Great teacher survey questions: how to ask great questions for teacher professional development that drive actionable insights

Great teacher survey questions can transform how schools approach professional development by uncovering the real needs and preferences of educators. AI surveys with conversational follow-ups dig deeper than traditional forms to understand skill gaps and preferred learning formats. This article provides 12 question starters designed specifically for teacher professional development needs assessments.

Why conversational surveys work better for teacher PD planning

Teachers often have nuanced professional development needs that only surface through a genuine conversation. When you approach feedback collection with a simple checkbox survey, you lose the context about why certain skills or supports matter so much. That nuance can mean the difference between an impactful PD program and one that misses the mark.

Follow-ups make the survey a conversation, so it's a conversational survey. By dynamically probing for details—“why is this difficult?”, “can you give an example?”—you discover root causes, not just symptoms. Using an automatic AI follow-up questions feature, these deeper insights are captured in real time, making the process more insightful, actionable, and less transactional for teachers.

Research consistently shows that conversational survey methods increase engagement and lead to higher response rates compared to static forms, especially when the topic is as personal as teaching practice or professional growth. In fact, over 70% of educators say they are more likely to provide thorough feedback when a survey feels tailored to their experiences [1].

Questions that reveal teacher skill gaps and training needs

Identifying exactly where support is needed requires well-crafted, open-ended questions and targeted follow-ups. Here are six question starters—each paired with AI-powered conversational probes—to uncover the precise areas teachers want help in:

• Question 1: "What teaching challenges are you currently facing in your classroom?"
  This open-ended approach lets teachers describe struggles in their own words.
  Follow-up example:

  Can you share a specific example from this week? / How long has this been a challenge?

• Question 2: "Which technology tools do you feel least confident using for instruction?"
  This identifies digital skill gaps without making assumptions.
  Follow-up example:

  What specific features confuse you? / Have you had any training on this tool?

• Question 3: "What student behavior management techniques would you like to learn more about?"
  This targets a common area where teachers seek development.
  Follow-up example:

  What age group presents the biggest challenge? / Describe a recent situation where you needed this skill

• Question 4: "How comfortable are you differentiating instruction for diverse learners?"
  This uses a scale question with qualitative follow-up.
  Follow-up example:

  What specific differentiation strategies do you struggle with?

• Question 5: "What assessment methods would you like to explore or improve?"
  This uncovers gaps in evaluation skills.
  Follow-up example:

  Are you more interested in formative or summative assessment techniques?

• Question 6: "Which curriculum areas do you feel need more professional development support?"
  This helps prioritize subject-specific training.
  Follow-up example:

  What makes this area particularly challenging for you?

These kinds of conversational starters tap into the real-world experiences of teachers, so PD coordinators and administrators understand both the what and the why behind each need.

Understanding how teachers prefer to learn

Knowing individual learning preferences and constraints ensures professional development programs resonate—leading to noticeably higher engagement and long-term impact. These six question starters are designed to surface practical insights about delivery formats, motivation, and structural barriers:

• Question 7: "What's your ideal format for professional development sessions?"
  This helps design PD that teachers will actually attend.
  Follow-up example:

  Why does this format work best for your schedule? / Have you had good experiences with this format before?

• Question 8: "How much time can you realistically dedicate to professional development each month?"
  This grounds PD planning in reality, not wishful thinking.
  Follow-up example:

  What times of day work best? / Are there certain months that are harder?

• Question 9: "Do you prefer learning independently or in collaborative groups?"
  This shapes whether to offer self-paced or cohort-based options.
  Follow-up example:

  What makes that style more effective for you?

• Question 10: "What motivates you most to participate in professional development?"
  This uncovers intrinsic and extrinsic motivators.
  Follow-up example:

  Can you give an example of PD that really motivated you?

• Question 11: "How do you best retain and apply new teaching strategies?"
  This informs follow-up support after PD sessions.
  Follow-up example:

  What support would help you implement new ideas?

• Question 12: "What barriers prevent you from attending professional development?"
  This identifies key obstacles to address in planning.
  Follow-up example:

  Which barrier is the biggest challenge? / What would help overcome this?

Studies indicate that PD participation increases nearly 30% when sessions are tailored to preferred formats and fit within actual schedule constraints [2]. By letting teachers articulate both what they need to learn and how (and when) they want to learn it, you set your district up for a more effective investment in its educators.

Rolling out teacher PD surveys across your district

District-wide implementation takes thoughtful preparation if you want actionable results and trust from your teachers and staff. Here’s how I approach it:

Using templates: I always recommend starting with ready-made templates as a foundation. Specific offers expert-crafted teacher professional development survey templates—pre-loaded with conversation-driven follow-ups designed by education researchers. These can be tailored for custom needs and let you launch fast. If you want to go deeper, you can also use the AI survey editor to make changes via a simple chat interface.

Multilingual delivery: For districts with diverse staff, Specific’s automatic language detection ensures every teacher gets survey questions in their preferred language without tedious translation work. That means everyone can participate fully and share thoughtful feedback in the language that feels most natural.

Timing considerations: I recommend launching surveys at low-stress moments—not during grading, parent conferences, or standardized tests. Give teachers a 2-3 week window so there’s time to participate without feeling rushed. This approach leads to higher completion and better quality insight.

I often summarize the advantages of conversational AI surveys compared to traditional PD forms like this:

It’s no surprise that schools using conversational PD needs assessments report up to twice the actionable insights per response compared to their previous forms [3].

Turning teacher feedback into actionable PD plans

Collecting teacher feedback is truly valuable only if it leads to improvements in your PD offerings. With Specific’s AI survey response analysis, I can quickly surface patterns, identify needs across different groups, and decide what to do next—without sifting through every answer manually.

To get the most from responses, I recommend using targeted AI prompts. Here are a few examples:

Finding common skill gaps: Use this prompt to see the top areas where teachers need support the most.

What are the top 5 skill gaps mentioned by teachers, and how many teachers mentioned each one?

Understanding format preferences by experience level: This helps you tailor PD experiences to new teachers versus veterans.

Compare the learning format preferences between new teachers (0–3 years) and veteran teachers (10+ years).

Identifying scheduling constraints: Use this to work out the best timing and remove practical barriers to PD participation.

What are the most common scheduling barriers teachers mentioned, and what solutions did they suggest?

All these insights export directly into PD planning documents, curriculum maps, or action plans. With Specific’s multiple analysis chats, our team can look at the same data from different angles—whether it’s skill gaps, format preferences, or scheduling trends—without duplicating effort.

Start gathering meaningful teacher feedback today

Conversational surveys transform PD planning from guesswork to data-driven decisions that actually empower teachers. Educators notice—and appreciate—when their voices directly shape professional development offerings. If you're not asking these questions, you're missing crucial insights about what your teachers actually need. Don’t miss out: create your own survey with Specific’s AI survey builder today.