Professional Development

This step is about developing and implementing strategies and conditions for enhancing teacher expertise by Creating conditions that support on-going collaborative professional learning.

Step 6 incluces five tasks: 

• Determining what the content of the professional develop experiences should be.

• Designing targeted professional development programs and practices.

• Identifying what resources are needed and where they can be secured.

• Integrating professional development with the comprehensive plan for school improvement.

• Implementing and evaluating the effectiveness of the professional development strategies.

Commentary

Research clearly shows that teacher expertise is the most significant school-based influence on student learning. Therefore, one would think that investments in enhancing teacher expertise would be a major focus of school improvement efforts.  However, while virtually all school improvement proposals assert that professional development is important, the level of investment in teacher learning is seldom substantial.  Moreover, much of the investment in professional development does not result in significant changes in teacher expertise and is not accompanied by changes in conditions in schools that would support the use of newly acquired expertise. In the literature on professional development, one sees an increasing attention to embedding teacher learning opportunities in the day-to-day work of schools and spending less time in formal, instructor-centered situations and more time developing expertise in the context of collaborative problem solving that characterizes professional learning communities.

School improvement almost always calls for enhancing the knowledge, skills, and dispositions of teachers (and supporting staff). Whatever course of action a school adopts, success usually hinges on providing support and resources for teachers to strengthen existing expertise or to learn new practices.  Teacher knowledge and skills are at stake as well as their beliefs and attitudes, their motivations, their willingness to commit, and their capacity to apply new knowledge to their particular school and classrooms.

It may be that the school staff has the expertise it needs to implement the strategies that have been decided upon. This, however, is unlikely.  Almost always, taking on new responsibilities means that school personnel will need to develop new capabilities or strengthen existing ones. Moreover, professional development and implementation usually should not be separate steps in the process of change.  While initial readiness may require intensive professional development, the process of implementation will uncover additional needs for learning new skills and dealing with doubts about the efficacy of the improvement initiative.

Developing and Implementing Strategies and Conditions for Enhancing Teacher Expertise

Continuing  professional development is essential to continuous improvement whether new initiatives are being implemented or school staffs are seeking to enhance the effectiveness of programs already in place. Each of the previous Steps in the KEYS-CSI process provides opportunities for teacher learning. In the continuous improvement process, professional development is driven by the analysis of student needs, is targeted  on specific skills needed by individuals and groups of teachers, and is on-going and integral to the implementation process. Conditions influencing teacher learning are established within the school to support continuous improvement, including attention to such matters as schedules, teacher assignments, use of meetings, resource development, cultivation of shared leadership, formation of teams, and related matters.  


Developing and implementing strategies and conditions for enhancing teacher expertise involves the following processes:

Determining what the content of the professional develop experiences should be.
Designing targeted professional development programs and practices.
Identifying what resources are needed and where they can be secured.
Integrating professional development with the comprehensive plan for school improvement.
Implementing and evaluating the effectiveness of the professional development strategies.


Each of the five processes create a context for teacher learning that is on-going and embedded in  the day to day work of the school.  Such learning is typically not defined as professional development but it may be the most powerful source of enhanced teacher expertise over time.  Two conditions are essential to the development of professional learning communities:

Shared responsibility for improving the learning opportunities and outcomes for all students in the school. To learn more, CLICK HERE [link 6a]

A commitment, matched by related interpersonal capabilities, to engage in collaborative problem solving. Research shows that professional development is more likely to result in school improvement when teachers engage in collaborative learning and problem solving. These skills and dispositions include:

•    Listening skills
•    Non-judgmental communication
•    Perspective taking
•    Openness to new ideas

To learn more, CLICK HERE [Link 6b]