Editing Professional development (section)

==Approaches==
In a broad sense, professional development may include ''formal'' types of vocational education, typically post-secondary or poly-technical training leading to qualification or credential required to obtain or retain employment. Professional development may also come in the form of pre-service or in-service professional development programs. These programs may be formal, or informal, group or individualized. Individuals may pursue professional development independently, or programs may be offered by human resource departments. Professional development on the job may develop or enhance process skills, sometimes referred to as leadership skills, as well as task skills. Some examples for process skills are 'effectiveness skills', 'team functioning skills', and '[[systems thinking]] skills'.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Garet|first1=M. S.|last2=Porter|first2=A. C|last3=Desimone|first3=L.|last4=Birman|first4=B. F|last5=Yoon|first5=K. S.|title=What Makes Professional Development Effective? Results From a National Sample of Teachers|journal=American Educational Research Journal|date=1 January 2001|volume=38|issue=4|pages=915–945|doi=10.3102/00028312038004915|s2cid=14682751}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Connecting Coaches to Corporates|url=https://twofold.asia/|website=twofold.asia|access-date=28 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150624002703/https://twofold.asia/|archive-date=24 June 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Professional development opportunities can range from a single workshop to a semester-long academic course, to services offered by a medley of different professional development providers and varying widely with respect to the philosophy, content, and format of the learning experiences.  Some examples of approaches to professional development include:<ref name="community.fpg.unc.edu"/>
* '''Case Study Method''' – The case method is a teaching approach that consists in presenting the students with a case, putting them in the role of a decision maker facing a problem {{Harv|Hammond|1976}} – See [[Case method]].
* '''Consultation''' – to assist an individual or group of individuals to clarify and address immediate concerns by following a systematic problem-solving process.
* '''Coaching''' – to enhance a person's competencies in a specific skill area by providing a process of observation, reflection, and action.
* '''[[Community of practice|Community of Practice]]''' – to improve professional practice by engaging in shared inquiry and learning with people who have a common goal
* '''Lesson Study''' – to solve practical dilemmas related to intervention or instruction through participation with other professionals in systematically examining practice
* '''Mentoring''' – to promote an individual's  awareness and refinement of his or her own professional development by providing and recommending structured opportunities for reflection and observation
* '''Reflective Supervision''' – to support, develop, and ultimately evaluate the performance of employees through a process of inquiry that encourages their understanding and articulation of the rationale for their own practices
* '''Technical Assistance''' – to assist individuals and their organization to improve by offering resources and information, supporting networking and change efforts.{{citation needed|date=April 2015}}

The [[World Bank]]'s 2019 [[World Development Report]] on the future of work <ref>[http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/816281518818814423/pdf/2019-WDR-Report.pdf World Bank World Development Report 2019: The Changing Nature of Work.]</ref> argues that professional development opportunities for those both in and out of work, such as flexible learning opportunities at universities and adult learning programs, enable labor markets to adjust to the future of work.