Staff Development
Sri KDU has an established continuing professional development (CPD) programme for all members of the teaching staff, no matter what stage they are at in their teaching career. This is an area that Sri KDU is fully committed to as a means of improving standards of teaching and learning.
Developed in collaboration with the British Council Malaysia, the CPD framework at Sri KDU is a planned, continuous process to enable teachers to develop their personal and professional qualities, and to improve their knowledge, skills and practices for their own empowerment and that of the students. A needs analysis conducted each year helps identify teacher development needs.
CPD sessions are conducted throughout the year. The minimum 60-hour annual requirement culminates in a year-end training for all teachers. Departmental support, regular meetings and training sessions by a team of experienced mentors set the organising principles for our approach to enhance teacher development and education.
Observations and feedback take place in different forms through coaching and mentoring by curriculum team leaders, mentors and peers. There is also a system of learning walks to provide SLTs with an overview of learning and teaching practices in the school. The school has a core group of experienced and well-trained staff who themselves facilitate training and sharing sessions for individuals or groups of teachers. All teachers at Sri KDU are offered opportunities to develop their own practice and professional knowledge.
Through application and implementation of Team Teaching and Lesson Study, and accessing online courses, webinars and podcasts, Twitter and Google groups, learning and teaching across departments is enhanced in the professional learning community thus created.
Sri KDU has an outstanding record in encouraging and enabling teachers to attend training outside the school to help them constantly improve their own practice - these external courses and meetings continually bring in fresh ideas to the Sri KDU professional community. Teachers are also encouraged to study for a higher qualification or accreditation.
Sri KDU CPD enables teachers to reflect on their daily practices, try new approaches and, in doing so, improve learning outcomes for their students. Giving education staff an entitlement to high-quality CPD appropriate to their current career stage and professional aspirations is the best way to achieve a self-sustaining education system at Sri KDU.