Doctors stay updated. Lawyers study new cases. As English teachers, we work with minds that are shaping the world right now, so our commitment to professional development should be just as strong, if not stronger. Education is constantly evolving, and we need to evolve with it; not just to keep up, but to lead.

Professional development shouldn’t be an extra task on your list. It’s the fuel that powers the classroom magic only you can create. In the middle of paperwork, deadlines, and daily challenges, it’s easy to forget about your own development. But we are not just knowledge deliverers, we are learners, too.

This is not about doing more. It’s about choosing to grow, with purpose. Whether you’re looking to refresh your approach or reignite your passion, these 10 ideas are here to help you upgrade your curriculum by upgrading yourself—strategically, creatively, and meaningfully.

1. Dive Into Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

One-size-fits-all doesn’t work in real classrooms. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) helps you plan lessons that are flexible, accessible, and designed from the start to include all learners; especially those who often get left behind.

Try this:

Pick a lesson you’ll teach this week. Add one UDL element: offer a video and a reading for input, let students choose between drawing or writing for output, or allow voice notes instead of written responses.

Inclusion doesn’t have to be complex; it just has to be intentional.

2. Embrace Digital Pedagogy

Using tech isn’t enough; it has to serve pedagogy. True digital pedagogy means using digital tools to enhance engagement, personalize learning, and deepen understanding. And no, you don’t need to be a tech wizard to do this well.

Try this:

Explore one platform (like Edpuzzle for video-based lessons or Padlet for collaborative brainstorming). Start small: redesign just one activity using a digital tool to make learning more interactive and student-centered.

3. Explore Culturally Responsive Teaching

Your students don’t just bring notebooks to class; they bring languages, traditions, and worldviews. Culturally responsive teaching recognizes that diversity is not a challenge to manage, but an asset to celebrate. It helps students feel seen, respected, and connected.

Try this:

Review a reading or listening activity you already use. Ask yourself: Whose voice is missing? Add a follow-up activity where students connect the theme to their own culture or life experience. You don’t have to rewrite the book; just expand the lens.

4. Get Serious About Assessment

Assessment isn’t the end of learning—it’s a part of the learning process. When we shift from seeing assessment as grading to seeing it as feedback, we unlock its real potential. It helps us adjust our teaching and helps students reflect on their learning.

Try this:

This week, change one traditional quiz for a formative assessment. Use exit tickets, learning journals, or simple “traffic light” self-assessments (red = I’m lost; yellow = I need help; green = I’ve got this). You’ll learn more about your students than any test score could tell you.

5. Learn About Neurodiversity in the Classroom

Neurodivergent students aren’t puzzles to solve, they’re minds to understand. Whether it’s ADHD, autism, dyslexia, or anxiety, understanding neurodiversity helps us create learning spaces where all students can succeed.

Try this:

Start small. Watch a 10-minute video or read an article about one neurodivergent profile (e.g., executive function in ADHD). Then, adapt one activity by breaking it into steps, offering visual instructions, or reducing timed pressure.

6. Strengthen Your Reflective Practice

Teaching without reflection is like driving with your eyes closed. When we take time to analyze what we’re doing and why, we grow fast. Reflection turns experience into expertise.

Try this:

At the end of each week, answer three questions in a notebook or voice memo:

What worked?

What didn’t?

What will I try differently?

It takes 10 minutes, and it might be the best professional development tool you already have.

7. Build or Join a Professional Learning Community (PLC)

You don’t have to grow alone. Learning alongside other teachers: whether in your school, city, or online, multiplies your ideas, energy, and accountability. A good PLC becomes your think tank, your support system, and sometimes your therapy group.

Try this:

Start a group chat with 2–3 colleagues to share strategies or reflect on challenges. Or follow teacher communities on Instagram, LinkedIn, or Facebook. You’ll be surprised how quickly a casual exchange can lead to powerful insights.

8. Create Your Own Teaching Materials

You know your students better than any textbook does. Creating your own materials—tailored to their interests, needs, and cultures—not only deepens your understanding of the content but gives students something that truly feels theirs.

Try this:

Take an existing unit and design one warm-up or practice activity that reflects your students’ real lives (e.g., a vocabulary game about their favorite music or food). You don’t need to reinvent everything—just bring your voice into the mix.

9. Practice a Second Language Yourself

We often ask students to take risks, face fears, and communicate in a second language, things many of us haven’t done in years. When we become language learners again, we remember what it feels like to struggle, guess, and grow.

Try this:

Pick a language you’ve always been curious about. Download a free app, listen to a podcast, or join a short course. Even 5 minutes a day will reconnect you with the learner’s mindset and make you a more empathetic teacher.

10. Reconnect With Your ‘Why’

Professional development isn’t just about new techniques. It’s about remembering what made you a teacher in the first place. That fire doesn’t die; it just needs occasional oxygen.

Try this:

Think back to a moment when you felt proud to be a teacher, maybe a student breakthrough, a heartfelt thank-you, or a class that just clicked. Write it down. Keep it where you can see it. Growth is about moving forward—but sometimes, it starts by looking back.

You matter. Your growth matters.

Behind every curriculum, every lesson plan, every learning goal; there’s you. And when you grow, everything around you grows: your students, your classroom, your community.

Professional development isn’t a luxury or an afterthought. It’s your right. And it’s your school’s responsibility to provide the time, space, and support for you to keep learning. But it’s also a commitment we make to ourselves; because we know that great teaching doesn’t come from doing more, it comes from becoming more.

So, ask for those spaces. Carve them out. Protect them. You deserve to grow; not just for your students, but for you.

Because you’re not just teaching English. You’re shaping minds, opening doors, and changing futures.

And that deserves to be nurtured. Always.

References:

• CAST. (2018). Universal Design for Learning guidelines version 2.2. CAST. https://udlguidelines.cast.org
• Tomlinson, C. A. (2014). The differentiated classroom: Responding to the needs of all learners (2nd ed.). ASCD.
• Brookfield, S. D. (2017). Becoming a critically reflective teacher (2nd ed.). Jossey-Bass.
• UNESCO. (2020). Global education monitoring report: Inclusion and education – All means all. UNESCO. https://www.unesco.org/gem-report
• Darling-Hammond, L., Hyler, M. E., & Gardner, M. (2017). Effective teacher professional development. Learning Policy Institute. https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/effective-teacher-professional-development-report