Professional development days can enhance employees’ skills and meet job-related credentialing requirements. They can be organized by employers or trade associations and may focus on a specific topic or have an amalgamation of topics. Planning involves establishing an events committee, finding a location, arranging guest speakers, and managing incidentals.
You can plan a professional development day by scheduling staff for a full day of training and preparing a range of learning activities to enhance their professional credentials. The day can serve as a concerted effort to bring an entire team up to the standards of a specific topic or as an organized opportunity for the team to earn knowledge and continuing education credits during working hours. While the day has many of the same characteristics as a conference, it is distinguishable in that it is usually organized by an employer, occurs as a substitute for an ordinary workday, and is organized to meet a job-related credentialing requirement.
Perhaps the most structured use of professional development days is in teaching at the compulsory school level. In the US in particular, school districts must have professional development plans in place for their teachers to ensure that each teacher is making adequate progress in the continuing education requirements for teacher accreditation. Teachers need to accumulate a certain number of educational credits each year to improve their skills. Districts and individual schools organize days when children are out of school, but teachers participate in a series of one-day trainings and seminars, which award continuing education credits at the same time.
When planning a professional development day, it is usually best to establish an events committee first. Then pick a date and find a location that can accommodate a large number of people and simultaneous educational sessions. If the day benefits a specific group of workers, such as teachers, reserve the day for professional development in your work calendar. This indicates to employees that they will be reporting work as usual, but will be involved in different activities.
A professional development day can also be organized in a non-mandatory setting. Trade associations that accredit their members often organize days that offer various educational opportunities for credits. If you organize this type of event, you will set the date and rely on member registration rather than required attendance that replaces a day’s work. The date can be set during the week and serve as a substitute for a work day if an employer allows it, or set a weekend or day off and occur in a member’s free time.
You will have to decide whether you want the professional development day to be about a particular topic or have a theme. On the other hand, the day may have an amalgamation of topics that coincide with the school’s professional development plan. Arrange guest speakers or trainers to lead breakout sessions and finalize an agenda. Finally, use your committee to manage the incidentals of the event, such as arranging food, making photocopies, and planning contingencies.
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