According to the Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL), a Regional Educational Laboratory, reforming schools “know that paying attention to learning for teachers and administrators is key to success.” Educating teachers is one of the most important ways to improve the quality of teaching and learning. School improvement relies on professional development because school staff members implement reforms. Investing in professional development is one of the most effective ways to change schools substantially; nothing less will ensure a qualified teacher in every classroom.
Professional development has traditionally been seen as a formalized delivery process where teachers attend classes or workshops. Though professional development through training and class attendance is still prevalent and available through various sources, the teaching community is also beginning to increasingly experience policies in which
- New teachers have a mentor
- The school day is reorganized to allow teachers time to work collaboratively with one another in curricular and instructional development, and
- Teachers are involved in evaluating fellow teachers to ensure that evaluations are constructive and contribute to their professional growth.
As educators and policymakers at the federal, state and local levels look for new ways to increase learning opportunities for new as well as veteran teachers, guidance is becoming available from organizations like McREL and the National Staff Development Council (NSDC). These organizations have established research-based principles that advocate new methods and standards.
In 2002, NSDC announced its 12 Standards for Professional Development (see box that follows) that paint a picture of high-quality professional development. Providing such development, according to the U.S. Department of Education, is one of the biggest challenges schools face in implementing CSR.
NSDC’s 12 Standards
Context Standards
Staff development that improves the learning of all students:
1) Organizes adults into learning communities whose goals are aligned with those of the school and district. (Learning Communities)
2) Requires skillful school and district leaders who guide continuous instructional improvement. (Leadership)
3) Requires resources to support adult learning and collaboration.
(Resources)
Process Standards
Staff development that improves the learning of all students:
4) Uses disaggregated student data to determine adult learning priorities, monitor progress, and help sustain continuous improvement. (Data-Driven)
5) Uses multiple sources of information to guide improvement anddemonstrate its impact. (Evaluation)
6) Prepares educators to apply research to decision making. (Research-Based)
7) Uses learning strategies appropriate to the intended goal. (Design)
8) Applies knowledge about human learning and change. (Learning)
9) Provides educators with the knowledge and skills to collaborate.
(Collaboration)
Content Standards
Staff development that improves the learning of all students:
10) Prepares educators to understand and appreciate all students, create safe, orderly and supportive learning environments, and hold high expectations for their academic achievement. (Equity)
11) Deepens educators’ content knowledge, provides them with research-based instructional strategies to assist students in meeting rigorous academic standards, and prepares them to use various types of classroom assessments appropriately.
(Quality Teaching)
12) Provides educators with knowledge and skills to involve families and other stakeholders appropriately. (Family Involvement)
Best Practices
According to the CSR Office in the U.S. Department of Education, one of the biggest challenges schools face in implementing CSR is finding time for professional development. Implementation is sometimes delayed because schools do not have a specific plan for how and when they will provide professional development.
Resources
For schools and districts to continuously consider their professional development needs, understand the components of a professional development planning process, and create a plan that incorporates professional development opportunities into their overall school improvement efforts, schools will need not only to talk with colleagues but also to rely on valuable resources. The selection below represents an assortment of tools and resources developed specifically for practitioners:
- By Your Own Design produced by the Eisenhower National Clearinghouse (ENC) and National Staff Development Council provides articles, activities and resources to help school and district officials draft a professional learning plan, become informed about issues that affect professional development programs, choose learning strategies, and evaluate the effectiveness of the programs.
http://www.enc.org/professional/guide/index.shtm
- The North Central Regional Educational Laboratory created Professional Development: Learning From the Best. A Toolkit for Schools and Districts Based on the National Awards Program for Model Professional Development to capture the experiences of national professional development award winners. The toolkit organizes the lessons into a thorough four-step process: (1) Designing Professional Development; (2) Implementing Professional Development; (3) Evaluating and Improving Professional Development; and (4) Sharing Professional Development Learning.
http://www.ncrel.org/pd/toolkit.htm
- Design Your Professional Development Program by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) hosts a professional development survey for schools and districts, a professional development plan template, resources on successful professional development programs and activities, and contact information for ASCD expert trainers and consultants that provide on-site support.
http://webserver3.ascd.org/ossd/planning.html
In addition,
- The National Staff Development Council's web site contains
information on traditional staff development and more interactive programs such as study groups, action research and peer coaching.
http://www.nsdc.org/
- The American Federation of Teachers' web site contains a section on teacher quality that includes information on peer assistance/peer review and professional development.
http://www.aft.org/edissues/teacherquality/
- Initial teacher preparation and mid-career professional development are covered by the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future.
http://www.nctaf.org/home.php
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