Professional Development

The ongoing educational reform movement is changing the role of teachers and how they perform their duties in order to fulfill the demands of continuous student improvement. Teachers who prepared for their craft prior to this reform movement may find themselves unprepared for these new roles and practices. It may require a long-term development process through which they change their accustomed practices. But where do these teachers find the time to do this in the midst of all their other duties? There are no “time-outs” for teachers to revamp their games. And what about newer teachers? How do they make sure they are performing in line with reform-based expectations that relate primarily to student outcomes?

Professional development has long been the way teachers enhanced their skills and been introduced to best practices and new instructional models. The development of content standards (what students should know and be able to do at each grade), curriculum matched to those standards, and teaching approaches that help students prepare for assessments based on those standards has had a significant impact on the nature and delivery of professional development for teachers.

Traditional professional development was primarily focused on increasing an individual teacher’s general knowledge, skills or teaching competency. It also was used to introduce new instructional models or methodologies. Such professional development was usually conducted off site in single sessions or a series of sessions, workshops, seminars, etc.

Another type of professional development has emerged. Job-embedded professional development occurs right on site where teachers operate. It focuses on improved student learning and on dealing with the teaching problems teachers face. At CAPCS, it has meant a more collaborative approach whereby coaches and facilitators worked with teachers twice a month for a full day, helping them to identify the priorities of what students should know and be able to do at each grade, considering what they know about each student, and using pacing guides, standards, and other tools. Working together, teachers developed a vertical alignment across grades which led to a logical sequence of what should be taught as students move across grades. Open-ended, constructed type assessments are being designed to measure student progress along the way. Student responses will be analyzed to determine what students know and what the teachers’ next instructional moves should be. Teacher feedback thus far has been very positive. Teachers appreciate the opportunity to dissect the data and to identify strengths, weaknesses and trends.

Both traditional professional development and job-embedded professional development can be highly useful. Teachers need to continue to expand their personal knowledge and skills. Where there is a strong connection between what is learned and the teacher’s work context, traditional professional developmentcan be very effective, particularly if it includes an emphasis on analysis and reflection. Job embedded professional development, with its focus on students’ thinking and performance and its collaborative approach among teachers, adds a valuable new dimension to a teacher’s toolbox. It meets teachers where they are now and addresses teachers’ problems and challenges. However valuable, professional development, particularly job-embedded professional development, needs time and “mental space’ for it to take root and yield actual improvement in teacher practices that lead to continuous improvement in student learning.