What Is Professional Development?

Earning a degree can be a significant step on the path to pursuing your chosen career path, but it does not necessarily mark the end of your learning or professional growth. In fact, it could be just the start. As a working professional, you may have to stay up to date on current advancements in your field, improve your existing skill or even develop new ones—not only because you want to but also because your employer (and continued employment) requires it.

This is where professional development comes into play. While it can take different forms, all professional development is, essentially, “a mechanism that individuals use to learn, update, and improve skills, abilities, and behaviors over time, and that parent institutions or regulatory agencies may encourage, support, or require.”¹ Understood this way, it becomes easier to see how professional development can play an important role in career development.

What Is Professional Development in Education?

Professional development in education can refer to a “a wide variety of specialized training, formal education, or advanced professional learning intended to help administrators, teachers, and other educators improve their professional knowledge, competence, skill, and effectiveness.”² Some professional development/teacher training may be mandated by the state or by the school district³—for example, teachers often have to complete professional development courses to maintain their teaching license or certification.⁴

But not all professional development for teachers is mandatory. Teachers may choose to seek out such learning opportunities—whether self-directed or through an accredited professional development program—to meet their own professional development goals. For instance, a teacher may want to take advantage of professional development opportunities to learn how to improve their instructional skills or grow their expertise in the subject they teach.

Types of Continuing Education/Professional Development for Teachers

As noted above, professional development for teachers can take many forms. Examples include presentations, teacher training workshops/seminars, professional learning communities (PLCs), coaching sessions and online learning/webinars.

• Presentations: These are what they sound like—events focused on a specific topic and led by a presenter.
• Teacher Training Workshops/Seminars: Teacher training workshops are short-term, intensive, “hands-on” events involving a relatively small group of educators. The hands-on aspect of workshops is intended to facilitate skills development. Seminars are not designed to be hands-on like workshops are, but they typically involve more audience participation/discussion than a traditional one-way presentation.
• Professional Learning Communities: A PLC is made up of a group of teachers who meet regularly to collaborate, share their expertise and experiences, and learn from one another. PLCs promote the professional development of all the group’s members, with the goal of creating more positive/successful student outcomes.⁵
• Coaching Sessions: Teachers who want to potentially improve their lesson plans or instructional skills may choose to have an instructor or fellow teacher(s) review their materials and observe them in the classroom for the purpose of receiving constructive feedback.³
• Online Learning/Webinars: Various organizations offer online professional development opportunities for teachers. For example, the National Education Association (NEA) offers a number of different blended learning and webinar courses related to teacher professional development.

The State Education Research Center (SERC) offers a more expansive list of different models of professional development for educators (and which can also apply to adult continuing education in general).

Continuing Education and Certification

In addition to the above, teachers can contribute to their professional development by taking graduate teaching certificate courses or by seeking professional certification, such as National Board certification.

• Graduate Teaching Certificate Courses: Academic institutions may offer traditional, hybrid and online teaching certificate programs that are open to teachers who hold a master’s degree and want to enhance their qualifications or become certified in a new teaching specialization. These programs/courses can be found by browsing an institution’s offerings.
• National Board Certification: National Board certification is a highly respected teaching certification that is available in 25 certificate areas representing 16 disciplines (e.g., English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, World Languages) and four developmental levels (i.e., early childhood; middle childhood; early adolescence; adolescence and young adulthood). To become a Board-certified teacher in their chosen certificate area, candidates must complete three portfolio entries and a computer-based assessment.⁶ Complete eligibility requirements can be found on the National Board website.

Work to Advance Your Education at Trident

Trident’s 100% online graduate degree programs in education are designed to provide busy adults with the flexibility needed to pursue their academic goals. We currently offer the following options at the master’s and doctoral levels:

• Master of Arts in Education (MAED))
• Doctor of Education (EdD) in Leadership
• EdD Degree Completion Program
• Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Educational Leadership

Learn more about the education degree programs at Trident University International, or request more information today.

Trident University International cannot guarantee employment, salary, or career advancement. Not all programs are available to residents of all states. REQ2218221 4/2026

¹ Linda Frederiksen, “Chapter 7: DIY Librarianship: Professional Development, Continuing Education and Current Awareness,” The Copyright Librarian (2016), https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/social-sciences/professional-development.
² The Glossary of Education Reform, “Professional Development” (updated Aug. 29, 2013), https://www.edglossary.org/professional-development/.
³ Sarah Schwartz, “Teacher Professional Development, Explained,” Education Week (July 26, 2023), https://www.edweek.org/leadership/teacher-professional-development-explained/2023/07.
⁴ Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, “High School Teachers,” https://www.bls.gov/ooh/education-training-and-library/high-school-teachers.htm (last visited Apr. 24, 2026).
⁵ M. Keenan, “Professional Learning Community (PLC),” EBSCO (2022), https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/education/professional-learning-community-plc.
⁶ National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), “Get Started,” https://www.nbpts.org/certification/get-started/ (last visited Apr. 6, 2026).