The deeper we search, the more we find there is to know, and as long as human life exists I believe that it will always be so. Albert Einstein
Professional development in education is necessary at all levels and the rapid growth of our knowledge base in education requires a new form of expertise by educators (Guskey, 2000). Educators need to be equipped with the necessary tools to enable themselves to continually redefine conceptions of education and their role within it. Educators must keep on top of emerging knowledge to better inform their practise and impact student learning. High quality professional development is a fundamental step to altering the landscape of schools and advancing academic achievement.
What is Professional Development?
The ideas behind professional development itself have shifted in recent years. Today the educational environment emphasizes the need to focus adult learning on the needs of the student. Effective professional development is organized to increase student learning through “high-intensity, job-embedded collaborative learning”. (Darling-Hammond, Chung Wei, Andree, Richardson & Orphanos, 2009, p. 4)
Professional development is learning opportunities designed to develop the capacity of educators to become more effective instructors. It is “processes and activities designed to enhance the professional knowledge, skills and attitudes of educators so that they might, in turn improve the learning of students.” (Tallerico, 2005, p. 16).
According to Guskey (2000) there are three additional defining characteristics of professional development:
- Intentional – Professional development needs to be consciously designed in order to bring about positive change and improvement. It must be a deliberate process, which is guided by a clear and compelling vision of purpose and planned goals.
- Ongoing – Professional development must be “sustained rather than episodic”. (DuFour & Marzano, 2011, p. 20). It should be continuous learning throughout a career, knowledge and deep understanding of an educational practise do not developed overnight. Professional development must be a school-based and job-embedded process where everyday provides a variety of learning opportunities. Time is a necessary component for learning to occur.
- Systemic – Professional development is systemic. All elements are interconnected and involved on an ongoing base.
Thoughtful planning is necessary to obtain professional development that is “intense, ongoing and connected to practise” (Darling-Hammond, 2009, p .9). Educators need to see the connection of professional development to their classroom practice in order to buy in, if “you want whole system transformation than virtually all teachers must own the reform” Fullan (2011).
Fullan (2011) argues that school cultures are not neutral, instead they either facilitate or impede student and adult development (Dufour, 2001) therefore effective professional development must occur in order to influence educators’ practice and student performance.
Researchers contend that although there have been many professional development designs, fundamentally there are essentially five models each with their own strengths and weaknesses. These models offer a variety of options and opportunities for educators to enhance their knowledge and skills. Educational environments should select the ones that best align with their specific needs and no matter which model is adopted best practises should be incorporated as adult learning is implemented.
Table 3.2 (Tallerico, 2005, p. 50-51)
| Model | Key Characteristics | Pros | Cons | Use This Option To | Implementation Challenges |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Individually Guided | Teacher determines goals and activities for own learning | Promotes individual responsibility for continuous growth. Conveys trust in teachers’ abilities to make wise choices. Can motivate self starters. Minimal cost. |
Independent interests can stray from school priorities. What one wants to pursue may differ from what is truly needed. |
Foster individual creativity or unique contributions to the school. | Balancing autonomous and collective goals, self-interest and the common good. Principals’ attempts to reshape individual goals can be perceived as manipulation. |
| Collaborative Problem Solving | Two or more teachers address common concerns together. | Capitalizes on learning from each other. Promotes teamwork and collective responsibility for school priorities. Can motivate social learners. |
Often requires additional training in how to work together. Skilled group facilitators may be needed. | Discuss, propose alternatives, make decisions, or develop interventions around issues of mutual interest. Provide follow-up for Training model. |
Finding time to meet. Costs of facilitators, noncontract time, or training to optimize group relations. |
| Observation and Assessment | Teachers visit each others’ classrooms, record notes, and reflect together on what occurred. | Focuses directly on teaching and learning. Fosters collaboration to improve instruction. Broadens understanding of classrooms beyond one’s own. |
Typically requires training in collecting observation data and communicating feedback effectively | Help new teachers. Afford veterans an opportunity for formative assessment. Provide follow-up for the Training model. |
Arranging time for reciprocal visits, conferencing, and training. Costs of substitutes and training to glean the most from observations. Controversy can emerge over who gets to determine the pairings. |
| Training | Experts facilitate teachers’ learning via: 1. Theory 2. Demonstration 3. Practise 4. Feedback 5. Follow-up assistance over time |
Taps into special or state-of-the-art expertise. Can improve practise by bringing in new alternative, or updated strategies and skills |
Trainers often limit their presentations to theory/demonstration. Requires multiple opportunities for guided practise, feedback, and support long-term to be effective. |
Acquire, refine, and apply new skills or strategies in the classroom and school. | Providing on-the-job follow-up to guide and assist skill learners 1-3 years. Finding the time and funding to sustain supports long enough for strategies to be applied capably and routinely. |
| Action Research | One or more teachers identify a researchable question, gather and reflect on relevant data, and initiate changes in practise based on the inquiry’s results. | Encourages the exploration of practises teachers are curious about and willing to experiment with. Promotes risk taking. Minimal costs. |
Research interests can stray from school priorities. May require training in how to focus an inquiry effectively. |
Foster practical mini-experiments from which teachers can observe and interpret what works first hand. Provide follow-up for the Training model. |
Some release time or materials may be needed. Costs of any training to introduce model. |
Effective Practices:
It is important to be aware of how adults learn so that school professional development initiatives are meaningful to educators. Malcolm Knowles, pioneer in the field of adult learning, identified six principles of adult learners that can help with the effectiveness of educators’ on-the-job learning.
Six Principles of Adult Learning
Educators of the 21st century must be prepared to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse population of learners. Educational expectations and demands are increasing and with this comes the responsibility for educators to stay current in their field. With student learning at the forefront, educators must demand professional development that is continuous, job-embedded, and high-quality.
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Please reflect on professional development experiences that you have taken part in and share with us. In the comment box below please record one of your most memorable pro-d experiences.
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DuFour, R., & Marzano, R. (2011). Leaders of learning: How district, school, and classroom leaders improve student achievement. Bloomington,IN: Solution Tree Press.
Fullan, M. (2011, November 17). Re Choosing the wrong drives for whole school reform. Retrieved from www.michaelfullan.ca/home_articles/SeminarPaper204.pdf
Guskey, T. R. (2000). Evaluating professional development. Thousand Oaks: Corwin Pr.
National Staff Development Council. (2009). Professional learning in the learning profession: A status report on teacher development in the United States and abroad. Retrieved from http://www.learningforward.org/stateproflearning.cfm
Tallerico, M. (2005). Supporting and sustaining teachers\’ professional development, a principal\’s guide. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Pr.
EDES 545: Professional Development & Technology 
Our school board has really moved toward “webinars” after school to facilitate PD. They have had some really notable speakers join us, such as David Loertscher, Yong Zao and others. I love this format, because I can join in from the comfort of my living room, or at times our whole school staff has met in the library after school and enjoyed pizza while we joined the webinar together. The webinars are always posted on our school board website, so we can go back after and review anything we missed the first time around. I think the caliber os the speakers has been really impressive, and probably much more cost-effective than if we’d asked them to come in person.
Terry, I’m interested to hear that a webinar tops your list. I also agree that the caliber of speaker makes a huge difference.
One of my most memorable PD experiences was attending the SLJ School Library Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C. about 3 years ago. To be surrounded by leaders in the field (many of whom I only recognized because I read their blogs or followed them on twitter), learning so much, being challenged and thinking about the future of school libraries was inspiring. To me, it was powerful because I was challenged and because it pushed my thinking, and because I was able to make connections with others (both in person and virtual connections).
Joanne, I find conferences top my list for my most memorable PD. I love the Ontario Library Superconference, made an absolute fool of myself at a TALK conference years ago when I got to meet Jerome Harste (but I learned so much) and had my thinking pushed to the limit when I heard Howard Gardner speak at a STAR conference a few years ago. And of course it’s not only the speakers, but the other connections made throughout the event.
We are moving toward webinars and clips from pd sessions…this gives me some great ideas of pd we can offer and some formats so it meets the seasoned learners learning style/format.
We’re glad that it’s helpful to you Kim!
I was lucky enough to work for an administrator who wasn’t bothered by sending three of us away to SMART Tech headquarters in Calgary for a weekend. Everything covered. Having the support from your administration allowed the three of us to fully engage with the PD and feel comfortable reporting back to our staff. It was not something I’d seen before in an elementary school and it really demonstrated the value our admin had on PD.
Jeremy, you’ve pointed out a really important step – having the support of your administration. I’m beginning to think I need to take mine out to lunch for a little “chat”!
This past year I attended a large, one-day conference with Heidi Hayes Jacobs. It was the first PD that I had been at where technology use by attendees was promoted. (She actually scolded those that didn’t bring a device!) She was very motivating and shared A LOT of great resources and tools. What I also enjoyed was connecting with all the other (like-minded) attendees and even had the opportunity to meet a few of my twitter peeps in person! As a possible downside, I really have a hard time sitting still for the entire day, but being able to tweet and interact with technology during the day helped me focus greatly.
Hi Niki,
I had my first PD where we were asked to tweet and participate in polls as the session advanced (David Loerschter and Carol Koechlin at the Ontario Library Superconference last February) this past year too. It was really exciting to see data collected right before our eyes (but our session was only 90 minutes long and they let us move around a lot so I survived!) I would love to hear Heidi Hayes Jacobs.
Some of our best prod were when we worked as a staff towards a vision that we shared. The prod was developed and facilitated by staff for staff. We knew what we wanted to accomplish and were motivated to get there because our actions would directly affect students. It was great to have everyone invested in the process.