Models of Professional Development for Biology Teachers in the Context of Social Changes

This article aims to explore the impact of social changes on the professional development of biology teachers. The purpose of the study is the analysis of modern challenges in the field of education and the development of a model of professional growth of a biology teacher. The following methods are employed in the study: analysis and synthesis of literature on the research topic to determine the current state of the investigated problem, systematic analysis, and synthesis of obtained information to identify the main models of professional development for biology teachers. The regulatory framework ensuring conditions for the professional development of teachers has been analyzed. Modern economic and technological changes, socio-cultural and political transformations, dynamics of interethnic and cultural relations in Ukraine, high population mobility, and migration processes affect the education system and the professional development of teachers. In the scientific discourse, among effective models of professional development for teachers, scholars distinguish: concepts of teaching and development of teachers' professional abilities based on knowledge (knowledge for practice, knowledge in practice, personal knowledge); models of professional development for educators (training model, award-bearing model, deficit model, cascading model, standards-based model, coaching/mentoring model, community of practice model, action research model, transformational model); competency, cognitive, human-centered models; models of applied science, craftsmanship, reflective, apprentice-expert model, rationalist model, case studies model, cascading. The author proposes an original model of professional development, which involves six stages: analysis of contemporary challenges, professional training based on teachers' needs, creation of an individual development plan, integration of innovative technologies into professional activities, self-evaluation, and the establishment and support of professional communities. The main research results indicate the need to reconsider traditional approaches to teaching biology and emphasize the use of modern technologies in the professional development of teachers for successful implementation of changes in the educational environment.