Building a High Quality Professional Development Plan
School
districts and Charters must generate a yearly professional development plan aligned with the district’s or school’s strategic plan. The professional development plan should
focus on the impact on student learning and the evidence that best reflect improvements in student growth. The plan should consider policies and practices to be implemented to gain the desired impact and the types of organizational support or change necessary to facilitate the implementation.
A high quality professional development plan should identify student and teacher learning needs. The plan should consider participants who would benefit from the professional development, and learning outcomes that are observable and measurable. Professional development should be relevant, useful and include professional learning activities that identify intended outcomes, methods for evaluation, and outlines goals for providing follow-up. The data gathered from implementing a Professional Development survey can be used to identify participants and focus on specific needs. The Professional Development Scoring guide can be used to analyze data.
Planning intentionally makes evaluation easier, leads to a more effective professional development and educators who view professional development as purposeful. Using a checklist can provide guidance and support professional development goals. The backward design model supports the idea that the design process should begin with identifying the desired results and then working backwards to develop instruction.
A high quality professional development plan should identify student and teacher learning needs. The plan should consider participants who would benefit from the professional development, and learning outcomes that are observable and measurable. Professional development should be relevant, useful and include professional learning activities that identify intended outcomes, methods for evaluation, and outlines goals for providing follow-up. The data gathered from implementing a Professional Development survey can be used to identify participants and focus on specific needs. The Professional Development Scoring guide can be used to analyze data.
Planning intentionally makes evaluation easier, leads to a more effective professional development and educators who view professional development as purposeful. Using a checklist can provide guidance and support professional development goals. The backward design model supports the idea that the design process should begin with identifying the desired results and then working backwards to develop instruction.
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Viewing Guide
What questions must we ask about professional development practices to provide the best teaching and learning opportunities for the achievement of all students? What makes professional development effective? How does professional development shape what you will do? What are the components for an effective professional development? |
Activity
Reflect on prior professional development sessions in your school or district. Download the checklist and use it to identify areas of consideration when planning professional development. What weaknesses did you find and how might they be addressed?