must go back to the drawing board and create new approaches for the expectation isn't simply "to teach" but "get all the children to understand and apply the learning in relevant context." While traditional approaches worked previously, the expectations of modern day parents have dictated what teachers should be focused on especially since school managements promise this and more at the time of admissions!

Researching new trends, collaborating with peers across the globe, creating and initiating untested approaches are the only answers to work out best practices for their respective home-rooms. And this means, teachers must "skill up". It is as critical for teachers to follow their discipline progress around the world by updating themselves through periodicals/journals and also connect with fellow educators who facilitate similar concepts and come up with more innovations to make learning easier! Research and Development is much easier these days as there are plenty of webinars, free download information available including resource ideas, teacher training courses available on-line and face to face, educational summits that run mini workshops held in different parts of the country and more importantly, social media especially Facebook has so many curated and secure homepages that allow for quick access to information should a teacher initiate the process.

The key remains the attitude and desire of the teacher to reach beyond the lesson plan and textbook. The desire to invest time and effort and believe that these training programs will make them more efficient and give them the power to inspire more.

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For me personally, the love for learning and the desire to constantly transform the thought process is the only way to remain ahead of the curve, and provide the child more interesting opportunities to learn. Access remains the easier part!

About the Author:

Fatima Agarkar is a state and University topper and  has a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from England, apart from her B.ED and ECCE. She was featured in top 50 young educators in 2014, and is also the recipient of several awards for outstanding contribution to education. Commerzbank, Times of India and Egon Zender International as diverse organizations were the perfect foundation before she was involved in the set up of three premier K-12 national and international schools in Mumbai. Having gathered tremendous experience as a result of managing schools with which she has been associated with, Fatima now partners Gitika to create more opportunities for stakeholders in the education space with a passion for teacher training, special needs and sports through KA EduAssociates.