Professional Development
For Title I, Part D, Programs
Dr. Ted Price
Assistant Professor, Educational Leadership,
West Virginia University
Dr. Fran Warsing
Superintendent, Office of Institutional Education Programs,
West Virginia Department of Education
Rick Martin
Director of Curriculum, Learning, Accountability, and
Student Services
Orange County Department of Education, California
Elements of Effective Professional
Development


Sufficient resources
Strategic plan
◦ Values, Beliefs,Vision

High quality
Peterson, Kent (March 2011). "Characteristics and Features of Quality Professional Development Programs." ELead. Web. http://www.e-lead.org/principles/characteristics.asp
Professional Development Activities
Types
• Internal trainings by outside
experts or qualified, trained
staff
• External conferences and
trainings
• Mentoring and coaching
programs
Topics
•
•
•
•
Data
Technology training
English Language Learners
Parent Engagement
Information obtained from Dwayne Harapnuik, director of faculty enrichment at Abilene Christian University
Reviewing the Research:
National Staff Development Council Report
Purpose
• Provides overall picture of the nation’s
professional development
• Reviews the research literature on staff training
• Presents data collected from a nationally
representative survey of teachers
Wei, R. C., Darling-Hammond, L., Andree, A., Richardson, N., Orphanos, S. (2009). Professional learning in the
learning profession: A status report on teacher development in the United States and abroad. Dallas, TX. National
Staff Development Council.
Reviewing the Research:
National Staff Development Council Report
Findings

Duration
◦ Programs of 30 to 100 hours, over six months to a year
positively influenced student achievement
◦ Programs with fewer than 14 hours of time over six months to a
year had little effect on student achievement

Content-Focused
◦
◦
◦
◦

Curriculum connected to teachers’ classroom practice
Focus on deepening teacher content knowledge
Relation to how students learn particular concept
Coherent experiences
Fosters collaboration
◦ Collective participation
Reviewing the Research:
Lessons From Abroad
Other Industrialized
Countries
United States
• Teachers spend about 60
percent of their working time
engaged in instruction
• Teachers spend relatively more
time sharing ways of improving
• Practices align with the
research just discussed to
greater extent
• Teachers spend about 80
percent of their working time
engaged in instruction
• Professional learning typically
takes place in isolated settings
• PD is predominantly an
individual enterprise
• Focus is on serving individuals
rather than focusing on what
students need
Wei, R. C., Darling-Hammond, L., Andree, A., Richardson, N., Orphanos, S. (2009). Professional learning in the learning
profession: A status report on teacher development in the United States and abroad. Dallas, TX. National Staff Development
Council.
Reviewing the Research:
Teacher Professional Learning in the United States:
Case Studies of State Policies and Strategies
Teacher Reports

Less than 10% reported that PD had little or no impact

About 40% reported that PD confirmed what they were already
doing

Only about 50% of the teachers receiving PD in a given area
reported that it led to a change

Teachers were more likely to note the impact of PD when the
duration was longer

Teachers in highest-poverty schools were more likely to report
that PD in their content area was ongoing than teachers in
lowest-poverty schools
Jaquith, A., Mindich, D., Wei, R.C., Darling-Hammond, L. (2010). Teacher professional learning in the United States:
Case studies of state policies and strategies. Oxford, OH: Learning Forward.
Common Strategies for Leveraging
Quality Professional Development
1. Developing standards to guide accountability
2. Monitoring quality
3. Requiring induction and mentoring programs
4. Leveraging collegial strategies for professional
learning
5. Partnering with professional organizations
6. Creating networks of intermediary organizations
7. Addressing federal mandates and accountability
requirements in constructive ways
Peterson, Kent (March 2011). "Characteristics and Features of Quality Professional Development Programs." E-Lead.
Web. http://www.e-lead.org/principles/characteristics.asp
Guided by Policy:
ESEA and Professional Development
High quality and classroom-focused
 Sustained and intensive
 Positive impact on classroom instruction
 Impact on teacher performance
 Improve teachers’ knowledge of subject area
 Provide training on use of data and assessments to
inform instruction

More information can be found at Education Commission of the States: http://www.ecs.org/
Reviewing the Research:
The Dilemmas of Professional Development
Barriers and Challenges
Most of the staff development that is conducted with K12 teachers:
 Derives from short-term transition model
 Pays no attention to what is already going on in a
particular classroom
 Offers little opportunity for participants to become
involved in the conversation
 Provides no follow-up
Richardson, Virginia (2003). "The Dilemmas of Professional Development." Phi Delta Kappan. 84(5) 401-106.
Coaching Teachers:
What You Need to Know
Definition: Coaching is providing specialized support for
a designated period of time. It is an interactive process
built upon collaborative activities and collegiality focused
upon improving student learning.
• A four-year, nationwide research project affirmed what
many of us who have been coached—or who are
coaches—know: instructional coaching works
• Or rather, it can work if the conditions are right
Foltos, Les (2010). Peer Coaching: Changing Classroom Practice and Enhancing Student Achievement . Utah
Special Education, 32(3), 29-31.
Coaching Teachers:
So what is coaching?

Coaching is about listening

Effective coaches aren’t over-directive

"Without trust there can be no coaching"

Coaching can be transformative
Aguilar, Elena (March 2011). "Coaching Teachers: What You Need to Know." Education Week. 16 Feb. 2011. Web.
http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2011/02/15/tln_coaching.html
Coaching Teachers:
Personal Lessons Learned
Coaching is really, really hard. Coaches need
training and ongoing professional development.
Benefits to coaching:
◦ Creates more collaboration and sense of community
◦ Provides opportunities to practice new strategies more
often and with greater skill
◦ Retains and increases new skills
◦ Demonstrates clearer understanding of the purpose
and use of the learned strategy
Conclusions and Highlights
1. Only half of teachers who received PD reported
actual change in their teaching practice
2. Teachers engaging for longer duration were more
likely to report change in their teaching practice
3. Teachers in the highest-poverty schools appear to
be receiving more ongoing, multi-year PD
experiences than teachers in lowest-poverty
schools
4. Content-focused PD and collaborative efforts
contribute to greater impact on teaching practices