What does high quality PD look like?
Today I was at my district's professional development committee meeting and was talking to my building's co-chair, @Thompson_shs, when an interesting question was posed:
These are my preliminary thoughts about what high quality professional development looks like. What did I leave out that is important? Are my thoughts on track or did I miss the mark with my vision of PD? Please continue this conversation by sharing your thoughts on high quality professional development in the comments of this post.
What does high quality professional development look like?
Seeing as we were at a district-level meeting, there were representatives from elementary schools, middle schools, and of course the district's two high schools. Since the needs of learners in each level of school is different, should professional development look different at each level? Or should it look the same at each level since strong instructional practices are similar all across education? I am not sure that PD should be similar or different in each level of education, but here is what I do know about high quality professional development:
High quality PD meets the needs of all the participants.
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High quality PD is not quiet.
Teachers are talking, moving around, and interacting.
High quality PD is offers plenty of choices.
Teachers have the opportunity to learn about a variety of topics on one PD day.
High quality PD is focused on a theme or set of goals.
High quality PD is based on standards.
High quality PD is on purpose and thought out.
Research shows that it takes 50 hours of professional learning on a topic for it to truly impact student learning. This means big initiatives need to have professional development planned for consecutive school years to truly impact learning.
High quality PD is based on standards.
High quality PD is on purpose and thought out.
Research shows that it takes 50 hours of professional learning on a topic for it to truly impact student learning. This means big initiatives need to have professional development planned for consecutive school years to truly impact learning.
High quality PD gives teachers a choice in their learning.
High quality PD is facilitated by experts.
Sometimes that means outsourcing to specialists, but often times it means looking for experts in our own buildings to share what they know.
High quality PD has an immediate impact on classroom instruction.
These are my preliminary thoughts about what high quality professional development looks like. What did I leave out that is important? Are my thoughts on track or did I miss the mark with my vision of PD? Please continue this conversation by sharing your thoughts on high quality professional development in the comments of this post.
