The responsibility for effective staff development
Sunday, September 16, 2007 at 09:38AM 
My first Sunday at home since July. Feels weird, but good. What shall I do? What shall I do?
Last week, Scott McLeod asked the question, 'Why is staff development so bad?" and Tim Stahmer follows up at Assorted Stuff. Both posts are well worth reading. A couple reactions/thoughts regarding staff development...
1. Professional development should be considered the responsibility of the professional, not the organization. Seems like I remember someplace in the dark recesses of what passed for my formal education, I was told that in order to be considered a "professional" one had to take responsibility for one's own learning. Tim laments that "teachers must get their training on their own time and often using their own money." And the problem here is....?
I will bet dollars to doughnuts that you, dear reader, consider perusing this blog some sick form of "professional development" and that you aren't reading it during school time. Dedicated professionals have always learned both in formal and informal ways, have done most learning outside the school day, have paid their own costs, and have made it a priority.
This is called being professional. Teachers need to act like professionals if they wish to be regarded as such. Sorry, but it's the truth. The logical consequence of professionals not taking their learning seriously is that they are so ineffectual they will no longer be employable. Well, that's the theory.
2. Organizations should facilitate individual/individualized staff development. Tim suggests an IEP for every teacher, something I have been advocating for some years, especially in the area of technology. In articles from 2000/2001 issues of Leading & Learning, I described our district efforts to create "professional growth targets" as a means of organizing technology staff development initiatives.
To meet a professional growth target for a year, we expect teachers to take about 30 non-school hours to learn enough to move at least one level on one of the Rubrics for Restructuring. The teacher, principal and other specialists jointly plan how those 30 hours are spent, and how the gain in knowledge and skills can be demonstrated and documented.
Tools to help make this happen are in the articles.
This worked pretty good for a couple years in our district, Here is what teachers told us about the approach:
At the district level, we have assessed the viability of such an individualized staff development approach. By using a survey tool, we found of the 38 respondents that:
70% felt they had successfully completed the PGT
70% thought the plan was clear
81% found the work they did meaningful
55% found the work they did learning about technology also helped them in other educational areas
78% found there were sufficient PGT options from which to choose
44% found these PGTs more rigorous than those in the past; 33% found them as rigorous
And then it fell apart, and I am not quite sure why. Mostly, I think, it was a lack of monitoring on the part of administrators as to whether any work was actually done. It's easier to just count heads in a formal staff development session. Our staff development folks, including our computer coordinator, didn't really buy into it. There was a general lack of trust that teachers would do the right thing. It was ahead of its time. i did not have the personal charisma to keep selling the project. Who knows?
Interestingly enough, our current Professional Learning Communities have some of these same elements, except now it is small groups rather than individuals who are planning and being held accountable for professional learning. A step in the right direction.
And I've not yet given up the fight about IEPs for teacher technology competencies. We just need to somehow thread them into the work the PLCs are doing.
3. "Sit and git" has its place within the larger plan. First a disclaimer: I make pretty good beer money by going to conferences and giving one-time workshops and breakout sessions. I also enjoy attending these (sometimes).
Sit and Git, Spray and Pray (whatever the clever derogatory appellation du jour for short sessions offered during professional development days or conference is), such learning opportunities ought not to be simply dismissed as ineffective and drop kicked from the educational ball field. Like classroom lectures, good short sessions can be effective in meeting specific purposes. Those include:
- Introducing participants to a new concept, theory or practice with the expectation of self-directed follow-up. (What is meant by authentic assessment.)
- Teaching specific, useful skills, especially if practiced within the time allotted. (How to design a good rubric.)
- Bending a mindset or encouraging an action. (Assessments can be used not just for ranking students, but to actually improve the learning process.)
Concrete, even discrete, learning opportunities have a place in professional development, provided they are part of a larger profession growth plan or teacher IEP.
OK, it's after 10AM. What did I once do with my Sundays?
Reader Comments (6)
Hi Doug! I guess I am getting to be a regular in your comment list, but you speak to things I relate to!
I agree that most teachers do their professional development on their own time and with their own money. Our district and state understand this and are making an attempt to help a bit. Last year I did my first year in the National Board process. I probably put 400 - 500 hours into the year, but it was the best professional development I have EVER done. It was very personal and met my needs. I did have to pay for the experience, but I did receive almost half of the money from the state. When I become certified, the state will pay the remaining amount and I will begin to receive $2000 a year for the next 10 years from the state and district. I didn't do it for the money, but I most certainly appreciate it.
Our district added something new last year. During the course of the school year, teachers are given four 1/2-day in-service days where professional development is left in teachers' hands. The big problem has been that because the days were teacher-driven, no instruction or guidance was given. I think last year much of the time was spent on lesson plans and grading (which still has to be done.) This year I have recommended that some teachers with a lot of things to share set up 1/2 day classes and offer them for teachers. There is money available to pay these teachers an additional sum for using their professional development time to help others. We will see if that happens.
Past these things, our district does offer courses every quarter for teachers to take. These classes are in the evenings and we do have to pay for them. They aren't terribly expensive and those of us that have things to learn just understand this is the way it is.
Sure, we can complain about the way good staff development works and the fact that it is on our own time OR we can remember why we teach and know this is part of the package. I have been doing a lot of reflecting on that very topic lately and would rather put up with the frustrations that go with my job than do anything else!
Sherry,
I look forward to your comments. Thank you.
You obviously appreciate and take advantage of learning opportunities provided to you. Are you rule or the exception? Have we somehow killed the desire to learn in teachers by treating them more like kids than honoring them as adult learners? And what do you do with the small number who will take advantage of a situation (like those who did grading)?
More questions than answers, I'm afraid!
Doug
Let's see, am I the exception or the rule? Well, there are 58 Nationally Board Certified teachers currently in the state of South Dakota and only 3 or 4 of them are in Rapid City. Last year two of us in our district started the process and I have talked to two that are starting it this year. So I am the exception as to that one. However, that are many, many teachers that are working on their Master's Degrees and a few starting their Doctorate. (I got my Master's in May and am planning to start my Doctorate in the spring.)
I think more teachers would use the time differently if there had been any kind of direction given with it. These half days are something that the local association fought very hard for and so the district is not willing to give guidance and the association just hasn't really done well with it. Nothing was done with those that used the time differently than it was designed for. I think it is difficult to force teachers into their own professional development, but I have to believe that it shows up in their classroom. I am a good teacher and my evaluations show that. My administration is very aware of how hard I work, as they are with others. I think it is just like students - they don't take advantage of classtime, homework, and study hall have a tough time when it comes to assessment time.
I do wonder if something is wrong with how teachers are treated though. Karl Fisch wrote a blog post called Is It Okay To Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher? at http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/. Maybe we DO need to start holding teachers more accountable. I never hold teachers to my work ethic because I tend to be way too much of a workaholic, but I know I tend to be annoyed by those that seem work the 7:35 to 3:35 contract day. A few teachers are making the rest of us look bad.
I hope that answers your questions and thanks for giving me a place to converse about these topics.
I think we also have to think about this...
In our urban schools, at least, the teaching life is a bit of a hamster wheel. I don't think we can hold teachers accountable for their own learning until take a hard look at the teaching life and question what is reasonable?
As a principal, I make a choice to spend almost all of my "discretionary" spending on extra teachers so that teachers have 125 kids on their rosters instead of 165. It means that -- minus grant funding, which we're able to get -- I had $6,000 in my budget after personal expenditures.
When we create systems that allow for reflection and learning, *then* we have the right to demand more, but in our cities, that's currently not the case.
Hi Chris,
Looking at this from the outside...
If your teachers teach 125 kids the same way they would have taught the 165, what's the gain except for fewer papers for your teachers to grade?
All the best,
Doug
Great Article. Thanks for the info. Does anyone know where I can find a blank sick form to fill out?