Warning: this post may incite, annoy or even anger some people but I am hopeful that it will also encourage and motivate change. I am coming at this post from the point of view of an educator for many years, a staff developer and a lifelong learner. I believe there are so many issues today with the fact that people believe “Teacher Professional Development” to be as simple as going online or attending a conference or a single day workshop for a few hours. The single day workshop commonly referred to as “drive-by PD” and many of the other models are not successful. The main reasons are because they are not ongoing, sustainable and high quality. Quality teacher professional development is a real issue and will always be an issue.
Let’s start with the problems. One is that “Professional Development” by definition assumes you have an innate skill or proficiency. My belief is that the term should be broken down into three specific terms. The initial term or concept should be “Professional Exposure”, giving others exposure to an educational expert. For new, impressionable teachers, this is important because they are most likely to get pumped and run with the new ideas. We must ensure however that the correct and appropriate effective pedagogical approach is being implemented. Also, when the concept is being implemented, it must be assessed correctly at the appropriate Depth of Knowledge level or taxonomic level. I personally have seen many teachers implement a program without fully knowing how to implement or assess it.
The second term “Professional Improvement” takes the concept that you already have some inkling of the concept and are going to improve it. This is crucial to the success of all teachers or individuals being that one must be a lifelong learner and have the inner drive to improve. If one does not have the impetus for learning, then self-improvement will not happen.
The final term “Professional Development” (PD) and the ideal for this is something that is built upon concepts of effective PD. This occurs through coaching, reflection, or reviewing results. It may occur individually, in pairs, or in collaborative learning teams when educators plan, implement, analyze, reflect, and evaluate the integration of their professional learning into their practice. It occurs within learning communities that meet to learn or refine instructional strategies; plan lessons that integrate the new strategies; share experiences about implementing those lessons; analyze student work together to reflect on the results of use of the strategies; and assess their progress toward their defined goals.
Before schools can adopt these new 21st-century standards for teacher professional development, Hirsch (of Learning Forward formerly known as the National Staff Development Council) said there are some prerequisites: (1) Educators must commit to ensuring that all students succeed, (2) Educators must be ready to learn continually, (3) School district leaders must understand that professional learning involves collaborative inquiry and learning, and (4) School district leaders must understand that educators learn in different ways and at different rates.
Learning Forward’s seven standards for professional learning that increase teacher effectiveness and results for all students are:
- Learning Communities: Groups of teachers who are committed to continuous improvement, shared responsibility, and collective goal alignment.
- Leadership: Skillful leaders who develop capacity, advocate, and create support systems for professional learning.
- Resources: Prioritizing, monitoring, and coordinating resources for professional learning.
- Data: Using a variety of sources and types of student, educator, and school system data to plan, assess, and evaluate professional learning.
- Learning Designs: Integrating theories, research, and models of human learning to achieve intended outcomes.
- Implementation: Applying research and sustained support for implementation of professional learning to foster long-term change.
- Outcomes: Aligning outcomes with educator performance and student curriculum standards.
The issue with professional development many times is that the person responsible for organizing professional development, do so in ways that alienate rather than engage and assist educators. Those organizing the professional development may not be clear about specific improvements in educator and student performance that should result, or may not carefully determine what steps will lead to the desired performance levels. In addition, educators often complain that they are required to participate in poorly conceived and ineffective professional development leads to complaints professional development that does not address the real challenges they face in their schools and classrooms. They resent “one-size-fits-all” professional development that targets large numbers of educators from very different schools and classrooms who have students with different needs. Also, the professional development may not consider educators’ varying levels of motivation, interest, knowledge, and skill. This is the rationale for the differentiated approach to PD just as we differentiate with our students.
All schools should be places where both adults and students learn. Unfortunately this doesn’t happen. Most of the time, teachers and administrators develop their own knowledge and skills, which they model for students. This can be dangerous if it is not done properly and could have detrimental effects on student learning and their success. The concept of continual or ongoing development creates a culture of learning throughout the school and supports educators’ efforts to engage students, expected of a lifelong learner. An organization that organizes team-based professional development or professional learning networks and expects all teachers and administrators to consistently participate — though for different purposes, a different times, in different ways — shows that the organization values and is serious about all educators performing at higher levels. As a result, the entire school is more focused and effective.
With my experiences in education, it is my belief that research has shown that teaching quality and school leadership are the most important factors in raising student achievement. For teachers, school and district leaders to be most effective, they need to continually expand their knowledge and skills to implement the best educational practices. Educators learn to help students learn at the highest levels. They need to be able to move from exposure to improvement to finally and most importantly, professional development and SUCCESS!!
