Ch 26: Professional Development for Early Childhood Teachers
About This Chapter
Professional Development for Early Childhood Teachers - Chapter Summary
From education trends to collaborative efforts, this chapter provides a detailed overview of the professional development opportunities available to early childhood teachers. You will learn more about various activities that teachers can participate in to keep teachers abreast of effective instructional strategies, classroom management methods and more.
You will go over key term definitions and review examples that will help to clarify the details discussed in this chapter. Once you have finished your study of these lessons, you should be able to do the following:
- Understand how to apply educational theories and principles to be an effective teacher
- List ways in which teachers can keep up with educational trends
- Identify teacher development activities, with a focus on preschool teacher activities
- Define reflective teaching and self-evaluation in teaching
- Explain and provide examples of action research in education
- Describe various collaborative professional development practices for teachers
- Note how teacher evaluations are used and how they lead to improved teacher performance and even student progress
Video and text lessons contained in this chapter are short, easily accessible and can be viewed as often as needed to ensure full understanding of all topics. You can use any device to access these lessons 24/7 and even print lesson transcripts if desired. Progress can be tracked using your Dashboard and self-assessment quizzes are great tools to help you demonstrate what you have learned and identify any topics where you might need further study.

1. Becoming an Effective Teacher
Understanding the principles and theories of educational psychology is essential for teachers but simply understanding is not enough. Future teachers must embrace sound educational principles and seek opportunities for growth throughout their careers. This lesson will focus on the qualities of an effective teacher, including pedagogical content knowledge awareness, reflective teaching and action research.

2. How to Keep Up with Trends in Education
In this lesson, we will look at several ways teachers can stay up to date on trends in education. We will discuss topics such as attending professional development, taking a college class, joining a professional organization, among others.

3. Teacher Professional Development Activities
In this lesson, we will discuss why professional development is essential for teachers and types of professional development activities. We will also briefly cover state requirements and paying for professional development.

4. Preschool Teacher Professional Development
Preschool teachers have an increasingly complex and important role in early childhood development. Where do they go to continue developing their professional skills? This lesson takes a look at professional development for preschool teachers.

5. Self-Evaluation in Teaching: Definition & Examples
In this lesson, we will examine some methods that teachers can use to self-evaluate their professional practice so that professional development opportunities can be targeted to meet their needs.

6. What is Reflective Teaching? - Definition & Methods
Find out what reflective teaching is and how to apply it in your teaching practice. Learn basic methods of reflective teaching. Read the lesson, then take a quiz to test your knowledge.

7. Action Research in Education: Methods & Examples
Action research is often used in the field of education. The following lesson provides two examples of action research in the field of education, methods of conducting action research and a quiz to assess your understanding of the topic.

8. Collaboration as a Reflective Practice for Teachers
Have you ever felt isolated as a teacher and thought about collaboration? In this lesson, we will discuss some different forms of collaborative, reflective professional development for educators that allow teachers to learn from one another and view their own instructional practices in a more objective way.

9. Collaborating with Teachers & Literacy Specialists
Collaboration between teachers and literacy specialists creates a unified front for the benefit of students. By coordinating the efforts of talented professionals, students are supported throughout the learning process.

10. Collaborating with Colleagues to Improve Student Learning
As a teacher, you are not alone. You have a variety of other professionals to call upon to help improve student learning. In this lesson, we look at how to leverage their expertise to improve outcomes.

11. Collaborating in a Professional Learning Community
Working in a professional learning community (PLC) impacts the teachers in the group, their peers and students. In this lesson, you will learn how a PLC can contribute to growth for all three groups.

12. Improving Performance Through Teacher Evaluations
In this lesson, we will discuss the purpose, processes involved, and uses of teacher evaluations. We will also discuss how these evaluations can help with the student learning process.
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Other Chapters
Other chapters within the Praxis Pre-Kindergarten Education (5531): Practice & Study Guide course
- Development of Young Children
- Basics of Early Childhood Education
- Influences on Early Childhood Development
- Language Development in Children
- Atypical Development & Delays
- Federal Legislation Related to Children With Exceptionalities
- Accommodating Children With Diverse Needs
- Adaptive & Assistive Equipment for Learning
- Multicultural & Antibias Curriculum
- Early Childhood Classroom Safety
- Learning Environments in Early Education
- Managing the Learning Environment
- Instructional Planning for Early Education
- Instructional Processes for Early Education
- Grouping Techniques for Classrooms
- Integrated Curriculum & Interdisciplinary Connections for ECE
- Art Education for Early Childhood
- Physical Health & Wellness Education
- Fundamentals of Literacy in Early Education
- Fundamentals of Math in Early Education
- Fundamentals of Social Studies in Early Education
- Fundamentals of Science in Early Education
- Assessment Data in Early Education
- Early Childhood Educational Technology
- Assessments in Early Childhood Education
- Ethics & Professionalism in Early Education
- Family Collaboration & Advocacy in Early Childhood Education
- Praxis Pre-Kindergarten Education Flashcards