Dive Brief:

• By utilizing on-demand and collaborative online resources, tools and platforms, professional development for teachers can reduce feelings of stress and isolation while honing the new skills and abilities educators need for today's students.
• Under ESSA, teacher training and development is supposed to be "intensive, collaborative, job-embedded, data-driven, and classroom focused," and eSchoolNews notes that the time is ripe for teacher PD to advance. 
• The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards offers an online platform called "ATLAS" that teachers can use for free to brush up with instructional videos or case studies.

Dive Insight:

Compared to other countries, teacher training and development in the U.S. is sub-par and lagging. Some countries have professional development "built in" to educators' daily workloads, making ongoing professional learning less of an option and a part of everyday life. Researchers who have studied the PD gap on an international level compiled a toolbox released this January, which contains elements of PD used abroad.

Districts can fight to improve their educators knowledge base by engaging in new and innovative methods of PD, like Maryland's unique PLAY program. Low- and no-cost online platforms and various software packages can also help streamline teacher development. The use of digital video can, too. At the same time, these options save money by eliminating travel while enabling self-paced learning for educators.