Professional Development in Tough Times

Dear Colleagues,

I know many of us have already become weary of hearing the phrase, “In these tough economic times...”.  So, rather than starting with that line, I would rather focus on the opportunities fiscal constraint presents us.  Specifically, I want to focus on the opportunity we all have to re-cast our systems of professional development.  Focusing our professional learning on what is proven to work can be a direct result of the increased pressure we all feel to do more with fewer resources.  The following ten strategies are a summary of the guidance provided by Stephanie Hirsh, the Executive Director of the National Staff Development Council.  Should you wish to hear them directly from her, please review the webinar archive at: http://w.on24.com/r.htm?e=137131&s=1&k=8751C74FDF1EB8700975B7E991489FFA

1. Focus on students- Begin the process of designing professional development by first asking two critical questions.  What do our students need to know or be able to do?  How well are they demonstrating their abilities to do what we want?  Move from this foundation to exploring the learning needs of your staff.  What do principals, teacher leaders, teachers and other staff need in order to promote student success?  What specific professional development will provide them with the skills they need?
2. Focus on teachers- Because you have limited resources you may need to focus your professional development on a select group of teachers rather than the entire teacher population.  Begin with a focus on teachers who work with students who are most at risk of academic failure, or with students with specific learning needs.  Next provide targeted training and support to teachers who are new to the profession.  Finally, provide support to teachers who have made a change in their job assignments from the previous year.  Other groups may come to mind in your districts.  These are intended to be a starting place for your decision-making.
3. Re-order your priorities- Narrow your professional development to a few key priorities that are based upon your school and district improvement plans.  Explore all the initiatives connected to your plans and the professional learning needed to implement them.  Focus on one or two key areas that are most critical to your improvement efforts.
4. Examine research and best practices- Limit teacher professional development to those experiences that are proven to address specific teacher and student learning needs.  Reduce, or consider elimination of staff participation in conferences or other stand-alone events that are not likely to provide any transfer to practice.  Instead target resources toward providing sustained, job-embedded professional learning.
5. Clarify expectations- Invest in follow-up and ensure that every training event has intentional follow-through imbedded in the planning process.  Move from isolated learning events, to an expectation that learning will be applied, and evaluated to determine the impact on student learning outcomes.
6. Invest in team learning- Every district leader, school leader and teacher should be a member of a team that meets for a few hours every week for the purpose of improving student learning.  Examples of team tasks are:
1. Review of student learning data
2. Looking at student work samples
3. Development of common assessments
4. Reflection on instructional practice
5. Lesson design
6. Peer Coaching
7. Use local expertise- Every school system has individuals who are successful in reaching a group of students who are struggling, or who have mastery in topics connected to your shared learning needs.  Draw on those resources and support them in the sharing of their expertise with the rest of your school community.
8. Terminate district-wide teacher assemblies- As Stephanie Hirsh says, “Training without follow up is malpractice.”  We all need to commit to ending all one-stop, single day, disconnected events and instead structure staff development that is learning focused, tied to application in the classroom and evaluated continually for changes in practice and student learning.
9. Support subject area networking- There are many opportunities for networking in districts and across the state.  Allowing staff the time to connect to peers who are working in the same subject area can create forums for sharing and collaboration that support them in resolving their problems of practice
10. Expand your use of other professional development resources- There are staff development resources that can support your planning, delivery and evaluation practices at the state, regional and national level.  Consider using OSPI, ESD, NWREL, textbook companies or other supporters of staff learning in your professional development planning.  Many of these resources may be available to you for free or at a significantly reduced cost.