“In terms of teachers’ self-reports of professional development features that increase their knowledge and lead to changes in their instructional practices.” (Guskey 2003)
Professional development should be effective for all the learners in the room. Professional development works best when the facilitators are engaging, energetic, and meeting the needs of the people in the room. They also must have a passion for the information they are teaching.
5 Principles of Professional Development
Principle 1: The duration of professional development must be significant and ongoing to allow time for teachers to learn a new strategy and grapple with the implementation problem.
Principle 2: There must be support for a teacher during the implementation stage that addresses the specific challenges of changing classroom practice.
Principle 3: Teachers’ initial exposure to a concept should not be passive, but rather should engage teachers through varied approaches so they can participate actively in making sense of a new practice.
Principle 4: Modeling has been found to be highly effective in helping teachers understand a new practice.
Principle 5: The content presented to teachers shouldn’t be generic, but instead specific to the discipline (for middle school and high school teachers) or grade-level (for elementary school teachers).
Collaboration
I will foster collaboration in the environment by staying true to my value and ethics. Collaboration is one of the keys to success. Teamwork makes the dream work and working together helps everyone. All individuals have special talents and things they can bring to the table.
Firstly, teachers have to become comfortable with the collaboration process. Roles should also be assigned individually. Everyone should have a specific role that should be identified early on. Out of necessity or convenience, individuals coordinate their activities to achieve common goals that, in time, guide future shared actions (Weick, 1995)
We need to work together and make connections during collaboration as well. If we don’t have healthy relationships with colleagues and staff around us, collaboration can be very difficult. Ironically, the features that are essential to a strong community, such as a shared identity and perspective, and meaningful relationships, eventually become sources of tension for its members (Westheimer, 1999)
Leadership and Components
A successful professional learning community needs certain components to survive. They need to have time for planning, analyzation of data, communication, and collaboration. They also need to be willing to meet the learning style and needs of each individual in the room. Myself and the Technology Teachers will collaborate together on my innovation plan. Since Eportfolios are my goal, I want to communicate with the Tech group and get their thoughts and input on how we can use Eportfolios campus wide.
I have really became comfortable with the UbD Design and plan on using it to design my Professional Learning Plan. I used it previously when planning my innovation outline. Mrs. Cooper’s UbD Design
Timeline
The timeline explains when actions will be completed and the objectives and goals achieved. It helps monitor progress over the duration of a plan.
Educate staff on the 5 Principles of Effective Professional Development. CTE and Tech teachers
Communicate and Collaborate
Create a Professional Learning group or create a course and add teachers. We usually use Schoology Google Drive for the this.
Add information and instructional materials.
Create a Sign in Sheet on a Google Doc.
Add exemplars and references to assist with the learning.
Resources Needed
Resources needed. Resources include the staff, technology, funding, materials, and time necessary to accomplish the objectives and goals.
Works Cited
Guskey TR. What Makes Professional Development Effective? Phi Delta Kappan. 2003;84(10):748-750. doi:10.1177/003172170308401007
Weick, K. E. (1995). Sensemaking in organizations. London, UK: Sage Publications
Westheimer, J. (1999). Communities and consequences: An inquiry into ideology and practice in teachers’ professional work. Education Administration Quarterly, 35(1), 71–105.
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