PROFESSIONAL+DEVELOPMENT+RESOURCES

Professional Development Resources
The resources contained on this page are intended to provide background information to assist EA 746 students who are developing Leadership Action Plans for a professional development activity in their school/district with the potential to be implemented as part of their Ed.S. program internship.

==== The Dec./Jan. '09/'10 issue of the Kappan has an easy-to-read article, "[|Professional Learning 101] ", by Fogarty & Pete that presents seven elements that should anchor your professional development plans. The [|Feb. '09 issue of Educational Leadership] contains some very good articles on professional development. I draw you attention to "Research Review/Teacher Learning:What Matters". ====

The [|March '02 issue of Educational Leadership] featured articles on PD. I ask that you read "Does it make a difference? Evaluating Professional Development", by Tom Guskey. Your PD plan needs to include how you intend to assess its effectiveness on several levels per Guskey's model as described in the article.

Another important resource for best practices in professional development is the [|National Staff Development Council], especially the Standards for PD. NSDC is also working on changing the definition of PD in the NCLB Act. This [|Teacher magazine article] presents good criteria for your own PD planning.

Twice a year, Education Week publishes "Teacher Professional Development Sourcebook" that contains an extensive PD Directory as well as several articles on the latest PD issues. The fall/winter '09 issue focused on "Leveraging Online Professional Development". There would certainly seem to be powerful PD options to consider within the on line options. (e.g. Web 2.0, social networking, webinars, video conferencing, skype,etc.) Some of the contents of the Sourcebook are available on line. Check it out. This is a link to the [|Sourcebook home page]. You will see a variety of topics that may connect with your curriculum topic. In the top left you can access the current issue that I have referred to above. There is an [|interview including a short video] in this issue of Sourcebook with a Harvard professor of learning technology that you might find informative.

ASCD is another source of PD ideas and materials. Check out the [|PD portion of the ASCD web site].

[|Teacher Leader Network] is a resource worth checking out. It was started by some excellent teachers and is now affiliated with The Center for Teaching Quality, another organization that ed leaders should be familiar with.

[|Stephanie Hirsch], NSDC Exec. Dir. wrote this insightful Commentary in Ed Week, 2/10. It contains some good links to recent evidence of effective PD.

Ed Week article summarizes the findings of the recently published (2/10) [|Met Life Study] of Teachers Opinions on Collaboration & Teamwork. The results of this national survey are very interesting and have important implications for PD. Here is a link to the [|entire MetLife Study] with a brief commentary by NSDC.

The Feb. '10 issue of JSD, The journal of the NSDC, has as its theme "Technology". The lead article, "Learning No Matter Where You Are", is an interview with Harvard Professor in Learning Technologies, Chris Dede., who probes the merits of online vs. face-to-face professional development. He argues that there is no one best way, but that we need a variety of PD delivery modes. He praises the use of Web 2.0 tools because they reinforce the PD approach that everyone can learn from everyone. It is a worthwhile interview to read.

The Center for Teaching Quality in Jan. '10, published [|recommendations for effective PD] based on a survey & interviews with teacher leaders. (See pp. 5- 11.) They emphasize teacher-led, ongoing PD in collaborative structures focused needs related to the students and subjects being taught. These recommendations should serve to guide your practice.

NSDC Deputy Director, Joann Killion, wrote an interesting column that provides an overview of how [|teacher learning keeps evolving]

The [|Annenberg Foundation] is an excellent source of free PD materials.

[|Public Television] has a wonder web site with many free PD resources for teachers.

[|21 Things] - What Every Educator Should Know About Technology is an excellent source of PD. Check it out!

[|Ecology of Education] is a web site recommended by John Bernia of the MC cohort. He reports useful PD like topics like this one on using assessment in the classroom. He particularly like the intelligent exchange of practical ideas shared by followers of this site. Additional resources on the topic are also linked. Check it out.

ASCD has made available on line a video of Doug Reeves' complete presentation at 2010 conference. Although over an hour in length, it is worth your time if you are interested in improving PD. Reeves is an excellent speaker, very clear in his beliefs which are based on research and often quite thought-provoking. The video does not show the slides he refers to on the large, conference room screen as he speaks to over 1000 educators. The [|slides] however are available on his web site. Just scroll down a bit to find the slides under High Impact Learning, ASCD, 2010.

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[|ASCD]has placed on the web a few of the major presentations, in addition to the one above, from its 2010 national conference. Yong Zhao is one of them.

__Jim Colllins__, the researcher/author of the best seller, Good to Great & Good to Great in the Social Sector, has several short videos on his web site that provide some of his insights on leadership.

This interview with NSDC Exec. Director, [|Stephanie Hirsch], is informative. It appeared on the web site of the [|Learning First Alliance], a very influential coalition of all the major educational organizations.

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