CPD, word which most of you must be familiar with already and to all those who don’t know, CPD stands for Continuous Professional Development. It is a process which involves rigorous training’s, types of different tests (including on the job tests) and assessing the work of an employee and working on the individual’s skills that are not brushed up. All the skills required for an individual to perform better at work are given equal importance. For me, I see CPD as a very important part of any organization. CPD is directly linked to developing expertise in any field. Talking about the educational field, CPD helps the teachers, the support staff and the senior management to develop expertise in this field. Is it not important to be a professional in the field you are in? I feel, for a teacher it is very important as she is handling children all day. It is a requirement for her to be a professional when it comes to dealing with children. For any employee to reach the stage of an expert/professional is very important because it means that through rigorous trainings an individual also gains in depth knowledge about the career field they are in. To understand this article better, take a look at the Dreyfus model :-
Now let’s look into the CPD model in the field of education. Teachers in formal schools and in pre- schools or day cares are trained extensively. They are trained to do better at their jobs of handling children. These trainings pertain to academic, counseling, basic first aid and operations at ground level. As we all are aware that we are going through unprecedented times due to the pandemic. Many of us are all also going to agree that our way of teaching and dealing with children will now change with the changing needs. The trainings that were given to us as a part of our professional development will now also have different aims. Working with children our aim used to be to keep the children happy and safe with lots of learning to take place. But, we cannot let this pandemic affect our development at the workplace. Now our aim is different, it is to become an expert, and do the same things but with utmost precaution.
As a preschool, we were holding training sessions even when the centres were closed, and now when they are open we are continuing with the trainings that are in tandem with the WHO and governmental guidelines. These numerous trainings are the ones that will help us in the long run. We need to be experts in the time of pandemic. This will not only help us become more confident but will also prevail a sense of awareness which will further be taught to the children in a healthy manner. The CPD model in our preschool will now aim to make all of us into perfectionists. There should be no room for any margin of error as it will affect not only the teacher but also the child. From personal experience, a good CPD model will inculcate greater value in a teacher’s career and only through that learning; the children will learn when they watch her perform different activities.
To sign off, may we all include Continuous Professional Development in professional as well as our personal lives and be the best at everything we do! https://ipsaa.in/contact-us/