Teachers' and Practitioners' Professional Development Needs General Content

How do you know if your professional development programs are meeting the needs of your audience? The 2009 Environmental Education Professional Development Needs and Priorities Study identifies 89 professional development needs for the field of environmental education. The study points out gaps in current offerings and the work needed to advance education for environmental literacy. Taking this information one step further, these two reports present the specific priorities of (1) educators who work with pre-kindergarten through college-age students in formal education systems and (2) practitioners who work as informal or nonformal educators outside of these systems. Preferred timing, delivery style, length, and instructional methods are detailed for each group of educators. Their top ten priorities are sorted by region, type of organization or agency, size of audience, and years of experience—thus providing specific guidance for developing effective professional development opportunities well tailored to the needs of the target audience.