It’s not easy for school leaders to plan the perfect professional development for their teachers. Teachers often find sit-and-get PD boring, repetitive, or untethered to the skills they need.
There’s also a sizeable gap in how principals and teachers view PD: In a nationally representative survey of over 1,400 teachers conducted in October 2023, the EdWeek Research Center found that almost half of the respondents said the PD they are required to take is irrelevant. By contrast, 41% of the more than 650 school leaders surveyed at the same time said the PD they provided was “very relevant.”
While teachers may dislike the typical PD sessions they’re subjected to, they still want to learn new skills as classrooms and students change. Teachers need more training on how to use artificial intelligence in their day-to-day work, or to better manage disruptions due to student behavior. They may also need specialized training to implement a new reading or math curriculum.
Instead of a one-size-fits-all approach, teachers want to choose PD that’s most relevant to them. They may want to go a step further, too.
In an informal social media poll by Education Week, 93% of the more than 1,300 respondents said teachers should have more of a say in developing the PD offered in their schools. An informal poll in The Savvy Principal newsletter yielded similar results. Of the 213 readers who responded, 74% said teachers should be more involved in developing their own PD.
Some educators went into more detail in the comments of the social media posts. Their answers have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Teachers want the freedom to choose what they learn
Teachers are asked to consider what to do for students that are learning and what to do for students that aren’t. So why can’t PD be the same for teachers? PD should allow teachers to accomplish their personal growth goals.
Each professional educator is unique and knows what they need to know. They are the only ones who should have any voice in their continued professional development.
YES! I am a 16-year veteran. I’m so tired of PDs geared toward newbies. I would love to pick out my own PDs.
I personally think PD that doesn’t lead to certification or licensing or degrees is pretty much a waste of our time and talent, but if the bureaucrats want us to do it, the least they could do is make sure it’s relevant to the educators and their specific and current challenges on their specific campus.
Teacher-administrator collaboration might be key
Some respondents suggested that teachers should be ready to put in the work if schools go with a DIY approach to PD—for example, staying abreast on the latest education research and being ready to present it to their peers. Of course, this task would add to teachers’ hefty workload, some noted.
Some educators said a collaboration between administrators and teachers may lead to the most suitable PD.
The assumption is that teachers are going to be up on the latest research in education and are willing to step up to present it. Yes, they should be involved in developing PD assuming teachers are trained in how to present to their colleagues (which has not been the norm). So yes, teachers should be included in PD, if they are willing to (like other professions) be open to feedback.
I feel this is a no brainer for most any profession. A lot of PD was teacher-led at my school, which meant that we were exposed to a lot of ideas being practiced around the school. Like anything, some were more useable than others. But it made for good PD and teacher empowerment.
I definitely feel that teachers should have a say. They may feel there are areas that they want to develop more or need for their toolbox. And there are also times that the admin. sees an overarching need that could/should be addressed in PD. It should be a combination of both.
Teachers can learn from their peers
At Lenape High School in Lenape, N.J., teachers can choose their own PD and find experts on campus to teach them new skills.
Over the last eight years, Principal Tony Cattani has been perfecting a system of peer observations that allows teachers to observe each other during their planning or free time. Teachers can sign up to showcase their skills, like classroom management or fostering student engagement, and other teachers keen on picking up that skill can sign up to observe.
Cattani, a former health teacher, hit upon this model only when he started doing teacher observations as a principal. Cattani believed he was a “pretty good teacher” but quickly realized that he would’ve benefited from watching his peers do things differently.
“Their classroom management skills were different but purposeful. They were clear with their expectations. They promoted a growth mindset in their classroom differently than I did,” said Cattani. “I realized that if I would have seen others teach sooner, … I would have been a better teacher when I was in the classroom.”
Cattani, who was named the 2025-26 National High School Principal of the Year, wanted his teachers to have that experience. So far, the model has yielded close to 4,000 unique peer observations. This school year, there have already been 200.
“Peer observations have become the backbone of the PD culture in our school,” Cattani added.
Teachers at Lenape can also observe the same group of students across subjects. For instance, said Cattani, teachers could figure out through a series of observations why a student who does well in English isn’t as engaged in math.
“It could be the content,” said Cattani. “But it could also be how it’s delivered. Teachers can diversify their instruction.”
Teachers can learn from each other during observations, but there are other avenues, too. The school hosts “collegiate cafes” where teachers can sign up to deliver PD on a topic in which they feel confident. The platform allows both veterans and newbie teachers to learn from each other: Those with more than four decades of teaching experience can train younger teachers on classroom management, while the new teachers, more adept at technologies like AI, can help their senior colleagues.
Do teachers want yet another task to do?
The culture at Lenape encourages teachers to learn from each other, but there are some who don’t take advantage of the model, said Cattani.
Teachers have a full plate grading papers and implementing new lesson plans, and PD can often get lost in a “world of priorities,” he said. Some teachers are happy to be observed, but don’t have the bandwidth to visit other classrooms or develop PD on specific topics for their peers.
It’s important to create options for these teachers, too, Cattani said. The school still has in-service days and collegiate cafes where teachers can learn instead of being in the driver’s seat. Cattani also sends out a weekly staff email with best practices and tips for the classroom.
Cattani wants to keep pushing for a culture where every teacher strives to be better.
“I want more teachers to be more like my best, so we need to provide opportunities for them to grow and be the best version of themselves,” he said.
