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Adding professional development hours to your personal improvement plan, is the way to show that you, as a teacher want to keep learning. Make sure that you keep your personal improvement plan (your PIP) general. For instance, you might want to say that you will be taking technology workshops, but do not name them for the upcoming year, because things to change. You can, however, add workshops, and the particular names of them, to the completed plan, before it is signed off by an administrator, in June.

Keep a running record of your hours, and keep all your certificates together. This will help you to avoid trying to find them, when you have to prove to your school, which workshops you went to. It is also wise to include, not only the staff development that you attended at your school during school hours, on days when the children were dismissed early or they weren't there, but also include ones after school.By you attending workshops after hours, on your own time, shows that you have a genuine interest in improving your skills and continuing your education.

You might attend workshops after school within your district; for example, sometimes technology workshops are offered, as are ones on differentiated learning. You can also attend nursing or library conference, for several days, especially over a weekend. If you do attend a conference overnight, it shows that you are especially eager to learn more about your specialty, whatever it is.

Adding workshops, conference, and staff development to your Personal Improvement Plan is in your favor, as it shows that you have done more than you had to, and isn't that what being a teacher is all about? The day shouldn't end at 3 p.m., when the children go home; you should want to use your time wisely, and attend programs, whenever you can, showing you are pro-active and a true learner.

There are many free workshops that you can attend in districts and through other areas. For example, Newspapers in Education (NIE), always offered a wonderful workshops at the Brownstone, complete with silver tea service. While attending is a beautiful restaurant with excellent service, rather than in the school setting, for free, or almost free, will seem like a treat, rather than "work".

Consider summer workshops in an area that you wouldn't mind vacationing at. Combine the two and you will have a wonderful week. It is suggested that you attend your conference first then relax at the pool. Some summer workshops

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