In the June 2005 continuing professional development (CPD) survey that the CPD Unit of BSC conducted among the teaching force of Bukidnon State College Main Campus, five themes emerged on what they want to be professionally developed. The CPD needs of the teachers can be grouped into the following categories: new technology, writing/research, funding, legal/ethical, and instructional preparation.
When CPD sessions started going full blast about 10 years ago, the assumption was that teachers primarily need to develop their teaching strategies. Over the years, there is no doubt that a number of teachers truly improved their teaching methods; and if learning should be lifelong, then, by all means, teachers should not stop considering new ways to teach and learn.
The recent survey, however, reveals that teachers need more than the pedagogy of teaching. Hence, given these multifarious needs, the CPD Unit of the College shifted its gears from the ‘shotgun approach’ to the ‘targeted approach’. The former catches all while the latter aims at specific audiences. Starting this month, an attempt has been made to conduct a number of sessions at one time. It is called ‘parallel sessions’ in which during the once-a-month CPD schedule, several CPD sessions at different venues take place. This would be every 1:30-3:00 p.m. every last Friday of the month—the common free time allotted by the administration to its faculty members.
To facilitate the conduct of parallel CPD sessions, one facilitator is assigned for every speaker in every session. A list of facilitator’s tasks was developed to guide a novice facilitator, for instance. Basically, the job of the facilitator is to attend to the speaker’s technical needs.
The ultimate aim for having parallel sessions is to swiftly respond to varied CPD needs. Since needs change as rapidly as technology does, it is important to take action fast enough to equip teachers with skills required for the next phase of change that calls for action at once. If taken seriously by the College, this would be its version of the ‘no teacher left behind’ program when it comes to professional development. It would be BSC’s way to catch up with the dizzying changes occurring in cosmic proportions at the global arena.
Since ‘parallel sessions’ are still experimental, the CPD staff hopes to learn more from its experiences and constructive feedback as sessions progress. One lesson have already learned: Do not to stick to the results of the needs analysis because there are needs that arise from the occasion. Another lesson is to welcome flexibility in CPD schedule. This should explain why there were CPD sessions that were not in the list of needs, and were conducted at different times from July-September 2005.
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