During the summer, I am sharing thematic posts bringing together responses on similar topics from the past 11 years. You can see all those collections from the first 10 years here.

Today’s theme is Professional Development.

You can see the list following this excerpt from one of the posts:

1. In 6 Words, More Teaching Advice

Ponder this gem: “Want respect? Respect your students first.” Read more.

2. Advice From Teachers in 7 Words or Less

Common sense and simplicity are at the heart of the best advice. Read more.

3. How to Build Your Own Professional Development

The authors of a self-directed learning guide for educators of multilingual learners talk about how teachers can hone their craft. Read more.

4. Want Successful Professional Development? Try Promoting Curiosity

Some hallmarks of fruitful PD include partnering with colleagues and asking students to take part. Read more.

5. The Importance of ‘Learner-Centered’ Professional Development

The best PD sessions help teachers learn by doing and steer clear of sit-and-get presentations. Read more.

6. Professional Development Doesn’t Have to Be Boring and Painful

Students and subject-matter experts offer some of the best professional development. Read more.

7. Advice for New Middle School Teachers From Four Veterans

Emphasizing relationships with students and teacher self-care, along with showing love, are some pieces of advice from veterans. Read more.

8. Think Like This: Students Have the Best of Intentions

Students have taught teachers not to assume students’ aims are bad, humor and compassion are to be valued, and status doesn’t impress them. Read more.

9. Want Great Life Lessons? Pay Attention to Students

Being more aware of privilege, talking less, and taking time to make judgments are a few lessons students have taught teachers. Read more.

10. A Lesson From Students: Believe Success Is Possible for Every Learner

Believe in the potential greatness of every student and don’t make assumptions are two takeaways teachers have learned from their students. Read more.

More Q&A posts about professional development:

• What Important Lessons Have You Learned From Your Students?
• Who’s the Teacher? 14 Lessons Students Taught Their Teachers
• Movies That Can Teach the Teachers
• Videos Teachers Can Learn From ...
• Teachers ‘Need a Whole Board of Advisers’
• The Best Sources of Classroom Advice Are ‘Teachers Who Are on the Ground Every Day’
• ‘A Professional Learning Community Is Not a Faculty, Grade Level, or Department Meeting’
• Promoting PLCs to Face the ‘Twin Epidemics’ of COVID-19 and Systemic Racism
• Professional Learning Communities Can ‘Unleash the Learning!’
• 10 Strategies for Building a Professional Learning Community
• Twenty-Eight Educators Share Their Best Teaching Advice
• ‘Speak Up!’ & Even More Teaching Advice From Teachers
• ‘Keep It Simple’ & Other ‘Best’ Teaching Advice From Educators
• ‘Stay Away From Negativity': Educators Share the Best Teaching Advice They’ve Received
• Teachers Share This Year’s Best Classroom Moments So Far
• Writing a Book Is a ‘Teacher’s Version of Climbing Mount Everest’
• Editors Offer Suggestions to Teachers Who Want to Write a Book
• Advice for Teachers Who Want to Write a Book
• Instructional Coaching During the Coronavirus Crisis
• Instructional Coaches Should ‘Center on a Strengths-Based Approach’
• Instructional-Coaching Conversations Must Be ‘Built on Relationships’
• ‘Instructional Coaching Can Be Frustrating at Times’
• Instructional Coaching Must Not Lead to an ‘Us vs. Them’ Mentality
• ‘Effective Instructional Coaching Keeps Kids at the Center of the Work’
• Students Can ‘Sense’ Teacher Frustration
• Ways Teachers Can Handle Feeling Frustrated
• Laughter in the Classroom
• Show Me the Money! Ways Teachers Can Raise Funds for Their Classrooms
• Looking for ‘Solutions’ in the Face of Staff Conflict
• Don’t ‘Ignore’ Staff Conflict in Schools
• Too Many Professional-Development ‘Horror Stories’
• Professional Development Does Not Need ‘One-Shot Wonders’
• Improve Professional Development With ‘Choice, Debate, & Feedback’
• Do Professional Development ‘With’ Teachers, Not ‘to’ Them
• Ways to Build Partnerships Between Teachers & Researchers
• Avoid Burnout by ‘Remembering What First Drove You Into Teaching’
• Teacher Burnout Is ‘Contagious’
• Ways to Avoid Teacher Burnout
• So Many Articles, So Little Time ...
• A List of Articles for Educators to Read
• ‘Teaching Is Not a Job But a Way of Life’
• A Teacher’s ‘Pay Isn’t Great, But the Rewards Are Worth Everything’
• ‘I Love My Job’ as a Teacher
• Use ‘Compassion’ When Planning for a Substitute Teacher
• Teachers Recognize Those Who ‘Dive Into the Fray’ With Us
• How Students & Family Influence Our Teaching
• Educators Share Who Influenced Their Teaching
• Students Share Their Best School Experiences and What We Can Learn From Them
• ‘Beautiful’ Moments in Teaching ‘Overshadow the Difficult Ones’
• The Best Teaching Moment Was When ‘I Let Go’
• ‘It’s an Exciting Time to Be an Educator’
• The Most Exciting Things Happening in Education Are ...
• Teaching Advice to Remember, Part Three
• The Best Teaching Advice, Part Two
• The Best Teaching Advice Is ...
• Teaching Can Be Tough, But We’re ‘Lucky’
• ‘The Toughest Part of Teaching Is ...’
• Challenging Moments in Teaching
• Make Teaching Failures ‘Moments to Grow’
• Learning From Difficult Teaching Moments
• What Teachers Wish They ‘Had Been Told’
• ‘When I Started Teaching, I Wish I Had Known ...’
• What Educators Wish They Knew When They Began Teaching
• Colleges of Ed. Can Make ‘Lifetime Commitments’ to Working Teachers
• Our Teaching Mistakes & What We Learn From Them
• Making Mistakes & Learning From Them—Part Two
• Focusing ‘More on What Goes Right Than on What Goes Wrong’
• Ways to Find the ‘Right Balance’ Between School & Home
• Teachers ‘Seek Relevance & Choice’ in Professional Development
• Follow-Up Is Critical for Successful Professional Development
• The Kind of Professional Development We Need—Part Two
• The Kind of Professional Development We Need
• ‘Write the Book You Wish You Had on Your Bookshelf’
• ‘Teachers Make Great Authors’
• Educators Wanting to Write a Book ‘Must Go for It!’
• Part Three—Book Recommendations for Teachers
• More Book Recommendations for Teachers
• Book Recommendations for Teachers—Part One
• More Advice on Teacher Attire
• Teachers Should Dress as Students’ Advocate, Not ‘Peer’
• Using ‘Self-Compassion’ to Recover From a Bad Day
• A Bad Day in the Classroom ‘Will Pass’
• Recover From Bad Days by Seeing ‘Disasters as Opportunities’

Explore other thematic posts:

• It Was Another Busy School Year. What Resonated for You?
• How to Best Address Race and Racism in the Classroom
• Schools Just Let Out, But What Are the Best Ways to Begin the Coming Year?
• Classroom Management Starts With Student Engagement
• Teacher Takeaways From the Pandemic: What’s Worked? What Hasn’t?
• The School Year Has Ended. What Are Some Lessons to Close Out Next Year?
• Student Motivation and Social-Emotional Learning Present Challenges. Here’s How to Help
• How to Challenge Normative Gender Culture to Support All Students
• What Students Like (and Don’t Like) About School
• Technology Is the Tool, Not the Teacher
• How to Make Parent Engagement Meaningful
• Teaching Social Studies Isn’t for the Faint of Heart
• Differentiated Instruction Doesn’t Need to Be a Heavy Lift
• How to Help Students Embrace Reading. Educators Weigh In
• 10 Strategies for Reaching English-Learners
• 10 Ways to Include Teachers in Important Policy Decisions
• 10 Teacher-Proofed Strategies for Improving Math Instruction
• Give Students a Role in Their Education
• Are There Better Ways Than Standardized Tests to Assess Students? Educators Think So
• How to Meet the Challenges of Teaching Science
• If I’d Only Known. Veteran Teachers Offer Advice for Beginners
• Writing Well Means Rewriting, Rewriting, Rewriting
• Christopher Emdin, Gholdy Muhammad, and More Education Authors Offer Insights to the Field
• How to Build Inclusive Classrooms
• What Science Can Teach Us About Learning
• The Best Ways for Administrators to Demonstrate Leadership
• Listen Up: Give Teachers a Voice in What Happens in Their Schools
• 10 Ways to Build a Healthier Classroom
• Educators Weigh In on Implementing the Common Core, Even Now