Self-driven and Classroom-based: Professional Development in the 21st Century by Konrad Glogowski

Based on Guy Claxton’s statement that “schools should become communities of practice where … the ‘elders’ of the community are themselves exemplary learners” (Claxton, 2002), this presentation explores the importance of Classroom-Based Teacher Development and Reflective Practice as essential professional development practices for the 21st century. It suggests that if students today are to benefit from schools where they can acquire the learning dispositions that will allow them to build and transform future societies and address global challenges, teacher professional development must be reconfigured to allow teachers to focus on examining and learning from their own professional contexts. The 21st century demands that teachers investigate their practices on a regular basis, learn to design new approaches, and quickly and effectively respond to the demands of the ever-changing knowledge society. Classrooms must therefore become sites of inquiry where teachers engage in practice that is perpetually experimental.