Professional Development

Enhancing Professional Development for Islamic School Teachers

By Nadeem Memon

July 27, 2011 • 5 thoughts

I was recently reading an article on teacher learning and developing more effective professional development for in-service training. As I read, I couldn’t help but relate the article to the limited and sporadic PD opportunities we offer in Islamic schools. Hopefully some of the highlights from this article will inspire discussion toward more robust PD.

In the article, there is a side panel that describes “the old paradigm” of PD for teachers. In short it describes a large urban high school facing low levels of student achievement in math. To address the issue, the principal dedicated two of the five PD days in the upcoming school year to bringing in math specialists to introduce an exciting new research based program that, through videos, hands on activities, math manipulatives, and reflective case studies, encouraged teachers to transform their math instruction.

Sounds pretty good doesn’t it?

The feedback from the teachers exhibited excitement toward the new ideas and approaches — which in itself is rare. But in the follow up months after the training was provided, teachers admitted that little was consistently implemented and as a result, student achievement remained low.

This seems to be a common scenario: Teachers identify learning needs, administrators coordinate PD hoping to address those needs, workshop presenters conduct PD — yet there is no transformation.

Where’s the disconnect?

Darling-Hammond and Richardson found that:

“Professional development lasting 14 or fewer hours showed no effects on learning. The largest effects were for programs offering 30-100 hours spread out over 6-12 months.” (p.49)

The new paradigm of PD rejects the idea of “drive by,” “one-shot” workshops. The most useful PD “emphasizes active teaching, assessment, observation, and reflection rather than abstract discussions” (47)

The new paradigm is defined by PD that:

  1. Facilitates collaboration between teachers in a school or across schools
  2. Is sustained over time (ideally 6-12 months)
  3. Is coherent (focused on a single area of instructional improvement)
  4. Is intense (requires reading, dialogue, observation, planning, and reflection)

The way that this is most commonly achieved is by establishing Professional Learning Communities within and across schools that encourage teachers to share and collaborate through study groups, collaborative lesson planning, team teaching, peer observations, and other similar PD best practices.

Nadeem Memon

About Nadeem Memon

Dr. Nadeem Memon is the Course Facilitator for the Islamic Teacher Education Program. He holds a Ph.D in History and the Philosophy of Education from OISE with a research focus on the vision of Islamic schooling in North America. He is also an Adjunct Professor at OISE and the Faculty of Education at Wilfrid Laurier University.
Click here to read more posts by Nadeem.


  • http://www.sitaraschool.org sommieh

    Thank you Br. Nadeem. that was a useful article. I have been thinking a lot about how to do prof. development and teacher training in Pak. I like the idea of a professional development school, where intern teachers basically learn on the job and are exposed to best teaching practices by collaborating with more experienced teachers.

    • http://islamicteachereducation.com Nadeem Memon

      These two books might be helpful in further reading:
      1. Grow your own teachers : grassroots change for teacher education / edited by Elizabeth A. Skinner, Maria Teresa Garretón, Brian D. Schultz ; foreword by Charles Payne. New York, NY : Teachers College Press, c2011.
      2. Powerful teacher education : lessons from exemplary programs / Linda Darling-Hammond. San Francisco, CA : Jossey-Bass, c2006.

  • http://www.islam.ca Farhad Khadim

    It confirms the prophetic methodology about sustained teaching/learning over a long period of time and Imam Shafi’s classical advice to a seeker of knowledge; the importance of consistency in doing even small things and the modern practice of Communities of Practice within various disciplines.

  • s

    Another really important thing is to be observed or at least to observe oneself. one method is using a video cam in the classroom, then reviewing the recording and reflecting on what it’s like to be a student in your class.
    To be able to use observation to improve ourselves, we have to first be open to accepting that we have faults, and open to accepting advice and assistance/follow-up to improve ourselves. So one of the first steps is to develop this kind of outlook and interest in constant self-improvement, starting with the premise that we are not that great….we are all a work in progress with God’s Help. And we must open ourselves to that Help – whether it is from a fellow human or from our own dedication to self-scrutinize.

    • http://islamicteachereducation.com Nadeem Memon

      Excellent reminder. Microteaching (or recording yourself teaching and then using that as a source for reflecting on your teaching) is something that schools should really thinking of implementing — not to evaluate teachers but to learn and improve teaching through self and collegial reflection.