High Quality Professional Development: From Theory to Practice
by Jamie Kasper
Associate Director, AECIn last month’s newsletter, I compared “traditional” professional development and professional learning networks, or PLNs. At the conclusion of that article, I wrote:
Just as we teach our students to pay close attention to the quality of the resources they find online, we must apply the same standards to our PLNs. We have a body of research available to us to assist in understanding the characteristics of high-quality professional development, which I believe also applies to learning in our PLNs.
I’ve been fortunate enough over the last few years to have both the time and the opportunity to read about effective practices in professional development. Two resources have been particularly helpful: Douglas Reeves’ book “Transforming Professional Development into Student Results” and the draft Model Core Teaching Standards, the revised version of InTASC’s 1992 professional standards.
In his book, Douglas Reeves outlines research-based ideas for educators to take charge of their professional development and use it to improve learning for their students. The first idea is for educators to focus on teaching through deliberate practice. He suggests videotaping a lesson and watching it both alone and with a colleague, and repeating this process regularly. I know a photographer that takes a slightly different approach to improving his professional practice; every few months, he focuses on one aspect of his practice, i.e. composition or lighting, and works for that time period on reflecting upon and improving that one aspect. By blending these two methods – reflection and focused practice – educators have the potential to make measurable improvements in teaching effectiveness.
Reeves’ second idea for educators is to focus on curriculum and assessment. He suggests that teachers engage in a multi-step process and use that process as a powerful tool for professional development:
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Identify the most important parts of the curriculum and arrange them in a scope and sequence;
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Work with other teachers to create performance assessment tools and processes for the most important pieces;
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Create teacher-made examples of exemplary work that meet the criteria for the performance assessment;
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Score another person’s work using the assessment tools;
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Revisit the assessment tools and processes and revise them as needed.
There are many platforms for this process to take place virtually. One example of a virtual space where this happens informally is the Art Education 2.0 Ning. This social network for visual arts educators is hosted by Dr. Craig Roland, Associate Professor at the University of Florida. You can sign up to join the Ning by going to http://arted20.ning.com/.
The final idea from Reeves’ book is to use action research to improve both teacher and student learning. Action research is a process where educators pose a question or questions related to their professional practice, collect data related to the question(s), and interpret the results. For example, in an elementary music classroom, I could ask the question, “How does allowing students to choose the music we use in class affect their level of engagement?” First, I would decide how I was going to measure engagement. Then I would test the question by designing instruction in two ways. For one group of classes, I would choose all of the music we used in class. For another group, I would provide choices of music related to the concept were exploring and allow students to choose. The next step would be to gather data about student engagement, and then analyze the data to come to a conclusion. As a final step in the action research process, I would examine the effect my practice had on students and decide if I wanted to make the change in practice permanent.
In addition to Douglas Reeves’ book, the other resource that has been helpful to me in thinking about the characteristics of high-quality professional development is the draft Model Core Teaching Standards document. These draft standards outline four areas for teacher focus: The Learner and Learning, Content Knowledge, Instructional Practice, and Professional Responsibility. Using these categories as a guide for reflecting on my own professional practice has helped to shape the way that I interact with learners.
These resources and others that outline effective practices in professional development are a great starting point for measuring the effectiveness and strength of our professional learning. Whether that learning takes place in person or online, we need to think carefully about how we improve our practice to maximize the impact of the learning experience.
Works Cited
Council of Chief State School Officers. Model Core Teaching Standards: A Resource for State Dialogue (Draft for Public Comment). Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (InTASC), Washington, DC: CCSSO, 2010.
Reeves, Douglas B. Transforming Professional Development into Student Results. Alexandria, VA: ASCD, 2010.
