Good professional development -- for a change

Teachers are the single most important variable in the success of students. And teaching improves with strong professional development. "Each dollar spent on recruiting high-quality teachers, and deepening their knowledge and skills, nets greater gains in student learning than any other use of an education dollar," says esearcher Linda Darling-Hammond in her online article on "Quality Teaching."

In spite of the fact that every proposal to improve education recognizes the need for good professional development as an essential component of implementation, follow-up is uneven. Seldom is there sufficient money or resources; rarely are the training programs appropriate or adequate. While experts recommend that 10 percent of the budget be allocated to support professional development, district support ranges from 2 to 6 percent.

Staff development when done correctly has three components: an ongoing needs assessment, a comprehensive program for learning, and evaluation of effects that feeds back to needs assessment. During the needs assessment phase, information is gathered about the adequacy of student learning and the changes in teaching that must be made. The learning program should be well-planned and an integral part of the school-wide operation. The model that follows is consistent with research and experience about what is known to work well. Finally, a program evaluation should be in place that provides feedback to be used for improvement.

The National Partnership for Excellence and Accountability in Teaching (NPEAT) has identified eight principles of effective professional development. Professional development:

• Should be based on analysis of the differences between actual student performance goals and standards for student learning.
• Should involve teachers in the identification of what they need to learn and in the development of the learning experiences in which they will be involved.
• Should be primarily school-based and built into the day-to-day work of teaching.
• Should be organized around collaborative problem solving.
• Should be continuous and ongoing, involving follow-up and support for further learning - including support from sources external to the school that can provide necessary resources and new perspectives.
• Should incorporate evaluation of multiple sources of information on outcomes for students and the instruction and other processes that are involved in implementing the lessons learned through professional development.
• Should provide opportunities to gain an understanding of the theory underlying the knowledge and skills being learned.
• Should be connected to a comprehensive change process focused on improving student learning.

Teachers are professionals that are committed to their students. They are frustrated by interruptions to their work that do not help them improve their teaching. The current discussion about schools offers yet another opportunity to make significant improvements in professional development from what has been learned from experience and research.

A new contact program launched by CTA's Instruction and Professional Development Department will provide more useful information and resources to local chapters so that teachers can take a greater role in the design and implementation of better staff development programs.

All responsible educators and the wiser policy makers really know what must be done for schools to improve significantly. An important component in the broad strategy to achieve successful public schools is professional development that is done correctly. But this part of change is highly nuanced and complex, characteristics that do not package well in two-minute sound bites. This part requires serious long-term planning and significant investment of taxpayer dollars. What is lacking is the political will - the leadership - to make public schools do what is right for our children.