Assessment # 7: Professional Development Experience
1.a. Brief Description of the Professional Development Experience and its Use in the Program
The Professional Development Experience is used to assess the candidate’s ability to plan
effective teacher professional development to meet the literacy needs of students across the
grades. This assessment occurs toward the end of the program, in the course LSLS 7031:
Principles of Organizing a Literacy Curriculum. This course addresses a wide range of issues and
approaches related to planning, implementing, and supervising literacy programs in K-12
settings. It is designed to provide students with the knowledge, skills, and resources needed to
take a leadership role in designing effective instruction, developing and evaluating curriculum
materials, creating a literate environment, and facilitating teacher professional development.
The Professional Development Experience primarily addresses IRA Standard 6: Professional
Learning and Leadership. This assessment secondarily addresses one element of IRA Standard
4: Diversity.
1.b. Alignment of Professional Development Experience with Elements of
Standard 6: Professional Learning and Leadership.
Standard 6.1: Demonstrate foundational knowledge of adult learning theories and related
research about organizational change, professional development, and school culture.
Candidates are expected to design a professional development experience reflecting current
research on characteristics and components of effective professional development including
modeling, scaffolding, and engagement of participants as active decision-makers. Further, the
experience should incorporate authentic, contextually-based data, and should occur time.
Standard 6.2: Display positive dispositions related to their own reading and writing and the
teaching of reading and writing, and pursue the development of individual professional
knowledge and behaviors.
An integral part of the candidate’s professional development experience is his/her
demonstration of positive attitudes toward his/her own reading and writing and modeling
his/her ongoing individual professional development regarding the teaching of reading and
writing.
Standard 6.3: Participate in, design, facilitate, lead, and evaluate effective and differentiated
professional development programs.
Candidates are expected to design professional development experiences to support
participants with differentiated knowledge, experiences, and dispositions toward the
professional development topic.
Standard 6.4: Understand and influence local, state, or national policy decisions.
Candidates are expected to model the responsibilities and dispositions of professional
leadership including attention to his/her role, as well as the potential roles of participants, in
local, state, or national conversations and policy decisions.
Alignment of Professional Development Experience with Elements of
Standard 4: Diversity.
The Professional Development Experience must promote: Recognition, understanding, and
valuing of the forms of diversity that exist in society and their importance in learning to read
and write (Standard 4.1) and also promote participant engagement in instructional practices
that positively impact [PreK-12] students’ knowledge, beliefs, and engagement with features of
diversity (Standard 4.2)
1.c. Brief Assessment of the Data Findings
Since this is a new program, there are no data findings to report. Our previous program did not
include an assessment of this type. We anticipate that this assessment will yield data relevant
to candidate success in meeting IRA Standard 6: Professional Learning and Leadership.
1.d. Description of how the Data will Provide Evidence of Meeting the Standards
Data will consist of the total number of points obtained on the Assessment Rubric for the
Professional Development Experience. A candidate who successfully meets each IRA standard
associated with this assignment will obtain a score of 24-30 points. Evidence of our program
meeting the standards will consist of having 90% of our candidates obtain a score of 24 points
or more.
2.e. Professional Development Experience Assessment
The directions and format for this assessment, as they are provided to students, appears below.
Assignment: Designing a Professional Development Experience
In this assignment you will create a Professional Development Experience including a PowerPoint
Presentation that could be presented in a professional study group, staff meeting, seminar, or workshop
for paraprofessionals or teachers to assist these stakeholders in the promotion of literacy. The
experience should:

Increase the knowledge base for classroom teachers, paraprofessionals, and/or
administrators in the use of curriculum materials.

Increase the knowledge base for classroom teachers, paraprofessionals, and/or
administrators in the use of technology-based materials.

Increase the knowledge base for classroom teachers, paraprofessionals, and/or
administrators in the use of personal professional development plans.
Reflect an evolving and critical understanding of literacy instruction, demonstrated
through multiple sources.

Exhibit leadership skills in professional development as well as an awareness of and
ability to describe the characteristics of sound professional development programs.

Be relevant to the context identified.

Include a rationale that is thorough and referenced throughout the presentation.

Include goals that are thoroughly embedded within the activities, rationale, and
research presented.

Be designed for participants to be actively engaged in the entire process through
decision-making, implementation, and reflection in a recursive structure reflective of
their assessment of needs.

Model strategies and approaches that can be taken to authentic settings and guide
participants in their own quest for learning.

Provide multiple methods and strategies for participant consideration and review and
allow participants to reflect upon practices throughout the experience.

Allow multiple opportunities to formally and informally evaluate the process as
presented and opportunities to revise or deviate from the presentation as necessary.

Include evaluation that is accurately reflective of the content, goals, and process
described.

Include PowerPoint slides that are well-organized, visually appealing, and incorporate
more than just text or simple graphics to convey messages. References for this
assignment can be placed on the last slide and should be in APA style.
2.f. Scoring Guide for Professional Development Experience Assessment
Participant Involvement
(Standards 6.1, 6.3)
Topic
Selection, Rationale, and
Goals
(Standard 6.1)
Does Not Meet Course Criteria/IRA
Standard
(0-1 point)
Topic is not related to literacy
instruction, vague or too broad for
the scope of the PD experience or
audience identified. Rationale for
topic is not provided or insufficient
references are provided to establish
the relevance; goals are missing or
unclear
Moderately Meets Course
Criteria/IRA Standard
(2-3 points)
Topic is focused on a specific
aspect of literacy instruction
relevant to the context/audience
identified for the PD experience;
Relevant rationale for the purpose
of the PD experience/topic
selected provided, with
appropriate references; goals for
the experience are stated and tied
into the events surrounding the
experience
PD experience is limited;
PD experience represents a
Opportunities for participants to
scaffolded approach to
identify issues or goals, and create
development over time;
solutions or processes to work toward Participants are actively engaged
goals are missing or cursory; key
in identifying authentic concerns
stakeholders (paraprofessionals,
related to the topic, and then
administrators, etc. . .) are not
working toward viable solutions
incorporated into the plans; structure within the school context; PD
of events is inauthentic or lacks
includes components for or
substance
recognition of the roles of various
stakeholders
Meets or Exceeds Course Criteria/IRA
Standard
(4-5 points)
Topic reflects an evolving and critical
understanding of literacy instruction,
demonstrated through multiple sources
within the ppt. and relevant to the context
identified; rationale is thorough and
referenced throughout the presentation;
goals are thoroughly embedded within the
activities, rationale, and research presented
PD experience includes modeling,
scaffolding, and multiple opportunities over
time for participants using authentic and
contextually based data; participants are
actively engaged in the entire process
through decision-making, implementation,
and reflection in a recursive structure
reflective of their assessment of needs
within the context as described
PD Educator Involvement
(Standards 6.1, 6.2, 6.3)
PD educator controls the entire
PD educator serves as a coach
experience with little or no input from and model for the participants,
the participants
actively engaging them in the
discussion and plan
Differentiation and Diversity
(Standards 6.3, 4.1, 4.2)
Limited attention to differentiation in
the PD experience; limited or no
attention to diversity in the
knowledge base, strategies, and
dispositions addressed
PD experience includes attention
to the differentiated knowledge
and experiences of participants.
PD experience acknowledges
PreK-12 student diversity.
PD educator serves as an active resource
for the participants; guides participants in
their own quest for learning; models
strategies and approaches in authentic
settings; provides multiple methods and
strategies for participant consideration and
review; participates in reflective practices
throughout the experience; displays
positive attitudes toward his/her own
reading and writing and models his/her
ongoing individual professional
development regarding the teaching of
reading and writing
PD experience supports learning for
participants who range in experiences,
dispositions, and knowledge regarding the
topic. Methods and strategies of
presentation and participant engagement
are varied; context of PD experience
supports risk-taking and communitybuilding among participants. Knowledge
and practical applications support
participants in heightening their
recognition and understanding of the
importance of the many forms of diversity
in literacy learning; concepts and
instructional strategies will positively
impact PreK-12 students’ engagement with
features of diversity
Assessment and
Evaluation
(Standard 6.3)
Professional Role,
Presentation, and Style
(Standard 6.4)
Opportunities for evaluation of the PD
experience are cursory or nonexistent; Assessment/evaluation
opportunities are not accurately
reflective of the content, goals, or
process as presented in the PD plan
Multiple opportunities for
evaluation of the PD experience in
both formal and informal ways are
provided in the PD plan;
assessment/evaluation accurately
reflects the content, goals, and
process as presented in the PD
plan
PD educator does not model
professional leadership with respect
to policy decisions and/or does not
model professional presentation in
content conveyed;
multiple typos/grammatical errors;
References missing or not in APA
format; slides are busy, cluttered, or
difficult to read
PD educator addresses the role of
instructional leaders as
participants in policy
conversations. In his/her
presentation of content, there are
minimal errors; references
present and in APA style; slides
are self-sufficient,
understandable, and organized in
a logical, orderly manner
Total = ______/30 points
Evaluation/assessment is embedded within
the PD plan; participants are provided
multiple opportunities to formally and
informally evaluate the process as
presented in the plan and opportunities to
revise or deviate from the plan as
necessary are built into the process as
presented; evaluation is accurately
reflective of the content, goals, and process
described
PD educator models the responsibilities
and dispositions of professional leadership
including attention to his/her role, as well
as the potential roles of participants, in
local, state, or national conversations and
policy decisions. In presentation of content,
PD educator has no errors; APA style is
present; references included; PPT slides are
well-organized, visually appealing, and
incorporate more than just text or simple
graphics to convey messages