Professional development (PD) for teachers is critical to improving instructional practices and student outcomes. Not all PD experiences are effective, though. This article explores the six characteristics of high-quality professional development for teachers, based on the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) guidelines, and provides actionable strategies to create impactful and sustainable professional learning experiences.
We’ve all been there: that PD session that either put us to sleep or made us cringe. During my teaching career, I sat through many PD sessions where presenters told me what to do but didn’t follow their own advice. I decided to dedicate this third chapter of my career to righting the wrongs of past poor professional development and to placing a greater focus on honing professional learning.
There is a distinct difference between professional development and professional learning. Professional development tends to be a one-size-fits-all, one-stop workshop intended to disseminate a common message or introduce a bigger idea. Professional learning, on the other hand, is a long-term, targeted approach addressing the specific needs of teachers and administrators, based on evidence surrounding the needs of the students and the school community.
In 2015, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was signed into law, emphasizing equitable opportunities, high academic standards, and professional development for teachers. This bipartisan education law puts a greater emphasis on equal opportunity for all students. More protections for America’s disadvantaged and high-needs students, higher academic standards, more focus on assessment data, support for local innovations, and significant increases in accountability are all components of ESSA.
Since its enactment, ESSA itself has not undergone a comprehensive reauthorization or major legislative updates. However, states have continued to refine and amend their individual ESSA implementation plans to better align with evolving educational priorities and needs.
ESSA lays out six requirements that ensure teacher professional development strategies are practical, collaborative, and ultimately improve student outcomes while supporting teacher growth. The six characteristics below highlight methods to deliver effective professional development and professional development strategies tailored to educators’ needs.
Learning takes time! Traditionally, professional development has been designed for the masses, not to consider individual teacher needs. Professional learning requires that every teacher be considered an individual with differing needs over time. In my experience, districts and buildings limit their professional development or professional learning to one or a few sessions—mainly due to budget limitations.
Here are some ideas to consider in making professional development and learning sustainable.
Based on a sound vision or mission for educator growth, create a three-to-five-year plan. Adequate time to learn, practice, implement, and review must be a part of the proposal. The plan should be flexible enough to make changes when necessary and must be supported and respected by all within the school community, including district-level management.
Pair resources designed by the experts to guide you into your learning offerings. When working with an expert, purchase the materials created by the expert for teachers to refer to when constructing lessons or reflecting on practice. Use these resources for Professional Learning Community (PLC) time or book-study groups.
While this may not be a preferred way of learning for more seasoned staff, younger teachers may find this way of interacting while learning new ideas beneficial. The great thing about webinars, learning series, or video productions is that they can be viewed at any time. Just like everyone, educators have busy lives. Finding ways to get to the learning on an individual’s time can be a great way to honor the professionalism of your staff.
People learn best when content is relevant and valuable. As dothe students in our classrooms, each teacher needs something different to achieve success. Professional development strategies should be data-informed and tailored to address teachers’ and students’ specific needs.
Here are some ways to achieve focus.
For professional development, review the data collected to decide on major themes or areas of general needs. Larger topics needing introduction or reinforcement are good for all teachers, keeping in mind that there need to be examples or generalized strategies offered to all participants throughout the workshop session.
For professional learning, ask each educator to choose one to three areas of personal training needs. Encourage teachers to seek out learning options (such as attending conferences or viewing online courses) or provide them with the resources they need to get the training.
Ensure the development or learning is centered around content and student needs. Based on the specifics of curriculum and the diversities of students, the elements should include intentional emphasis on discipline-specific pedagogies as well as strategies and techniques to address the varied needs within the classroom.
Professional learning must be directly linked to the teacher’s work in the classroom, including day-to-day teaching practices and content-specific instructional practices intended to improve student learning. In this case, we are talking about authentic, real, and immediate challenges of practice. Some issues require individual guidance, while others may need teamwork.
Here are some ways to incorporate job-embedded professional development and professional learning.
Have a mentor or coach observe the teacher in the classroom during instruction. This observation is focused on a specific issue of concern or interest and is intended to provide feedback on the specific issue. During the feedback or reflection time, the mentor or coach may use a video recording of the lesson to show specifics of what occurred.
Have an instructional coach or facilitator conduct a demonstration lesson on a specific strategy or technique while teachers observe. Afterward, the team discusses the implementation of the strategy or technique to reinforce their understanding and comfort with applying the ideas.
Have teacher teams meet in a lesson study. The lesson study design involves a team-created lesson that one teacher implements while the others observe. Afterward, the team discusses how the lesson progressed and what adjustments may need to be made.
Other ways to incorporate job-embedded professional development and learning include
Much can be said about using data to improve student achievement. You will often see the term data-driven, which implies that data may be the sole force for making decisions. I use the term data-informed, since there are multiple factors that impact student learning, data being one of those factors. Data can be collected from a variety of sources, such as
Now that you have collected the data, here are some ideas for how data can inform our professional development and learning.
Like focused and job-embedded professional development and learning, classroom-focused professional development and learning is specific to the management and instructional processes happening in the classroom during instruction. From how the classroom is organized to how students enter the classroom to questioning techniques employed by the teacher, classroom-focused professional development and learning is about the teaching and learning environment.
Ways to incorporate classroom-focused professional development and learning include
For professional development and learning to have a significant effect, the focus must be on student learning and achievement. All parties must be committed to a common mission of preparing for the challenges our students will face in their future. Teachers and administrators will always need professional development and learning—let’s make sure it is effective, efficient, and engaging.