 |
“We’ve shifted attention from thinking that professional development is something that teachers must leave school to attend — they can now have it imbedded in their schedule so that it is part of every teacher’s work day.”
— Stephanie Hirsh, National Staff Development Council |
Is your school’s idea of professional development “hit and run” workshops with so-called experts rattling off the latest Seven-Point Plan? Or do staff participate in meaningful learning opportunities that offer the knowledge and tools to help all students achieve?
In most cases, unfortunately, the first scenario is more typical, says Stephanie Hirsh, executive director of the Ohio-based National Staff Development Council (NSDC), which developed standards — recently adopted by CTA — that define outstanding staff development.
In fact, Hirsh estimates that about twothirds of schools and school districts today are engaged in professional learning that “hinders” rather than promotes excellent teaching designed to help every student.
Good professional development, says Hirsh, is usually team-based and schoolwide, as well as embedded within a school or district’s plan. Poor staff development has teachers learning and working in isolation, lacks follow-up, and will only benefit a few teachers and their students.
While the majority of schools and districts don’t provide opportunities that significantly enrich teaching, the good news is that this has started to change over the last decade.
“I think we’ve gone from a focus on district- level planning — where the district planned professional development for all teachers — to school-level planning, where teachers are at the table and can help decide on their own needs for professional development,” says Hirsh. “Another change is that we’ve shifted attention from thinking that professional development is something that teachers must leave school to attend. They can now have it embedded in their schedule so that it is part of every teacher’s workday.”
New style of learning groups
Too many schools in California are limiting their efforts to “state-approved” professional development providers for math and reading, in order to receive reimbursement from the state government under SB 472, approved in 2006. These approved professional development providers are tied to state-approved textbooks and often scripted programs. Nonetheless, there can be flexibility for schools within the funding formula that allows teachers to learn from one another.
 |
| Miriam Cuevas, Stephany Herrera and Stephanie Ngyuen at Corsini Elementary in Desert Hot Springs. |
Much of the new style of professional development takes place within professional learning groups where collaboration occurs. This can include — but is not limited to — the professional learning community (PLC) model, whereby educators strive to create an environment that fosters mutual cooperation, emotional support and personal growth by working together to accomplish as a team what cannot be accomplished alone.
“Teachers tend to share a collective responsibility for all students represented by teams of teachers working together,” says Hirsh. “You might have fourth-grade teachers taking time during the school day for professional learning and looking at where all fourth-grade students are successful and also at areas where they are not successful. Teachers are sharing their knowledge so that everyone can benefit.”
While teachers learning from one another is growing in popularity, says Hirsh, outside consultants still have a valuable role to play — but differently than in the past.
“That role is shifting,” says Hirsh. “It used to be that an outside consultant was a provider and trainer. Today, they are a partner with teachers at a full level. It has gone from teachers adopting a program to trainers adapting what they have to offer to meet the needs of the teachers and school site.”
But perhaps the most important change, says Hirsh, is that focus of professional development has evolved from being centered around what was considered helpful to teachers to zeroing in on student learning. This is often done by using disaggregated student data.
“When teachers know what students need to learn, professional development can address both teacher learning needs and student learning needs. And success is determined by whether the professional development is helping students be more successful.”
Different students with different needs
Progressive school sites are focusing on differentiated instruction to meet the needs of all students, observes Jane Robb of CTA’s Instruction and Professional Development Department. Recognizing that different students have different needs is key to understanding the necessity for differentiated instruction.
CTA recently adopted the NSDC standards for professional development because they are so comprehensive, says Robb.
“We recognize the importance of the NSDC standards emphasizing the context in which professional development must take place for it to succeed,” says Robb. “Often, in professional development, we tend to think about the guts or the content matter, without paying attention to the context in which it occurs. For example, when looking at context, you might ask: Does your school have the kind of leadership to implement this kind of professional development? Is there sufficient time and resources for teachers to carry this out? Will the professional development be embedded and relevant to the actual job you are doing in the classroom? These are some of the contextual factors that people don’t pay attention to when they should.”
More than 75 percent of all teachers participate in professional development related to their grade or subject level, the use of technology in the classroom, or curriculum development, according to the NEA. This is up from 59 percent in 1971.
While it is difficult to know how much time and money school districts devote to professional development, countries that outperform the United States in academic achievement — such as Finland, Japan and Singapore — devote significantly more time to professional development and teacher collaboration. In Singapore, the state pays teacher candidates to attend schools of education.
Including both veteran and new teachers
In California and throughout much of the country, the majority of professional development is aimed primarily at new teachers.
“As a state, we have invested an enormous amount in new teacher professional development through induction programs like BTSA [Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment],” says Robb.
Induction, part of the teacher credential requirement in California, requires new teachers who have received a preliminary credential to participate in a program of professional development and beginning teacher support in order to win recommendation for the professional clear credential.
“The BTSA program has been huge in a good way,” says Robb.
 |
| Harold Acord, Chairman, CTA Credentials and Professional Development |
Most experts believe that professional development geared toward both new teachers beginning their careers and veteran teachers is the best way to improve student learning and empower teachers as lifelong learners.
And studies show that there is a strong correlation between teacher learning and student learning.
A 2007 study by the American Institutes for Research found that high-achieving schools — or those “beating the odds” — tended to view professional development as an “investment” and teacher knowledge as a valuable resource to be nurtured. These schools benefited from mentoring, peer observations and coaching and were supported by instructional coaches.
“Professional development at high-performing schools differs distinctively from the norm,” states a 2005 research review by the Center for Public Education. “It is directly linked to changing instructional practice in order to improve student achievement. It is often team-based and schoolwide, and it reflects a continual process of improvement.”
A 2000 study by the National Staff Development Council examined the awardwinning professional development programs at eight public schools that had made gains in student achievement. The study found that in each of the schools, “the very nature of staff development had shifted from isolated learning and the occasional workshop to focused, ongoing organizational learning built on collaborative reflection and joint action.”
While it’s easy to show that higherachieving schools benefit from good professional development, it is more difficult to determine whether professional development is successful, especially since it takes time for teachers to integrate knowledge and skills into classroom practice, and teachers need time to reflect, network and observe others demonstrating the model.
Hirsh likens the process to that of a “time-release capsule” whose contents cannot be absorbed in a single day or week, but are infused into the system over time to positively impact student achievement.
 |
Tom Guskey
Georgetown College |
Issue of qualifying success
Even defining “successful” can be challenging when it comes to teacher training.
“It’s one of the areas we’re really struggling with,” says Robb. “Is there a common definition of success? Is success something that allows a teacher to better meet student needs? Does it mean test scores going up? Or that teachers feel more fulfilled professionally? Until that has been defined by a school or district, there is no way to measure whether the goal of success has been met. However, most experts agree that if professional development changes a teacher’s practice, and that change has an effect on student learning, then effective professional development has occurred in the broadest sense.”
Tom Guskey, a professor at Georgetown College and author of several books and studies on professional development, believes that there are five levels for judging the effectiveness of professional development: Did participants find it useful and relevant? Did it add to the knowledge base or skill level of those taking it? Was there the necessary support and resources to implement the training at the participant’s school site? Did it change the practices of participants in the classroom? Did it have an impact on the students?
Unfortunately, says Guskey, those planning the professional development seldom start with the last question and go backward, which is the best way of planning. “The first issue they should confront is the impact they want it to have on students. Once that is addressed, they should ask what practices can lead to those improvements. And then they should consider what kinds of organizational support should take place so that the implementation can go well.”
When professional development goes awry, it is usually not well thought out, says Guskey. “Often it is not planned appropriately. What happens is that an administrator goes to a conference, sees a presenter and says ‘We have to do that here,’ without looking at the evidence. The administrator is only looking at how influential that presenter was, and so the planning process is not started in the right way.”
Most experts agree that for professional development to be meaningful, educators must have “buy-in,” must be part of the planning and/or design process, and must be assured that the proposed changes are not merely another fad.
And it is also important that professional development for teachers be complemented by professional development opportunities for paraprofessionals and other staff — including administrators — so that everyone is on board with the changes. Robb believes that this is an exciting era for teachers when it comes to professional development opportunities.
“As a profession, we have come a long way in understanding effective teaching. Our continuing challenge is to apply that knowledge to our practice, which is the essence of professional learning and development.” For more information on Professional Development visit www.cta.org/mycta/ profession.
5 levels for judging the effectiveness of professional development:
- Did participants find it useful and relevant?
- Did it add to the knowledge base or skill level of those taking it?
- Was there the necessary support and resources to implement the training at the participant’s school site?
- Did it change the practices of participants in the classroom?
- Did it have an impact on the students?
