Making Professional Development Make Sense

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Making Professional Development Make Sense

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• Presented By Teri Cox
• www.tericox.biz
• National Middle School Association Conference
  November, 2009

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Who Says Sit-and-Get Workshops Dont Work

• As a means of true professional development ?
• Borko
• Darling-Hammond Friedlander
• DuFour
• Hollins
• Kennedy
• Wiggins McTighe
• The expertise of teachers depends on the quality
  of their professional development
• Joanne Rooney (2007)
• How is this especially true for middle level
  educators?

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Why?

• Do not promote prolonged measurable change
• Its not job embedded
• Its not sustainable
• One day trainings at the district level are not
  always based on direct needs of students in
  individual schools
• Does not always enhance teacher knowledge
• Normally does not impact student achievement

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Keys

• School Culture Climate
• Little (2002) stated
• Overall, the prospects for school improvement
  grow as schools take deliberate steps to reduce
  the isolation of teachers and to build
  professional communication that is both intensive
  and extensive. Along the path from isolation are
  several possibilities worth cultivating-small
  collaborations and a school-wide environment
  conducive to teacher learning. (p.47)
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•  What Does This Mean About My School?
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Keys to Quality PD

• Data Driven
• Developing Reflective Educators
• Common Goals
• Increased Student Achievement
• Collaboration Collegiality
• Content Development
• Peer Observations

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1 Minute Reflection

• Take the next 60 seconds to write your thoughts
  or questions about the things we have discussed
  so far.

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Professional Learning Communities

• DuFour and Eaker (1998) outlined characteristic
  of a PLC as
• 1. Shared Mission, Vision, and Values-guiding
  principles
• 2. Collective Inquiry-questioning, seeking,
  testing, and reflecting on new methods
• 3. Collaborative Teams-working together for
  improvement
• 4. Action Orientation and Experimentation-develop,
  experiment/test hypotheses
• 5. Continuous Improvement-knowing that ideals
  will never be fully realized but expanded into
  better ideas
• 6. Results Orientation-ongoing assessment for
  tangible results (pp. 25-29)

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What Can We Learn From Our Asian Counterparts?

• Embedded Collaboration
• Lesson Development
• Teacher Content Development
• Extended Planning Time
• Observation of Master Teachers

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How Nations Invest In Teachers.

• Less than 50 of actual work time is devoted to
  direct student instruction within most
  high-achieving Asian and European countries
• Teachers in such nations are given between 15 and
  20 hours per week for observation, collaboration,
  and evaluation of student learning, development
  and analysis of lessons and assessments, and
  student/parent conferences.
• United States, teachers typically invest 3 to 5
  hours in planning- normally performed in
  isolation.
• In high-achieving nations, such as South Korea,
  Singapore, and Japan, teachers only devote 35
  of their actual work time with students .
• United States educators invest approximately 80
  of their working time with students and may work
  up to 400 additional school-hours per year.
• Many high-achieving nations require teachers to
  share common office space to encourage the
  exchange of ideas and reduce isolation .
• Think, Pair, Share on These Points
• Wei, Andree, and Darling-Hammond (2009 ) National
  Staff Development Council study

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What Are The Implications For

• Teaching
• Educator Growth
• Student Growth
• Other Important Elements

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What Is Lesson Study?

• The Japanese Have Practiced This Type of PD for
  100 Plus Years.
• It is currently the fastest growing approach to
  PD in the U. S.
• Lesson Study
• Involves Teachers Constructing a Lesson Plan
• Observing the Lesson as its Taught
• Observing Student Learning
• Refining the Lesson
• Teaching Refined Lesson
• Anfara, V. A., Lenski, S. J., Caskey, M. M.
  (2009). Using the lesson study approach to plan
  for student learning. Middle School Journal,
  40(3), 50-57.

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Why is Lesson Study Powerful?

• Lesson Study Participants
• Examine Students Learning
• Explore Content Standards
• Examine Student Learning
• Reflect on Student Learning Lesson Construction
• Share Practice, Experiences, Understanding
• Anfara, V. A., Lenski, S. J., Caskey, M. M.
  (2009). Using the lesson study approach to plan
  for student learning. Middle School Journal,
  40(3), 50-57.

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Coaching Models

• Instructional Coaching
• According to the Kansas Coaching Project, An
  Instructional Coach is an on-site professional
  developer who partners with educators to identify
  and assist with implementation of proven teaching
  methods.
• Content Coaching
• Provide professional development in specific
  content areas, instructional pedagogy, and
  support

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Coaching Models

• Collegial Coaching
• Collegial Coaching is a professional development
  method aiming at increasing collegiality and
  improving performance. It is a confidential
  process through which professionals share their
  expertise and provide one another with feedback,
  support, and assistance for the purpose of
  refining present skills, learning new skills, and
  / or solving task related problems.
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• Dare to Share 

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Data Teams

• Despite the increased amounts of data available,
  many educators still feel ill prepared to analyze
  and use their school data effectively. They are
  data rich, but information poor. Ronka et.al.
• How Do We Become Data Wise?
• Consider an Essential Question Approach
• Do outcomes differ between races, populations,
  programs, grade levels, demographics, mobility
  levels
• Consider a longitudinal study of a cohort
• Is their an achievement gap between genders,
  races, subpopulations
• Consider the validity and reliability of the data

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Data Capicity

• Data Capacity is built by
• Providing Reliable and Valid Data
• Establishing Data Teams
• Training Data Coaches
• Allocating Time for Data Analysis Discussion
• Providing Quality PD Support for Staff
• Organize Display Data is Assessable and
  Approachable Manners

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 Practical Ways to Make PD Work in Your School

• Effective PD Must
• Foster Reform Style Rather Than a Traditional
  Workshop Model
• Be Sustainable
• Promote Collective Participation (same school,
  grade level, department)
• Promote Active Learning
• Promotes Coherence With Goals Standards
• Promotes Content Focus
• Anfara, V. A., Lenski, S. J., Caskey, M. M.
  (2009)

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Change Is Not Always Easy

• Finding time for collaboration can be an obstacle
• Overcoming fears associated with collaboration
  can be a challenge
• Critical analysis can cause hurt feelings
• Prepare conflict resolution strategies for teams
  of teachers who will be new at collaboration

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References

• Anfara, V. A., Lenski, S. J., Caskey, M. M.
  (2009). Using the lesson study approach to plan
  for student learning. Middle School Journal,
  40(3), 50-57.
• Borko, H. (2004). Professional development and
  teacher learning Mapping the terrain.
  Educational Researcher, 33(8), 3-15.  
• Darling-Hammond, L., Friedlander, D. (2008).
  Creating excellent and equitable schools
• Educational Leadership, 65(8), 14-21.
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• Darling-Hammond, L., Richardson, N. (2009).
  Teacher learning What matters? Educational
  Leadership, 66(5), 46-53.
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• DuFour, R. (2004a). Leading edge The best staff
  development is in the workplace, not in a
  workshop. Journal of Staff Development, 25(2).
  Retrieved from http//www.nsdc.org/library/publica
  tions/jsd/dufour252.cfm
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• DuFour, R. (2004b). What is a professional
  learning community? Educational Leadership 61(8),
  1-6.
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• DuFour, R. (2007). Professional learning
  communities A bandwagon, an idea worth
  considering, or our best hope for high levels of
  learning? Middle School Journal, 39(1), 4-8.
•  
• DuFour, R., Eaker, R. (1998). Professional
  learning communities at work Best practices for
  enhancing student achievement. Reston VA
  Association for Supervision and Curriculum
  Development.
•  

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References Continued

• Hollins, E. R. (2006). Transforming practice in
  urban schools. Educational Leadership, 63(6),
  48-52.
• Kennedy, M. (2006). From teacher quality to
  quality teaching. Educational Leadership, 63(6),
  14-19.
• Little, J. W. (2002). Professional communication
  and collaboration. In W.D. Hawley, W, D. L.
  Rollie (Eds.). (2002). The keys to effective
  schools Educational reform as continuous
  improvement. Thousand Oaks, CA Corwin
• Ronka, D., Lachat, M. A., Slaughter, R., Meltzer,
  J. (2009). Answering the questions that count.
  Educational Leadership, 66(4), 18-24.
• Rooney, J. (2007) Who owns teacher growth?
  Educational Leadership, 64(7), 87-88.
• Wei, R. C., Andree, A., Darling-Hammond, L.
  (2009). How nations invest in teachers.
  Educational Leadership, 66(5), 28-33
• Wiggins, G., McTighe, J. (2006). Examining the
  teaching life. Educational Leadership, 63(6),
  26-29.
• http//www.eyeoneducation.com/Excerpts/7093-820Ma
  th20Coaching20Chapter201.pdf
• http//www.daretoshare.ch/en/Dare_To_Share/Knowled
  ge_Management_Toolkit/Collegial_Coaching
•  

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Thanks for Your Participation

• Teri Cox
• Educational Consultant
• Instructional Coach
• teri_at_cei.net
• teri_at_tericox.biz
• www.tericox.biz
• CEU Code BW2