Professional Development—Definition and Planning Steps
What is Job-embedded Professional Development?
Team Meetings with Instructional Focus: A small group of teachers meet during the work day for professional development that is focused on student needs as identified by analyzing student data. Additionally the group focuses on the instructional strategies that the team is going to use to meet those needs. These meetings are usually led by a team leader or lead teacher.
Team Teaching: Two or more teachers teach a lesson or series of lessons together. Each teacher will contribute different portions of the lesson in order for both parties to work on how they use an instructional strategy in the classroom.
Demonstration Teaching: A lead teacher or other qualified teacher presents instructional strategies to classes less experienced teachers while they watch the lesson in order to improve their own teaching skills with the instructional strategy.
Instructional Strategy Modeling: As part of a professional development team a lead teacher presents to the team a specifically selected instructional strategy aligned with a particular student-centered goal. This modeling is done, in order to demonstrate the instructional strategy to the teachers on the team for implementation in their classrooms.
Individual Guided Practice: Instruction is provided one-on-one for students and/or teachers who may be struggling with a specific instructional strategy or skill. The practice is designed to help the student and/or teacher improve their skills and performance.
What are the steps for planning Q Comp Component 2: Job-embedded Professional Development?
Each site is required to complete Component 2 on the Q Comp application.
1. The district selects a student achievement goal from their Educational Improvement Plan (EIP) for Q Comp focus.
2. Each site selects a student achievement goal from the Site Improvement Plan (SIP) aligned to the district.
3. Disaggregate the student data. Analyze student data on a locally selected standardized assessment or the MCA-II’s by subgroup population (of a measurable amount-for the state a student population of 10 or more). Ask questions such as: What deficiencies are there? Where is the top third? Where is the bottom third? What skill most needs to be improved?
4. Write a site-measurable objective that aligns to the site goal and is supported by the student data. The measurable objective must be reasonable and achievable and answer, “Who will do what, as well as when and how will this be accomplished?” for both students and teacher.
5. Complete the site overview chart (number of students, number of teachers, number of lead teachers, team configurations for professional development, number of teachers on each team, length and frequency of team meetings and what professional activities will be done by the team).
6. Create a professional development calendar that shows team meetings occurring with the recommended length of time of at least 60 minutes per week. This calendar should also include a timeline for implementing instructional strategies, conducting teacher observations and evaluations, coaching cycles, demonstration teaching cycles, etc. The professional development shown on this calendar should be integrated with the regular staff development days, and embedded into the teacher work day.
7. Explain how the professional development plan will be used to show a teacher’s continuous improvement. Use the “how” portion of the measurable objective where it explains what will be done to help teachers reach the established level of performance. The professional development plan should involve the use of baseline observations, formative evaluations and summative evaluations.
8. Complete the professional development evaluation framework chart for each instructional strategy that will be implemented to meet the site goal. The professional development focus should demonstrate improved teacher knowledge and skills which in turn will improve student learning.
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