Professional Development for Us—Not Just Them

While schools across the United States often require teachers to attend professional development (PD) on a variety of topics, these trainings are often designed with some teachers in mind while overlooking the needs of others. Furthermore, a one and done format of PD is common and does not allow for continuous training or support teachers in fully implementing what they are learning in their classes. In this paper we provide a broad survey of PD and ways it should be reimagined. We believe it is time to rethink PD to change how teachers teach, and that PD can improve not just student outcomes but also teachers’ mental and emotional well-being.