- Joan L. Buttram, Ph.D.,Delaware Education R&D Center, University of Delaware.
Many careers demand ongoing training and retraining. We expect professionals—from physicians and dentists, to car technicians, to hair stylists—to continue to learn new information and skills in their fields. We should expect no less of teachers. Although some critics believe teachers should have learned everything they need to know in college, that view does not recognize the realities and challenges of the evolving 21st-century classroom. We must ensure that teachers receive the training needed to continually sharpen and expand their effectiveness.
Professional development is an important investment we can make in strengthening the expertise of our teachers, in both public and private schools. Lifelong training can bolster teachers’ skills and increase job satisfaction. Inspired and engaged teachers, armed with the latest knowledge in their fields, can make a huge difference in their students’ learning experiences.
Unfortunately, many of our past investments in professional development produced limited returns. Too often, it was inadequately designed; it was poorly delivered by trainers who did not understand the teachers’ classroom environment; or it over-promised what could be achieved. For example, countless numbers of teachers have attended summer workshops, often away from their home schools, to learn how to teach what amounted to the latest fads. These investments rarely paid off for either the teachers or their students. In other cases, professional development focused on individual teacher interests and passions rather than the priorities of the school and the students enrolled in the school.
Today we do know what good professional development looks like. Learning Forward, a nationally recognized association and authority on professional development, asserts that professional development must be “comprehensive, sustained, and intensive.” This means that effective professional development must match the academic goals and priorities of the school, include both teachers and administrators who work together, be delivered over multiple sessions, and provide followup opportunities to practice and obtain feedback in their classrooms and schools. The delivery of the training should be monitored and its results measured; teachers and principals should be expected to put into practice what they learn.
For example, the University of Delaware Mathematics and Science Educational Resource Center and Delaware’s Math Coalition regularly convene Delaware middle and high school teachers and their schools’ principals to improve mathematics instruction. This effort is in its third year. Evaluations by the Delaware Education R&D Center have documented its success in helping teachers adopt a problem-based instructional approach and improve student mathematics performance.
Learning Forward recommends that at least 25 percent of teachers’ work time be devoted to their own learning. That suggestion may seem wildly unrealistic—and it is, in terms of traditional professional development such as workshops and conferences, which pull individual teachers away from classrooms for single, isolated events. However, having teachers spend a quarter of their time on skill-building is reasonable if we think differently about what counts as professional development.
A significant number of schools across Delaware have adopted professional learning communities in which teachers collaboratively plan instruction and assess student work, both before, during, and after school hours. On the surface, these collaborations appear to be simply a part of teachers’ daily work. In reality, they provide powerful opportunities for professional development and teacher growth. These schools have figured out that teachers and principals often learn best from each other and use these opportunities not only to accomplish daily work, but to build their skills. Indian River School District’s Long Neck Elementary School won state recognition for the role of its professional learning communities in increasing student achievement in 2008.
The Colonial School District and others across Delaware have added instructional support specialists to their payrolls. These specialists are veteran teachers who coach individual teachers who are struggling. They also meet with groups of teachers to suggest additional instructional strategies and activities. These contacts, over time, provide a rich source of professional development.
In addition, many schools have invested in curriculum programs such as Learner Focused Strategies and the International Baccalaureate, which have documented records of success. Well-designed professional development to help teachers carry out these programs is critical; such programs are unlikely to be successful without comprehensive, sustained, and intensive teacher training and support.
Professional development does not have to be a group endeavor, however. DFM News has highlighted examples of independent school teachers’ professional development. Many of these teachers pursue advanced degrees or personal passions.
While these activities certainly can enrich the knowledge and skills of the individual teacher, it is essential that professional development be designed to provide a payoff to the school that squarely addresses its priorities and needs.
Over time, professional development offerings are improving. Increasing accountability and decreasing funds push schools and teachers to make smarter choices with their limited resources. The important questions for schools and teachers to ask are:
1. Does this professional development address a critical need in our school?
2. Is the professional development well-designed?
3. What does the professional development program enable our school to do that we cannot do now?
If there are not clear answers to each, the school and teacher should reconsider the choice.
Joan L. Buttram, Ph.D., is interim director of the Delaware Education R&D Center, University of Delaware.
COMMENTARY: Our teachers need ongoing training with targeted, measurable outcomes
Many careers demand ongoing training and retraining. We expect professionals—from physicians and dentists, to car technicians, to hair stylists—to continue to learn new information and skills in their fields. We should expect no less of teachers. Although some critics believe teachers should have learned everything they need to know in college, that view does not recognize the realities and challenges of the evolving 21st-century classroom. We must ensure that teachers receive the training needed to continually sharpen and expand their effectiveness.
Professional development is an important investment we can make in strengthening the expertise of our teachers, in both public and private schools. Lifelong training can bolster teachers’ skills and increase job satisfaction. Inspired and engaged teachers, armed with the latest knowledge in their fields, can make a huge difference in their students’ learning experiences.
Unfortunately, many of our past investments in professional development produced limited returns. Too often, it was inadequately designed; it was poorly delivered by trainers who did not understand the teachers’ classroom environment; or it over-promised what could be achieved. For example, countless numbers of teachers have attended summer workshops, often away from their home schools, to learn how to teach what amounted to the latest fads. These investments rarely paid off for either the teachers or their students. In other cases, professional development focused on individual teacher interests and passions rather than the priorities of the school and the students enrolled in the school.
Today we do know what good professional development looks like. Learning Forward, a nationally recognized association and authority on professional development, asserts that professional development must be “comprehensive, sustained, and intensive.” This means that effective professional development must match the academic goals and priorities of the school, include both teachers and administrators who work together, be delivered over multiple sessions, and provide followup opportunities to practice and obtain feedback in their classrooms and schools. The delivery of the training should be monitored and its results measured; teachers and principals should be expected to put into practice what they learn.
For example, the University of Delaware Mathematics and Science Educational Resource Center and Delaware’s Math Coalition regularly convene Delaware middle and high school teachers and their schools’ principals to improve mathematics instruction. This effort is in its third year. Evaluations by the Delaware Education R&D Center have documented its success in helping teachers adopt a problem-based instructional approach and improve student mathematics performance.
Learning Forward recommends that at least 25 percent of teachers’ work time be devoted to their own learning. That suggestion may seem wildly unrealistic—and it is, in terms of traditional professional development such as workshops and conferences, which pull individual teachers away from classrooms for single, isolated events. However, having teachers spend a quarter of their time on skill-building is reasonable if we think differently about what counts as professional development.
A significant number of schools across Delaware have adopted professional learning communities in which teachers collaboratively plan instruction and assess student work, both before, during, and after school hours. On the surface, these collaborations appear to be simply a part of teachers’ daily work. In reality, they provide powerful opportunities for professional development and teacher growth. These schools have figured out that teachers and principals often learn best from each other and use these opportunities not only to accomplish daily work, but to build their skills. Indian River School District’s Long Neck Elementary School won state recognition for the role of its professional learning communities in increasing student achievement in 2008.
The Colonial School District and others across Delaware have added instructional support specialists to their payrolls. These specialists are veteran teachers who coach individual teachers who are struggling. They also meet with groups of teachers to suggest additional instructional strategies and activities. These contacts, over time, provide a rich source of professional development.
In addition, many schools have invested in curriculum programs such as Learner Focused Strategies and the International Baccalaureate, which have documented records of success. Well-designed professional development to help teachers carry out these programs is critical; such programs are unlikely to be successful without comprehensive, sustained, and intensive teacher training and support.
Professional development does not have to be a group endeavor, however. DFM News has highlighted examples of independent school teachers’ professional development. Many of these teachers pursue advanced degrees or personal passions.
While these activities certainly can enrich the knowledge and skills of the individual teacher, it is essential that professional development be designed to provide a payoff to the school that squarely addresses its priorities and needs.
Over time, professional development offerings are improving. Increasing accountability and decreasing funds push schools and teachers to make smarter choices with their limited resources. The important questions for schools and teachers to ask are:
1. Does this professional development address a critical need in our school?
2. Is the professional development well-designed?
3. What does the professional development program enable our school to do that we cannot do now?
If there are not clear answers to each, the school and teacher should reconsider the choice.
Joan L. Buttram, Ph.D., is interim director of the Delaware Education R&D Center, University of Delaware.