Teacher professional development

We want everyone to have access to a high-quality chemistry education, ensuring students have the skills and knowledge to benefit society.

Well-rounded professional development knits into every facet of your role as a teacher; we aim to provide a programme to support this holistic approach to teacher professional development.

On this page

Overview
What's in Teacher professional development?
CPD for teachers – who it's for

Overview

What's in Teacher professional development?

CPD for teachers

Professional development aims to enhance skills related to your job. It often takes place on the job, but can sometimes come before you start in a role. Professional development can cover approaches from mentoring to coaching, lesson study to reflective reading. Communities of practice also play a significant role in professional development and we appreciate that many teachers are involved in these.

Professional development for teachers follows much the same model as above, but centres around the teaching profession. You can enhance your skills professionally in two main areas:

• subject knowledge (SK)
• pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) – also referred to as subject specific pedagogy

Courses at the Royal Society of Chemistry focus on subject specific pedagogical content knowledge, the ‘how to teach’ aspects of chemistry, but also have a significant impact in boosting the subject knowledge of attendees. This balanced approach ensures well rounded development of teachers.

We offer a broad range of professional development opportunities ensuring teachers have the right tool for their needs regardless of personal preference, interest or career stage.

Opportunities for teachers at both primary and secondary level:

• Early careers
• Subject non-specialists
• Subject specialists
• Science leaders or coordinators or heads of department and those progressing to that role
• Those later in their career looking to reenergise or refresh their approach to chemistry teaching