Professional Development

Welcome to the BCTF professional development web page. Click on the table of content links below for more information about each topic.

Introduction

One of the primary goals of the BCTF is to promote the continuous career long, professional growth of our members. Professional development (PD) is considered to be a process of personal growth through programs, services and activities designed to enable members, individually or collectively, to enhance professional practice.

Professional development at the local level is governed by the collective agreement and local union policies. Throughout the province, there is a variety of methods by which local members are served. Central to all local union provisions is the recognition of professional autonomy of members to plan and pursue their professional growth.

To find out more, go to Professional Development in the BCTF.  

The BCTF has established professional development policies and procedures which are published in the BCTF Members' Guide.

PD online

• Running Effective Meetings: An introduction to the art of running productive and efficient meetings
  Rob Taylor, BCTF staff and former RA and AGM chair, highlights the five essential components of good meetings and outlines Roberts’ Rules of Order
• Video-on-Demand professional development workshops. The Ontario Teachers' Federation, with support from the Ontario Ministry of Education is building professional development programs of digitally streamed video, print and web components. Browse the resources by discipline or grade, or use the search feature. You must register to access the resources.

Professional development days

• Everything you always wanted to know about PD days (Teacher newsmagazine, Mar 2000)
• Professional development days: Historical perspective (1972-1996) 

Program for Quality Teaching/Inquiry

• The BCTF Teacher Inquiry Program  
• Program for Quality Teaching  
•  An invitation to Local Presidents and PD Chairpersons: Participate in one of eight Local/District PQT/Teacher Inquiry Projects in 2011-12 
•  An invitation to PSAs: Participate in one of two PSA PQT/Teacher Inquiry Projects in 2011-12 
  If schools are interested in applying for a PQT/inquiry grant please fill out the template.  
• Peer Support Service brochure  



• Teacher Action research  
• Teacher Inquirer 
• Teacher Research in the Backyard (4.1 MB)  
• Teaching for Social Justice (3.8 MB)   

Self-Directed PD

• Tools for self-directed PD 
• PD Log  

Teaching Resources

• BCTF Teaching Resources page
• Teacher Professional Development Source Book (Education Week)

Workshops and conferences

• BCTF Workshops Program  
• School Union Representative Training Program  

• Faxback workshop request form   To request a workshop, please use this form. Include alternate dates, if any. You may also contact Bonnie Quan Symons at 604-871-1857, or 1-800-663-9163 local 1857.

• Associate workshop feedback form  
• Participant Workshop Feedback Form  

• Professional Development Calendar 

• New Teachers' and Student Teachers' Conference