CPD Continuing Professional Development or Continuing Personal Development? - 10 Steps to Life-long, Life-wide Learning

As teachers, we realise how essential Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is to enhance our knowledge and understanding in the field, upgrade our teaching skills, spark new ideas, keep up to date with current trends in teaching tools and pedagogy (e.g. using multimedia, integrating technology, etc.), create immersive learning environments, and foster student engagement, confidence and motivation. With in-person events (e.g. workshops and conferences), we are offered the opportunity to network, share ideas and discuss challenges with colleagues and professionals, in order to expand our cultural competency, become more sensitive to our students, develop professional collaborations, and possibly progress in our careers. CPD undeniably signals a teacher as being proactive, but it does require commitment and dedication as it often adds a burden outside regular working hours, a time generally devoted to extracurricular responsibilities. The pressure to engage in CPD (be it by attending courses or simply reading), the mental energy required and the difficulty to maintain a work-life balance can actually lead to feeling overwhelmed, and lastly to burnout. CPD can also be a cost as opportunities are not always funded, and teachers are often in low-paid positions or in schools with limited resources. Finally, not all CPD is relevant to our specific needs or goals, or the wealth of options available is distracting and might lead to a lack of direction. Other times, the CPD may fit, but the work environment does not support experimentation, or the resources in the school for implementing new practices are not sufficient, all leading to frustration.