Bolstering Teachers’ Professional Growth

Executive Perspective

In my early years as a district superintendent, professional development consisted of an all-day Superintendent’s Conference Day before the school year started in September. I would welcome the troops back and do my best to motivate them to have a great year.

An education thought leader would keynote the event and the rest of the day would be spent reviewing the new rules and regulations and changes in school district policies.

Beyond that, professional development for the rest of the year consisted of teachers selecting courses that appealed to them from the staff development catalogue or taking graduate-level courses at the local university. The primary incentive here was the salary increase that accrued based on the number of credits or courses taken.

Better Training

Although we hoped this activity resulted in the personal growth of staff and perhaps improvement in instructional delivery, there was no way to gauge that. There was no alignment between the professional development activities and district goals for instructional improvement.

Linda Darling-Hammond has written extensively about the poor staff development practices in the United States. As public education critics raised the alarm that focused on the poor performance of our students on international tests, Darling-Hammond was quick to point out that the nations outperforming us devoted significantly more time and resources to the training of their teachers.

Critics also have pointed out the huge sums of money spent in the U.S. on professional development with little return on the investment. No surprise there, considering that most of that money was spent on courses and workshops leading to salary increases rather than activities focused on training that would lead to identified student needs.

In recent years, many school districts’ adoption of the Common Core or other college and career-ready standards has led many superintendents to consider making significant changes in their professional development programs. Similarly, the growth in blended learning brought about by the innovations in technology and the push toward personalized learning require the meaningful and significant retraining of staff.

Many superintendents have learned the hard way that simply buying a laptop for every child in the district will be a substantial waste of taxpayer dollars unless the purchase has been preceded by the training of staff in how to effectively use those laptops to improve instruction.

Redesigning Practices

There is now widespread recognition that the transformation that is taking place in how we teach and how students learn cannot happen without a redesign of our professional development practices. AASA is very much involved in leading this effort through our Superintendent Leadership for PD Redesign project. The work currently focuses on four large school systems (Baltimore County, Md.; Fulton County, Ga.; Palm Beach County, Fla.; and Syracuse, N.Y.) and 18 other districts throughout the country making up a community of practice.

Key elements define the substantial changes these districts are making to their training activities. The one-shot superintendent conference day may be a great introduction, but only if it is followed by an ongoing program embedded in the school and classroom that incorporates mentoring and coaching. Supplement that with online courses available for staff at their convenience and now you are making a difference.

Teachers also must have time for collaboration. The sharing of teaching strategies, lesson plans and instructional materials is probably one of the most effective practices in improving teaching skills. To borrow a concept from the digital world, think of it as crowd sourcing. Introduce into this mix a mentor or coach who is site-based, in many cases the principal or assistant principal or both, and you have the makings of effective professional development.

Working with the staff to align their instructional activities with a new curriculum is also essential. The Common Core and similar standards require a deeper dive into the instructional process that often requires more time. Not all students can keep up with the same pace of instruction so provisions have to be made for individual students to proceed at their own pace rather than moving on and leaving them behind.

Establishing a feedback system is necessary so teachers are constantly aware of whether their instructional practices are successful. Similarly, coaches and mentors need to gauge the success of their efforts. Measuring the quality and impact of the redesigned PD program assures the superintendent that the extra dollars and resources being spent by the district are accomplishing a return on investment.