The possible ways of Teacher׳s professional development.

Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1. Objectives, methods and stages of teacher professional development
1.1. Teacher professional competence, objectives and stages of its development
1.2. Methods and forms of teacher professional development
Chapter 1 Conclusion
Chapter 2. Study of potential of pedagogical Internet resources for teacher professional development
Chapter 2 conclusion
Conclusion
Bibliography

The possible ways of Teacher׳s professional development.

Principles and rules of IT usage in classroom have been formulated and systematized, the advantages and disadvantages of computer-managed instruction have been outlined, but still there is the need in computer literate teachers in modern Russian schools.
Informational technologies provide effective information storage and search. The Internet is the largest source of knowledge on methodology, teaching techniques, different sides of the school subjects. Special multimedia and programs help to solve such problems as quick and effective knowledge acquisition control, students’ motivation rising, psychological testing and others. The conclusion is that information technology facilitates different sides of teacher’s professional life and development and that is why should not be neglected.
E.Solovova defines information competence as the ability of effective searching, analyzing, selecting and using the information. Computer literacy is the base of information competence. In her opinion, there are three levels of development of the teacher’s information competence:
1) Elementary – the teacher has the basis of computer knowledge and the ability of using it, but does it unwillingly and not systematically.
2) Functional – the teacher uses software products and Internet technologies properly but limited by one or several tasks.
3) Systematical – the teacher uses wide range of computer programs and media freely, widely, properly and systematically in many spheres of his professional life5.
The following scheme of effective computer technologies applying at schools is offered by Russian scientists:
Organizing the school documentation into electronic form;
Creating the electronic base of tasks organized by subjects, topics and levels;
Using online project work;
Using electronic textbooks and other electronic sources for students self-guided work;
Using the electronic means of testing and control.
Also there is the following scheme of applying the Internet technologies at school:
Using the Internet sources in class;
Providing the connection between school, family and society;
Providing the methodological information for teachers;
Providing the information for different self-guided activities of students;
Providing the information for effective school management.
The teacher’s ability to find the information quickly, analyze it correctly and use it effectively is one of the essential conditions of his professional and personal growth.
Today a large variety of computer literacy courses can be found almost in every large city in Russia. Teacher professional development, including computer literacy, is the essential part of the national project “Education”. Schools are provided with computers and equipment, and teachers are trained to use them effectively.
Teachers of all subjects can benefit from the Internet, but for the teachers of English the range of opportunities is especially large, as they can use not only Russian, but also foreign sources effectively. There are variety of sites for language teachers providing online and printable activities, tests, texts, games etc. Such sites as http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/, http://www.teachit.co.uk/ and many others provide teachers with articles on teaching theory, lesson plans, classroom activities and other ideas for English lessons.
As teachers don’t work independently, they are integral parts of educational environment which is constantly changing, they should be aware of different educational innovations and ready to use them. http://www.eidos.ru names such innovative ideas as field-specific education, project work, new standards of education, competence approach, Unified National Exams etc. This website can help to get acquainted with the innovative achievements of teachers from different Russian schools.
The result and the way of presentation of the teacher professional development is a teacher portfolio. A teacher portfolio is an anthology of achievements that the teacher has accomplished, both in the classroom and elsewhere. This is a personal document. It is designed to display that teacher's talents and proficiencies. It demonstrates a teacher's knowledge and skills. What the teacher includes is always a matter of intent. The question that should be asked is, "What am I trying to tell the reader about myself?" Teacher portfolio is rather a reflective tool which demonstrates growth over time.
A typical portfolio includes the following:
1. A brief yet interesting biographical sketch, not a lengthy resume or a dissertation on education.
2. A description of the kinds of classes the teacher has taught recently. Tells the grade level, class content and describes teaching style.
3. Copies of documents, licenses, tests, etc. Demonstrates the teacher’s continuing education and creativity.
4. A short essay about the teacher’s teaching philosophy, how he teaches and why.
5. Copies of recent lesson or unit plans used. Photos of the class engaged in these activities will help.
6. Creative handouts the teacher has designed, student papers he has graded showing comments, etc.
7. Photographs of the classroom or a videotape of the teacher in action.
8. Peer observations and evaluations, letters of commendation, recognitions or honors the teacher has received.
Today teacher portfolios can exist as separate collections and as web-sites.
A teacher portfolio is a way of keeping teachers’ motivation in professional development. It helps to analyze and evaluate results of his own activity, define weak points and work out ways of dealing with them.
Russian pedagogical magazine “Zavuch” offers the following types of a teacher portfolio:
Portfolio of achievements contains documents confirming the teacher’s successful finishing of courses, participating in contests and conferences etc.
Portfolio for effective self-presentation includes everything necessary for presenting the teacher’s skills and qualification.
Topical portfolio contains materials on certain sphere of the teacher’s professional experience, for example, his research works, materials for lessons on his subject collected or worked out by him, etc.
Complex portfolio combining the previous kinds and presents the teacher’s professional career from all the possible angles6.
Dr.Helen Barrett from University of Alaska defines the following benefits of making electronic teacher portfolio:
1. Creating an electronic portfolio can develop teachers' as well as students' multimedia technology skills. The multimedia development process usually covers the following stages:
Decide/Assess - determining needs, goals, audience for the presentation;
Design/Plan - determining content, sequence of the presentation;
Develop - Gather and organize multimedia materials to include in the presentation;
Implement - Give the presentation;
Evaluate - Evaluate the presentation's effectiveness;
2. Modeling: If teachers develop electronic teaching portfolios, their students will be more likely to have their own electronic portfolios.
3. Each stage of the portfolio development process contributes to teachers' professional development and students' lifelong learning:
Collection - teachers and students learn to save artifacts that represent the successes (and "growth opportunities") in their day-to-day teaching and learning
Selection - teachers and students review and evaluate the artifacts they have saved, and identify those that demonstrate achievement of specific standards (this is where many electronic portfolios stop)
Reflection - teachers and students become reflective practitioners, evaluating their own growth over time and their achievement of the standards, as well as the gaps in their development
Projection (or Direction) - teachers and students compare their reflections to the standards and performance indicators, and set learning goals for the future. This is the stage that turns portfolio development into professional development and supports lifelong learning.
Presentation - teachers and students share their portfolios with their peers. This is the stage where appropriate "public" commitments can be made to encourage collaboration and commitment to professional development and lifelong learning7.
Chapter 1 Conclusion
Professional career of a teacher demands constant development of skills, personal qualities and abilities. The complex of personal and professional qualities essential for the effective teaching activity is called teacher professional competence. It consists of several smaller competences, such as communicative, information, regulatory and pedagogical, which are connected together.
There are such forms of teacher professional development as teacher council, seminar, demo lessons, creative teams, positive professional practice study and others.
The main objectives and ways of teacher professional development are connected with the modern tendencies of education. They include computer literacy for teachers, teacher’s research work and innovative work.
Chapter 2. Study of potential of pedagogical Internet resources for teacher professional development
This chapter id dedicated to study of potential of several pedagogical Internet resources for teacher professional development. As it has already been mentioned, the Internet has become the environment where teachers from all over the world can find useful materials for their lessons, articles on up-to-date theoretical problems, fresh ideas of scientists and practicing teachers, and also share their positive professional experience.
The one British and two popular Russian and websites were taken as the example. Their content was analyzed from the position of applicability for professional self-development of an average teacher.
The sites were selected after questioning teachers from several schools of Moscow city. According to the respondents’ words, these sites are widely used for getting up-to-date information. They provide information for lessons, ideas for conferences and research works, articles for individual reading and consideration. Moreover, they give an opportunity to learn about the positive professional experience of other teachers in Russia and abroad.
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/ is the website which provides materials for English teachers. The material is organized according to its forms and purposes.
The section “THINK” contains articles on such burning topics as measuring learners’ progress, designing author’s programmes, and hundred of others. They are subdivided according to different language skills: teaching pronunciation, teaching vocabulary, etc. Each article can be commented and discussed online.
The section “TRY” contains great collection of activities and resources for the classroom: quizzes, tips, activities, lesson plans, etc. This section contains a lot of fresh ideas for lessons as well as familiar or even classical material such as rhymes and songs. They are certainly useful for both experienced and young English teachers. All material is authentic, moreover, it is selected and checked by professionals who work as the site administration.
The section “TALK” offers to discuss areas of interest, get advice, join in blogs and link up with other teachers around the globe.
The section “TRANSFORM” offers to join electronic conferences, online high-quality short training courses for developing skills in language teaching. Some courses prepare for recognized qualifications. Other courses may focus on particular aspects of English language teaching, such as teaching the language skills, teaching vocabulary, using a variety of new technologies, language and culture.
Most courses normally last from one to four weeks and take place at schools and colleges, both in the private and public sector, across the UK. Some courses are offered part-time, as well as full-time. More and more courses now involve a blended mode or distance learning delivery. It is generally accepted that the best way to learn to teach is by practising it, with an experienced trainer to guide you. Distance learning courses do not normally offer practical teaching: but they do offer theoretical training and the chance to participate in communities with other teachers.
The courses are organized in three levels – basic, professional and specialist. They also prepare teachers for more specialist role, as a teacher trainer, materials or curriculum developer, area specialist, examiner or test writer, manager or advisor.
The section also contains a large collection of eBooks for English teachers and several other tools such as places for creating teacher portfolio, planning tools and convenient tools for creating teacher diaries.
The conclusion is that the website under consideration provides many opportunities for teacher professional development. It has a lot of theoretical materials, texts and tasks for lessons, as well as possibilities for communication, discussion and sharing the ideas.
http://1september.ru/ belongs to the popular Russian publishing house connected with pre-school and school education. This site is subdivided into sections according to school subjects, so teachers of any subject can benefit from it. It also provides fresh news of education from Russia and the whole world. It also publishes best articles from other periodicals on the topic of education. Thus it solves the task of teacher’s awareness of up-to-date events and news.
One of the sections of this site is “Pedagogical University” which provides online training courses for teachers. It is also subdivided according to subjects, and teachers of any subject have an opportunity to find a course they need. The topics encompass all up-to-date problems which teachers face every day: preparing for the National Exams, examples of applying project work in different subjects, techniques of dealing with difficult topics of all subjects from maths to geography and many others.
The “Demo lesson” section provides opportunity of publishing for every teacher. Everyone can share his pedagogical ideas and publish his tutorial materials. This program has been held since 2003 and contains more than 70000 articles. This project is useful for development of teacher’s research work which is an integral part of teacher professional competence as the whole.
Also the site carries out online conferences, video-lectures and virtual master-classes for teachers.
The “Portfolio” section helps to publish teachers’ and students’ creative and research work. The students’ works are published in sections according to school subjects. The “Portfolio” section is a good way of developing creativity of teachers and students.
The conclusion is that the above mentioned site contributes to rising teacher professional competence in the spheres of current information, innovative techniques and creative ideas. It helps to develop critical thinking, creativity and motivation for self-development.
http://www.eidos.ru/index.htm is a large Internet-portal dedicated to innovative teaching. It provides many different remote courses on such topics as modern teaching techniques and information technologies. Numerous courses give teachers knowledge on such topics as heuristic teaching, remote education, modern organization forms of a lesson, applying computer and Internet technologies in teaching, effective ways of preparing for exams, organization of school conferences, effective ways of control and testing. The site also publishes articles written by leading modern scientists and progressive practicing teachers. The portal carries out different contests, seminars, conferences and exhibitions for students, teachers and school administration. It stimulates creativity and motivation in professional growth. It also provides service of academic advising thus it helps to develop research skills of participants. Such service as organization of a teaching experiment helps to develop experiment and research skills of participants and to apply and test innovative methods and techniques in everyday school life. This site cooperates with A.V.Khutorskoy, leading Russian theoretician of pedagogical science. His scientific school promotes the progressive and innovative ideas. It is ready to cooperate with teachers and headmasters in the field of modernization of education.
Such practice as contests for teachers is widely used by Eidos company. Every visitor of the site can see the practical results of the previous contests, some of them dare to participate in next ones. Participating in contests of teaching ideas contributes to rising motivation for self-development, inspires to search for new teaching ideas and apply them. It is a very effective way of teacher professional development.
As many other teacher websites, Eidos has a forum and a chat for communication. As it was already mentioned, teacher’s conversations are important for sharing positive experience, comparing and evaluating the results of the work and analyzing all aspects of professional activity.