Focused Professional Development

Introduction of Strategy

In this guide, we define professional development as “The experiences educators engage in to become more knowledgeable and skilled in their work.” This is carried out through content focused, active learning that includes collaboration, models of effective practice, and provides educators with adequate time to learn, practice, implement and reflect upon new strategies. Effective professional development results in changes to teacher practice and improvement in student achievement. While this has been studied extensively, the number of rigorous studies that are able to connect practices and components of professional development to significant gains in student learning are still small. The findings listed here are intended to help inform professional development plans and strategies. The following components are derived from various articles and research that articulate what professional development should include these components which are described in depth later in the document:

Professional development focuses on topics that are informed by data and evidence based research.
Effective professional development includes coaching and feedback.
Professional development structures align to best practices in adult learning theory.

Evidence Base

ESSA defines levels of research based on the quality of the study (Levels 1-4). CDE requires that schools and districts identify the research base for strategies that they select for their Unified Improvement Plans, and for applications for school improvement funds in the EASI application.

The research on professional development that is cited here meets the definition of Level 1 research. The research cited focused on the impact on student achievement when all professional development components were implemented. In addition, substantial research meeting levels 1-4 have been completed that found that when implemented well, professional development had a positive impact on student achievement.

Academic Studies Leading to ESSA Rating

Blank, Rolf K., and N. de las Alas. Effects of Teacher Professional Development on Gains in Student Achievement: How Meta-Analysis Provides Scientific Evidence Useful to Education Leaders. Washington, D.C.: Council of Chief State School Officers, 2009. Print.

Darling-Hammond, Linda, Maria Hyler, and Madelyn Gardner. “Effective Teacher Professional Development.” Learning Policy Institute, May 2017. Web.

Garet, Michael S., et al. "What Makes Professional Development Effective: Results from a National Sample of Teachers." American Educational Research Journal 38.4 (2001): 915-45. Print.

Guskey, Thomas. (2002). “Does it Make a Difference? Evaluating Professional Development.” Educational Leadership, 59(6) (2002), 45-51. Print.

Guskey, Thomas and Kwang Suk Yoon. “What Works in Professional Development?” Phi Delta Kappan, Vol 90, Issue 7, (March 2009). 495 - 500. Print.

Jeanpierre, Bobby, Karen Oberhauser, and Carol Freeman. "Characteristics of Professional Development that Effect Change in Secondary Science Teachers' Classroom Practices." Journal of Research in Science Teaching 42.6 (2005): 668-90. Print.

National Staff Development Council. "Definition of professional development." 2009.Web. July 6th, 2011 <http://www.learningforward.org/standfor/definition.cfm>.

Wei, Ruth Chung, L. Darling-Hammond, and Frank Adamson. Professional Development in the United States: Trends and Challenges. Phase II of a Three-Phase Study. Dallas, TX: National Staff Development Council, 2010. Web.

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Research on Effective Practices for School Turnaround. Robbins, Pam and Alvey, Harvey. The New Principal's Fieldbook: Strategies for Success. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2004. Print.

Yoon, K. S., et al. Reviewing the Evidence on how Teacher Professional Development Affects Student Achievement. 033 Vol. Regional Educational Laboratory Southwest, 2007. Print.

Considerations

Possible Root Causes include inadequate, inconsistent or ineffective...

Adult culture and beliefs
Post observation follow-up
Implementation of practices
Professional development and coaching

Is this strategy a good fit for your district/school?

Does this major improvement strategy focus on a priority performance challenge and associated root cause(s)?
Are the expected outcomes of this major improvement strategy highly valued?
Do key leaders support this major improvement strategy? Do key leaders have the capacity to lead the strategy ongoing?
What are the skills and competencies needed to implement this major improvement strategy with fidelity? What support/professional development do staff members need to implement this strategy effectively?
Are the time, effort and resources needed for implementation feasible for the staff involved?

Considerations for Strategy Implementation

What are the intended purposes of the professional development? How are they made clear to everyone--including teachers, coaches, principals, district administrators, parents, students?
What are the ongoing professional learning opportunities for trainers, coaches, teachers, and administrators? What additional support do coaches receive from both district and school-based administrators?
Where do the topics/issues for professional development come from?
How do trainers gather evidence of their effectiveness and become self reflective and proactive in making improvements to the professional development?
How might adult learning principles be included in professional development opportunities?
Is there a particular focus for professional development as a strategy, either connected to a particular skill, curriculum, topic, strategy, etc?

Implementation Guide

Core Component 1: Data Informed Professional Development Focus

Action Steps	Description
Analyze student performance data	Professional development plans should be informed by an ongoing analysis of student performance data to determine areas of strength and areas for growth. Data from multiple sources including common formative and summative assessments, observations, work samples, portfolios, etc., enrich decisions about professional learning. The use of multiple sources of data offers a balanced and more comprehensive analysis of student, educator and system performance which leads into defining individual, team, school and system goals for professional learning.
Locate and analyze additional data sources	Additional data sources, such as staff survey responses, may also be useful in conducting a needs assessment for professional development topics. Research indicates that professional development should be aligned to areas of need identified by staff. For example, school leaders may survey staff on their comfort level with core instructional strategies and programs or learning walks that are focused on observing how educators are implementing what they have learned from professional development sessions and analyze what improvements are needed based on these observations.

Core Component 2: Professional Development Design

Action Steps	Description
List potential foci	Studies suggest that narrowing the list of potential focus areas to ensure educators are able to engage in meaningful, ongoing learning about the most urgent topics, rather than skim the surface of many topics, has deeper impact. Professional development plans should be narrow and focused enough to allow teachers to spend weeks, months, or even years engaged in sustained learning about a topic. For instance, in a summary of studies that found professional development associated with significant student learning gains, all of those showing positive effects had more than 30 contact hours on the topic area.
Focused coaching	Coaching and expert support must be focused on individual need. Numerous types of coaching (one-on-one, facilitated workgroups, or remote coaching) have been associated with larger student learning gains. In all cases, the support was focused on teachers’ individual needs and provided guidance and feedback. Also, a 2002 meta-analysis by Joyce and Showers makes a compelling case for the need for skillful coaching. The authors noted that even very good training that included demonstration, practice, and feedback resulted in only 5% of teachers using the new skills in the classroom. Only when training was accompanied by coaching in the classroom was there substantial use in the practice setting.
Focused feedback and reflection	Feedback and opportunities for reflection are key components of impactful professional development plans. For example, a study found that students of teachers receiving coaching feedback and online content training had greater gains in language and literacy outcomes than did students of teachers just receiving online content.
Plan professional development sessions for active learning	Professional development sessions that engage educators in active learning, such as leading instruction with colleagues, engaging in role plays, participating in discussions, observing other teachers, and creating instructional plans, are more commonly listed as components of effective programs.
Plan for modeling of instruction	Providing models and modeling of instruction provides teachers with a clear vision of what best practices look like. For example, in a randomized control trial of science instruction, students whose teachers participated in peer reviews and feedback, collaborative analyzing of student work to identify models, and had access to model formative assessments, had significantly greater learning gains.
Embed professional development into team meetings	Embedding professional development into educators’ daily work through different use of time. For example, provide opportunities for teachers to engage in collaborative planning and reflection about professional development topics during team meetings.