Professional development (PD) for teachers can be challenging. School administrators and PD coordinators often grapple with making these sessions truly engaging and worthwhile. Too often, workshops turn into passive “sit-and-get” meetings that yield little impact in the classroom.

The good news is that with the right approach, you can transform your PD days into dynamic learning experiences that teachers love.

This practical checklist covers five key elements of impactful teacher training – Peer Collaboration, Access & Inclusion, Engagement Techniques, Personalization, and Logistics – and offers actionable tips for each. By focusing on these areas (and leveraging tools like Sched to streamline the process), your next teacher training day can inspire educators and drive meaningful outcomes for students. 

Here’s how.

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Feel free to download this PDF checklist and share with your team. It has lots of practical strategies to make your PD days more engaging, inclusive, and stress-free.

Peer Collaboration: Teachers Learning from Each Other

Educators learn best when they learn from each other. Building time for peer collaboration into your PD events allows teachers to exchange ideas, share experiences, and build supportive professional relationships. Rather than just listening to an expert all day, teachers get to learn by doing and by dialoguing with colleagues who face similar challenges. This not only spreads practical knowledge quickly but also fosters a sense of community and trust among staff. In short, peer collaboration turns PD from a one-way lecture into a lively, two-way learning experience – and that can dramatically increase buy-in and retention of new strategies.

How to Encourage Peer Collaboration: Use your PD agenda to create multiple opportunities for educators to connect and collaborate. For example:

  • Break into small groups for discussions: Divide attendees into groups or table teams to encourage deeper conversations and shared insights. This gives every teacher a voice and lets them process ideas together rather than in isolation.
  • Include hands-on group activities: Design sessions where educators collaborate on solving real classroom challenges or creating lesson materials. Working side-by-side on a task is a powerful bonding experience and makes the learning immediately practical.
  • Pair up mentors and novices: Mix teachers of different experience levels or expertise areas so they can learn from one another. For instance, a veteran teacher might pair with a newer teacher to swap fresh ideas and hard-earned wisdom in a “buddy” system.
  • Host structured roundtable discussions: Set aside time for structured peer sharing – for example, a guided discussion where each group member shares one successful strategy and one challenge. Teachers can exchange best practices and leave with concrete tips from their peers.
  • Empower teacher-led topics: Allow participants to submit topics or problems they’d like to discuss, then organize breakouts around the most requested issues. When teachers tackle real challenges together, the solutions they develop are more relevant and immediately applicable.
  • Keep the conversation going post-event: Use an event management tool (like Sched) to facilitate ongoing communication among teachers after the PD day. For example, you can create discussion boards or share contact info and session materials through the platform. This way, those great conversations and idea-sharing sessions can continue in the weeks and months that follow, helping to sustain the momentum of your PD.​

Sched Tip: Sched makes it easy to schedule breakout sessions and group activities. You can set up dedicated discussion session slots and allow teachers to choose the group or topic that interests them. With Sched’s platform, you can also share resources and messages with attendees during and after the event, so colleagues can follow up on ideas that emerged in their group work.

Access & Inclusion: Making PD Equitable for All

A truly impactful PD day ensures every teacher feels included and represented. That means designing your training with accessibility and equity in mind. When educators of all backgrounds, abilities, and experience levels can fully participate, your professional development has a greater reach and relevance. Inclusive PD isn’t just the right thing to do – it also empowers teachers to take what they learn and apply it in ways that benefit all students in their diverse classrooms. School districts are increasingly recognizing that one-size-fits-all workshops leave too many people on the sidelines. By planning for access and inclusion, you signal that everyone’s voice matters and that the content is meant for them.

How to Ensure Access & Inclusion: Incorporate strategies that remove barriers and honor diversity among your staff:

  • Provide accommodations and multiple formats: Offer captioning or transcription for any videos and consider providing live translation if you have multilingual staff. Also share materials in multiple formats (slides, handouts, digital copies) to accommodate different needs. This way, a teacher with a hearing impairment or whose first language isn’t English can fully engage with the content.
  • Reflect diverse perspectives: Make sure your PD content and examples speak to a variety of cultures, communities, and student populations. Invite speakers or include case studies that represent the diversity of your district. When teachers see their realities and students reflected, they’re more likely to connect with the training.
  • Use inclusive participation techniques: During Q&A or group discussions, try strategies like anonymous Q&A (using an app or note cards) or structured turn-taking. This encourages contributions from those who might be hesitant to speak up. By giving all voices space, you avoid having only the loudest or most senior individuals dominate the conversation.
  • Address equity and culturally responsive teaching: Include sessions that explicitly focus on equitable education strategies and culturally responsive teaching practices. Not only does this underscore your commitment to inclusion, it also equips teachers with tools to serve their diverse learners better.
  • Mix up learning modalities: Plan a mix of visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning activities. For example, combine lecture segments with videos, interactive polls, hands-on breakout tasks, and reflection time. This variety ensures that whether a teacher learns best by listening, seeing, or doing, part of the PD will resonate with them.
  • Invite diverse voices to lead: Use a “call for proposals” tool to attract a wide range of speakers and facilitators – from different backgrounds, experiences, and teaching styles. When selecting presenters, be intentional about diversity. Fresh perspectives will enrich your PD program and make more attendees feel represented. (Sched’s event platform includes a Call for Papers feature that simplifies collecting and reviewing session proposals, helping you bring in new and diverse presenters without extra hassle.)

Sched Tip: Sched can support an inclusive experience by centralizing all your session materials and providing accessibility features. You can upload presentation files, links, and resources for each session in Sched so that attendees can access them in whatever format works best (screen-reading, enlarged text, etc.). Additionally, Sched’s Call for Papers module allows you to solicit session proposals from educators in your community, which can increase the diversity of your PD offerings by bringing in teacher-led sessions.

Engagement Techniques: Make Training Active and Fun

Simply delivering content isn’t enough – active engagement is what makes professional development stick. Think of teacher PD like you would think of good classroom teaching: lectures alone won’t cut it. Educators, like students, learn more when they are engaged, challenged, and having a bit of fun. An engaged teacher at PD is one who is asking questions, trying out new strategies, and reflecting on practice – not grading papers under the table or checking out mentally. By using creative engagement techniques, you ensure that participants stay focused and participate meaningfully. This way, they’ll walk away with practical strategies they feel confident about using right away, rather than a notebook full of theory they might never revisit.

How to Boost Engagement: Transform your sessions from passive to interactive with these ideas:

  • Use polls, quizzes, or challenges: Introduce quick quizzes or live polls during sessions to keep attendees on their toes. For example, use a polling tool to quiz teachers on a topic before and after a presentation to spark curiosity. Friendly competitions or challenges (like a trivia question with a small prize) can also liven up the atmosphere and make learning fun.
  • Swap lectures for interactive formats: Whenever possible, replace long lectures with more engaging activities. Try role-playing exercises (e.g., teachers role-play student-teacher scenarios), simulations, or group problem-solving activities. These methods require active participation and let teachers practice skills in a safe setting, which boosts confidence in using those skills later.
  • Incorporate movement: Plan short stretch breaks or energizers between sessions. You could do a quick stand-up discussion (“turn and talk to your neighbor about X”) or a game that gets people moving. Physical activity re-energizes the brain, especially during a full-day workshop, and helps combat the post-lunch slump.
  • Give teachers a voice in the content: Increase buy-in by allowing some choice. For instance, let participants vote on breakout topics or have a “clinic” session where they bring real classroom challenges to solve together. When teachers help shape the agenda, they’ll be more invested in the outcome and more engaged throughout.
  • Leverage a mobile event app: Provide an easy-to-use event mobile app for your PD day to facilitate engagement. A good app (like Sched’s mobile app) lets teachers build their personal schedule, receive updates or reminders, and interact with content on the go​. For example, teachers can use the app to submit questions during a session or participate in live polls. The convenience of having all event info in their pocket enhances the overall experience and keeps attendees connected.
  • Ask for feedback (and act on it): Actively seek feedback from attendees during and after the event. This could be as simple as a quick survey in the app after each session or a reflection form at the end of the day. Teachers feel valued when their opinions are heard, and you gain insights to improve future PD events. Be sure to close the loop by sharing what changes you’ll make next time based on their input.

Sched Tip: Sched’s mobile app isn’t just a digital schedule – it’s a tool for engagement. Attendees can receive push notifications about upcoming sessions or last-minute changes, so they never miss a beat. You can also use Sched to integrate with audience response systems or link out to surveys and polls for each session. And when the day is over, Sched makes it easy to email attendees a thank-you note with a feedback survey link, helping you gather those valuable insights for next time.

Personalization: Tailor Learning to Teacher Needs

One-size-fits-all learning rarely leads to transformation. In education we differentiate for students; similarly, effective PD should be personalized for teachers. Every teacher arrives with a unique set of interests, experience levels, and professional goals. If we acknowledge that and allow teachers to tailor their PD experience, they’ll be able to focus on what’s most relevant to them. Personalization in PD can mean the difference between a teacher passively sitting through generic sessions versus actively engaging in topics that ignite their passion and address their real needs. Ultimately, personalized PD helps each educator maximize their growth – and that translates into better outcomes in their classrooms.

How to Personalize PD Experiences: Design your teacher training with flexibility and choice in mind:

  • Offer a diverse range of topics: Build an agenda that covers a variety of content areas and skill levels. Don’t just have one track that everyone must follow. For example, include sessions on technology integration, classroom management, subject-specific teaching strategies, social-emotional learning, etc. When the menu of topics is rich and diverse, each teacher can find sessions that align with their interests or fill a gap in their skill set.
  • Survey teachers’ needs and interests: Before the PD day, gather input from your staff about what they want to learn. A simple needs assessment survey can reveal common themes and desired topics. Use that data to shape your session offerings. Teachers will appreciate seeing that the schedule reflects their input – it immediately makes the PD feel more relevant and personalized to them.
  • Let attendees choose their own path: Use a scheduling tool that allows educators to select the sessions or tracks that match their PD goals. For instance, with Sched you can set up multiple session tracks and have teachers sign up or RSVP for the sessions they prefer​. This empowers teachers to build a day that suits their individual professional growth plan. A science teacher might spend the day in STEM workshops while a new teacher focuses on classroom management and pedagogy basics – and both leave happy.
  • Provide personal takeaways: Make the learning stick by giving each participant something to walk away with that’s tailored to them. This could be a personalized action plan they create during a session, a digital folder of curated resources they’ve expressed interest in, or a “PD passport” where they note key takeaways and next steps for their own classroom. Such personal action items help teachers translate PD into practice.
  • Cater to different learning styles: Just as students have varied learning styles, so do adults. Some teachers learn best by listening, others by discussing or doing. Plan sessions with a mix of delivery formats – from lectures and panels to interactive workshops and learning labs. Perhaps offer optional “office hours” coaching sessions for those who want one-on-one help. Variety ensures each teacher can engage in a format that suits them best.
  • Schedule ongoing, targeted PD: Personalization isn’t a one-time thing. Consider hosting smaller, focused PD events throughout the year dedicated to specific topics or cohorts (for example, a mini-workshop just for new teachers or a mid-year tech tune-up session for those implementing a new tool). These follow-ups allow teachers to delve deeper into areas of interest and continue building skills in a personalized way, rather than expecting one PD day to meet everyone’s needs.

Sched Tip: Sched shines when it comes to personalized scheduling. You can allow teachers to create their own personalized agenda by choosing sessions in advance, which not only helps them feel in control of their learning but also gives you insight into session popularity. Plus, Sched’s analytics can show you which topics were most selected by your staff – valuable data for planning future PD. And if you run multiple PD days or series of workshops through the year, Sched lets you manage all those events in one place, making it easy for teachers to continue their learning journey over time.

Logistics: Streamline the PD Experience

Even the best PD content will fall flat if logistical details get lost. Think about the last time you attended a poorly organized event – long check-in lines, confusing schedules, tech issues, sessions starting late… it’s frustrating and distracting. As a PD organizer, seamless logistics are your friend. When registration, scheduling, and transitions run smoothly, teachers can focus on learning instead of worrying about where they need to be or what’s going wrong. Good logistics also show respect for teachers’ time and comfort, which sets a positive tone for the whole day. In short, handling the nuts and bolts efficiently creates a stress-free experience for everyone involved.

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An attentive audience of educators at a professional development conference. Smooth logistics ensure that participants can focus on the speaker and content, not the schedule. How to Nail the Logistics: Plan ahead for the practical details that make an event run like clockwork:

  • Easy, mobile-friendly schedule: Ditch paper agendas that get lost or outdated. Provide a mobile-friendly schedule with all session times, locations, and descriptions. Many districts use Sched to publish an online agenda that teachers can access on their phones or laptops. This way, attendees always know what’s happening next and where to go, and any last-minute changes are reflected instantly on everyone’s device.
  • Fast check-in with QR codes: Avoid bottlenecks at the registration table by using QR codes or digital check-in tools. For example, you can send out QR code “tickets” for the event – when teachers arrive, a quick scan (using a smartphone or tablet) can check them in within seconds. No more flipping through printouts of names. This not only saves time and reduces wait times, but also creates a modern, professional first impression.
  • Automated reminders and updates: In the days or hours leading up to the PD, send event reminders to all participants so no one forgets and everyone comes prepared. You can schedule reminder emails (e.g., “Don’t forget, our PD Day is tomorrow at 9 AM – here’s the link to the agenda”) and morning-of notifications. During the event, use push notifications or alerts through your event app for important updates (“Session 3 will start in 5 minutes in Room 201”). Timely communication keeps everyone on track.
  • Track attendance and PD credits: If teachers earn professional development credits or hours, have a system in place to accurately track their attendance at sessions. This could tie in with your check-in system – for instance, use badge scanning or a mobile check-in at each workshop room. A digital trail of who attended which session will make awarding PD credits simple and fair.
  • Expect the unexpected (use a planning tool): Last-minute changes are inevitable – a presenter gets sick, a room change happens, or the schedule shifts. Using a streamlined event planning tool is critical to handle these changes gracefully. Sched, for example, allows you to update the schedule on the fly, and all attendees will see the change immediately. No chaos, no paper reprints. An all-in-one tool also helps manage speaker info, attendee registrations, and feedback in one centralized place, reducing the manual workload for your team.
  • Debrief and gather insights: Your logistics plan should extend to after the event as well. Set up a process to gather feedback and data when it’s over. This might include sending a survey to attendees asking about their experience with both content and logistics. Look at the analytics (Which sessions were most attended? Did everyone use the app? Were there common suggestions in feedback?). These insights will help you continually improve both the content and the execution of future PD days.

Sched Tip: Logistics is where Sched truly saves the day (and your team’s sanity). By using Sched as your event hub, many school districts have cut the workload of PD day planning and administration by 50% or more​

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. Sched automates a lot of the heavy lifting – from handling online registration and personalized scheduling to sending automatic reminder emails and providing a check-in function. It also records attendance data, which you can use to award PD credits and report on participation. In short, Sched streamlines the logistics so you can focus on creating great learning experiences for teachers, rather than putting out fires on event day.

Conclusion: Focus on What Matters – Great Learning for Teachers

Planning impactful teacher training involves juggling many pieces, but the payoff is well worth it. By prioritizing peer collaboration, inclusive practices, engaging learning techniques, personalized choices, and smooth logistics, you create a professional development experience that respects teachers as learners. Educators will notice the difference – they’ll feel more involved, more valued, and more equipped to apply what they’ve learned. And when teachers get practical ideas and inspiration from PD, students benefit from more innovative and responsive teaching.

As a school administrator or PD coordinator, you have the ability to transform “just another training day” into a catalyst for growth in your district. Use this checklist as a guide to cover all the bases: from the way you structure group activities to the tools you use to manage the event. Small changes, like adding a brainstorming breakout or ensuring materials are accessible to all, can make a big difference in outcomes. And remember, you don’t have to do it alone – leveraging an event management platform like Sched can simplify the process and free you to concentrate on content and strategy. When the planning is handled efficiently, you can focus on what really matters: delivering great learning opportunities for your teachers.

Empower your educators by giving them a voice, choice, and a seamless PD experience. The next time you plan a professional development day, check off these key elements and watch the engagement and impact soar. With thoughtful planning and the right support, your PD days will not only hit the mark – they’ll become a highlight of your teachers’ professional year. Here’s to transformative PD that truly supports teachers and, ultimately, elevates student success!

Your Next PD Day Can Be More Engaging Than Ever. Start Planning with Sched Now!

Your teachers deserve a professional development experience that’s interactive, personalized, and truly valuable. Sched makes it easy to organize sessions, keep teachers engaged, and create a professional learning experience teachers will actually enjoy.

Get started with Sched today and see the difference.