Teacher Tips
Professional Development: A Dilemma for Art Teachers
By F. Robert Sabol, Ph. D
President-Elect, NAEA
Professor of Visual and Performing Arts and Chair of Art Education
Purdue University
West Lafayette, Indiana
Professional development has become a central focus for all educators. Thomas Guskey defines "professional development" thus: "those processes and activities designed to enhance professional knowledge, skills, and attitudes of educators so that they might, in turn, improve the learning of students" (Guskey 16).
A study of professional development needs of art educators that included 3,265 art teachers from all instructional levels reported that art teachers complained that professional development opportunities related to their needs were scarce and that mandatory attendance at professional development activities unrelated to their needs was widespread, while less than half of school districts provided any sort of professional development activities for teachers in any discipline. This study also reported that the lack of support for meaningful professional development opportunities has contributed to attrition rates of teachers in all disciplines (Sabol).
In their pursuit of professional development, art educators are faced with a number of daunting tasks. In order to facilitate their professional development needs, art educators must do the following:
- Be proactive in seeking meaningful professional development activities;
- Utilize technology and the internet to meet their professional development needs;
- Seek and demand professional development experiences from professional education associations and school districts that meet their individual and collective needs;
- Assume primary responsibility for their professional development.
Art educators will continue to be challenged in the area of their professional development, but they must understand that the outcomes of their ongoing professional development will ultimately benefit the students they teach and the communities in which they teach.
References
Guskey, Thomas R. 2000. Evaluating Professional Development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Sabol, F. Robert. 2006. Professional Development in Art Education: A Study of Needs, Issues, and Concerns of Art Educators. Reston, VA: National Art Education Association.
Professional Development
By Bonnie Black
Retired art education professor
Vice President, Missouri Fiber Artists
Camdenton, Missouri
Have you ever sat through an in-service presentation provided by a "professional" program development specialist? Did you happen to see teachers reading a book, calculating grades, writing a letter, or just sleeping during the presentation? Did you think to yourself, Why did the school district bring in this person? What did this presentation have to do with meeting the needs of teachers?
If you have ever experienced this type of professional development program, what did you end up doing to ensure that it would not happen again? If nothing, then why not? As professionals, you and your fellow teachers should be able to assess which type of professional development will truly be meaningful and help you meet the needs of your students.
As teachers, we often forget that we must be willing to do the research-sometimes as simple as asking fellow teachers—to identify the types of in-services the district faculty needs. The next step is to then make this information available to administrators who decide which type of professional development is appropriate for your school.
Oftentimes, in-service activities can be presented by teachers in the district and deal with district-specific issues such as discipline strategies, curriculum alignment, how to better serve lower achieving students, or mentorship for new teachers. You and your fellow teachers know what will best serve your needs in the classroom. Do the research, make the recommendations, and work with district administrators to provide meaningful professional development. Make a difference!