The teaching profession in high school and college comes with its unique set of challenges. Educators are faced with the task of guiding and shaping a group of young adults who are not only learning but also evolving mentally as they complete their journey to adulthood. Understanding the skills of the individual students and molding their study progress as a group are the immediate challenges facing the teacher. Teachers also have to consider how their own views and practices have to be clearly explained and understood by the student so that they have a clear idea of the way the course study has been planned for the year.
What are Professional Development Courses for Teachers?
Professional development courses for teachers are aimed at helping teachers and students understand the mental and emotional blocks that either aid or hinder their study and work. They are aimed at a general audience of people in diverse educational fields like science, arts and literature among others. The aims of the professional development course are to bring forth the role of creativity in the educational process, encourage leadership and teamwork skills through creative thinking, encourage respect and accommodation for participants of their fellow students in the classroom and to understand and empathize with differing viewpoints and to spark a lifelong love for learning in each person’s mind.
Course Activities
Professional development classes are organized as single or multi-day activities. The program would start with an introduction to the aims and benefits of the creative writing classes. Relaxation techniques are taught to allow participants to unwind and focus better on the day at hand. Mental exercises follow, such as guided visualization to call forth participants’ imagination to work. Automatic drawing helps unlock hidden imagery held in the mind. Show and Tell involves participants explaining the impact of a childhood souvenir in their minds which would help unlock dormant story telling skills. Simple exercises like interviews are conducted in groups of two, where each participant then becomes the other person. This exercise helps students develop their sense of empathy and understanding. Instructors would be on hand, sharing the journeys of famous artists and writers and explaining ways of using these experiences to spark creativity. These techniques help participants relax and overcome writer’s block that holds them back. Instructors also speak on ideas such as time management in creative tasks and the role of luck and coincidence in successfully completing such projects.
Participants can also partake in group tasks that emphasize teamwork and creativity. Talks are given on how participants can use play to enhance creativity and the importance of setting one’s own working creative process to get polished output. Finally, they learn how they can keep the benefits of creativity coming in long after the course gets over and how to create a supportive environment conducive to creative thinking both at home and at school. The course material aims to change perception through visually arresting tools like cameras, kaleidoscopes, telescopes and microscopes to help students understand the scale, breadth and depth of our beautiful world. Teachers can also learn the importance of self-nurturing as all too often, they give so much of their physical and mental faculties to their students’ development while neglecting their own emotional well-being.
Benefits of Attending the Course
Students and their teachers who attend the course can learn together about the role of creativity in the learning process. They can understand the role of map making in laying out the steps needed to accomplish both normal and creative tasks. They can also learn to write better which will help them excel in their coursework. Best practices shared by skilled instructors and educators let participants learn from each other. A shared feeling of empathy is created for each other in a group through effective group activities. A relaxed and non-judgmental atmosphere allows participants to unwind and absorb the learning and takeaways as efficiently as in a classroom setting. The course is also an opportunity for students to get away from the routine of normal class work with beneficial effects for their academic performance. Last but not the least, the positive effects of these courses can be lifelong when the lessons are applied by the participants in their daily lives for a sustained period.
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