Meaningful staff development must be relevant for the teachers' classroom needs. Introduce concepts and ideas that the teacher can immediately use within her classroom to develop lessons that support the students. Utilize teacher input when organizing staff development, to find topics that are of interest to the majority of teachers within the school setting.
The elementary teacher is knowledgeable of the curricula of various subjects, because she teaches at least two or more disciplines. When the teacher prepares lesson plans, the plans must exhibit goals and objectives per state standards. Staff development must be aligned with the curricula, for students to display improvement for promotion and in standardized testing.
In elementary school, students have a genuine interest and love for learning. Staff development implemented within the school should reflect this. If students within your classroom excel with discovery learning and centers, you should not attend workshops that focus on utilizing worksheets. The teacher knows her students best, and should only present lessons that are research-driven and help explore childrens' creativity.
Before presenting staff development that is enriching and innovative, be certain that there is a way to fund it for each teacher. It is disheartening to want to use a new concept, but to have no funding to support it. Each teacher is important, as is the subject that she teaches. Create a positive atmosphere within the school by including or offering the staff development to everyone. Seek grants and collaborate with business partners to secure the necessary funding.
Sometimes a teacher needs to find a renewed interest in the subject she teaches. Staff development presents teachers with new methods and provides a venue for teachers to discuss problems and successes. The teacher needs to know that he is not alone and that others face the same challenges. The excitement and renewed interest in teaching is evident in the classroom and with the students.