Developing as a Professional Educator
Teachers develop through disciplined reflection, focused professional learning, collaboration, ethical responsibility, equity-minded action, and sustainable attention to personal well-being.
The official standard
Teachers develop as effective and caring professional educators by engaging in relevant and high-quality professional learning experiences that increase their teaching capacities, leadership development, and personal well-being. Doing so enables teachers to support each student to learn and thrive.
Explore the Elements of Standard 6
Each Element has its own development page. The Commission’s related Example Indicators will remain grouped beneath that Element and will later connect to individual educator pages.
Understanding the practice
Professional growth is strongest when it begins with a real problem of practice, draws on feedback and evidence, includes colleagues and families, and produces a change that can be studied. Integrity and personal sustainability are conditions for long-term service to students.
- Examine practice, social–emotional capacities, attitudes, biases, successes, and dilemmas with honesty and useful evidence.
- Choose relevant professional learning connected to student needs and revisit whether it changes practice and outcomes.
- Make practice visible through collaboration, observation, feedback, shared inquiry, and collective responsibility.
- Coordinate with families, guardians, colleagues, specialists, community partners, universities, and businesses where their knowledge or services strengthen learning.
- Uphold legal, ethical, privacy, technology, equity, and professional responsibilities while cultivating sustainable motivation and well-being.
Focus Points for This Standard
Make growth specific
Turn a broad aspiration into one observable practice, a manageable action, and evidence to revisit.
Learn with others
Use colleagues, families, students, and community partners as sources of knowledge and feedback.
Protect trust and sustainability
Balance legal and ethical responsibility, equity advocacy, professional boundaries, and personal well-being.
A Teacher Inquiry Cycle
- Identify: Name a student-learning opportunity, barrier, or question connected to this standard.
- Learn: Gather relevant student, family, curriculum, assessment, and contextual information while protecting privacy.
- Design: Select one evidence-informed action, success criteria, access supports, and a feasible way to notice impact.
- Enact: Teach, observe, confer, and make appropriate in-the-moment adjustments.
- Study: Examine student work, participation, explanation, transfer, and student perspective—not implementation alone.
- Respond: Keep, adapt, intensify, replace, or discontinue the practice and record the reasoning.
Possible Evidence for Reflection or Coaching
- focused professional goals connected to student experience
- reflection records showing a decision, action, evidence, and revision
- collaboration artifacts documenting responsibilities and follow-through
- family or community feedback that influenced a support or learning opportunity
- ethical and workload decisions that protect students and sustainable practice
Evidence caution: No single artifact proves accomplished teaching. Interpret evidence in context, center student learning, and avoid collecting identifiable information that is not necessary.
A Pinch of Data Integration and Digital Learning
Professional systems can coordinate learning, communication, documentation, and reflection. Use approved accounts and secure channels, minimize identifiable information, verify AI-assisted work, and never allow automation to replace ethical judgment or human relationships.
Questions for Collaborative Reflection
- What specific evidence is challenging or changing my view of my practice?
- Whose feedback do I seek, and whose perspective is missing?
- How does professional learning reach the classroom and affect students?
- Where do ethics, equity, boundaries, or well-being require a deliberate decision?