5 Ways To Make Teacher Professional Development

Effective [With Examples]

 April 24, 2019  Maria Kampen  School leaders, School Leadership, Teacher Resources

Every educator has at least one tale of a teacher professional

development session gone wrong. But how can you avoid those mistakes?
It’s difficult to plan and execute creative opportunities for teachers to continue to
build their skills. Many school leaders will admit that professional development is
the last thing on their mind in the middle of a busy school day.
If you want to improve teacher professional development and build a
positive school culture, this post is for you. You’ll find:

 A quick definition of teacher professional development

 Why teacher professional development is important
 5 ways to make teacher professional development effective
 A downloadable list of the 5 strategies to keep at your desk

What is teacher professional development?

Teacher professional development is any type of continuing education effort for
educators. It’s one way teachers can improve their skills and, in turn, boost student
outcomes.
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Learning can take place in formal or informal settings. Formal settings include
conferences, courses, seminars, retreats and workshops. Informal opportunities for
teacher professional development include independent research or investigation,
peer learning initiatives or even just chatting with a colleague in the staff room.
Professional development for teachers takes place on a number of different levels:
district-wide, among teachers in a given school, or even on a classroom or
individual basis.

Why is teacher professional development important?

It affects student learning
It’s obvious that good teachers are better at teaching students effectively. When
teachers have access to continuous learning opportunities and professional
development resources, they’re better equipped to become good teachers —
especially if their students have learning needs or are performing below or above
grade level.
Student achievement should be the ultimate goal of any teacher professional
development activities. Hayes Mitchell of Leaning Forward, a professional
development organization, writes:

“The most effective professional development engages teams of teachers to

focus on the needs of their students. They learn and problem solve together
in order to ensure all students achieve success.”

It encourages the success of new teachers

According to one study, a third of teachers leave the profession within three years,
and half of teachers leave within five years.
While there are a number of explanations for this statistic, there is no substitute for
hands-on experience when it comes to effective classroom teaching. Teachers
spend their whole careers developing new skills in response to the challenges they
encounter, but new teachers haven’t had a chance to build their own resources.
Professional development can help new and experienced teachers develop the
skills they need to feel confident in the classroom. Effective professional
development helps teachers shape career-long learning.

It promotes a growth mindset

Thoughtful, targeted teacher professional development opportunities boost
student outcomes and promote a growth mindset.
Teacher professional development encourages teachers to be active participants in
their own learning, and ensures that students and teachers alike are eager to
learn. When you provide learning and support for your teachers, you
communicate that the school community values the work they do and wants
them to grow.
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A lack of professional development resources for teachers can be discouraging. It
communicates that you don’t want to invest in the quality of teaching and puts
more stress on teachers to develop their skills alone.

How to make teacher professional development effective and

engaging

There are lots of challenges to running an effective teacher professional

development session: time, money, engagement, effectiveness, and more. While
the challenges may be daunting, they shouldn’t stop you from creating
opportunities for your teachers to deepen their understanding.
Did you know that Prodigy offers no-cost training sessions personalized to
your school’s unique needs? Fill out the form below to see your building’s users
and learn how you can bring Prodigy to your next professional development
session! 👇👇👇
In the meantime, here are some solutions to get you started:

1. Make it specific
Every teacher faces unique classroom challenges and comes to work each
morning with a different set of skills.
However, in the name of time, cost and efficiency, many professional development
opportunities for teachers are too broad and not relevant to most, or even many, of
the teachers attending.
If you want professional development to be relevant, ask your teachers for their
suggestions — there’s a good chance that they have plenty to say.
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Give teachers a choice about what or how they learn. Give different options for
workshops or courses they can take.
If you can’t offer different options, keep the topic simple. Go for depth instead of
breadth, and make sure that teachers come away from the session with all the
information they need to start using it in the classroom.
Ask for feedback at the end of the session, and then use it to continue the cycle. Ask
teachers what worked, what didn’t, what they would change and what they’d like to
learn more about next time. As former North Carolina governor Bev Perdue writes:

“Change in education is driven by teachers, but teachers have been left out of
the conversation. They know what their classrooms need, yet they don’t
feel empowered or emboldened by their school systems and their states,
and they lack the tools and funding they need to help their students
succeed.”
Example:
There are a number of ways to make teacher professional development more
specific. To begin, use tools like Google Forms to collect information on what
teachers want to learn more about, and feedback on the effectiveness of past
sessions. Other options include:

 Divide teachers up into groups based on grade level or subject area. For
example, a general session on inquiry-based learning can be made more
 effective if all your school’s physics teachers brainstorm ways to apply the
technique consistently within their department.
 Make sure it’s a topic that feeds into your school’s overall educational
goals. As Rita Platt, a National Board Certified teacher, says: “If you can’t tell
us how the inservice will help us move toward the school goals, don’t ask us
to sit through them.”
 Pair teachers up to develop an interdisciplinary teaching activity. When
two teachers work together, they use out-of-the-box thinking to create a
dynamic learning experience for their students.

2. Get teachers invested

Most teachers will tell you they don’t enjoy being treated like students — they’re
educated professionals who are there to develop an existing, unique and powerful
skillset.
In this scenario, it’s unlikely that the session is going to have a meaningful impact or
inspire change in the classroom. A lack of engagement is just as fatal for
teachers as it is for students.
If you’re running a session about active learning in the classroom, use active
learning techniques. If it’s about service learning, have teachers research
opportunities or organizations where their class can get involved.
Teachers need to be interested and engaged. Just like their students, teachers learn
in different ways and respond differently to auditory, kinesthetic, written or visual
learning methods.
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Example:
Diana Laufenberg, founder and Executive Director of Inquiry Schools, recommends
making different entry points for different learners, similar to a differentiated
classroom.
A discussion on blended learning could include a number of different ways for
teachers to connect with the topic:

 Ask hands-on learners to demo relevant software

 Have teachers who prefer to work collaboratively brainstorm with colleagues
for subject-specific ways to introduce technology into the classroom
 Give a teacher who’s already tried blended learning techniques an
opportunity to share her successes and challenges

3. Make it ongoing
Your PD session was specific and engaging, your teachers left feeling informed, and
now it’s time for them to put it into practice in the classroom.
A 2016 survey, in partnership with Learning Forward and the National Education
Association, found that schools use data-driven instruction methods to plan
professional development for teachers, but don’t use it to figure out how effective
the efforts actually are:

“Many teachers indicate that their backgrounds, experience levels, or

learning needs are not considered in the planning or design of their
professional learning. Teacher responses are fairly low when asked
whether professional learning programs in their schools are
continuously evaluated to ensure quality results.”

Teacher professional development is a self-defeating cycle if you’re not

continuously learning from what worked and what didn’t. If teachers don’t feel they
have the support they need to effectively implement new teaching strategies or
new ideas into their classrooms, they’re not going to — which means wasted time,
effort and money.
Uncertainty, unanswered questions and a lack of confidence often stop
teachers from trying new techniques in their classroom. The best thing you can
do as an administrator is to make sure you support teachers as they try to improve
their teaching.
Make sure that teachers know they can approach you with any questions or
concerns. Use student and teacher achievement data to make decisions about what
to focus on next and how to drive student learning.
Example:
EdTech software is quickly becoming one of the best ways to collect actionable data
on student achievement and understanding. Opportunities to train educators on
subject-specific EdTech platforms give teachers the tools they need to confidently
use student data to improve their classroom teaching.
Prodigy is a free, curriculum-aligned math game that challenges students in a
world filled with education and adventure. Real-time data and powerful reports
give school leaders and teachers valuable insights into what classroom techniques
are encouraging student success, and where student achievement can be
improved.
As a school leader, you also have the opportunity to partner with Prodigy! You’ll be
able to talk to a dedicated, friendly school support specialist that will work with you
to make every step of your Prodigy implementation a breeze.
Want to find out how you can bring Prodigy to your building’s next professional
development session? Fill out the form below!👇👇

4. Embed it into the teaching process

In 2015, a survey by The New Teacher Project found that even through districts
spend an average of $18,000 per teacher each year, only about 30 percent of
teachers noticeably improved as a result.
At some level, professional development is always going to cost money for your
school and district. But you can control one of the other major costs: your teachers’
time. Effective learning doesn’t take place in an afternoon, and often teachers and
administrators struggle to fit teacher professional development opportunities
around actually  teaching.
Time is a commodity that you cannot avoid using — but you can spend it
wisely. This doesn’t mean spending less time on teacher professional development
activities, but it means maximizing the time that you do have.
This can happen a few different ways:

 Deepen subject knowledge. It’s crucial for teachers to illustrate to students

how lesson content is being used or talked about outside of the classroom,
especially in middle school and high school. Challenge teachers to create
lesson content on current historiographical trends, advancements in
medicine, or the latest breakthroughs in physics.
 Break it up. Learning is generally more effective if it takes place during the
school day, where teachers have the chance to apply key takeaways
immediately. Consider hosting a lunch-and-learn, or doing short PD sessions
at the beginning or end of the school day.
 Start peer coaching activities. Have teachers observe their colleagues in
the classroom on a regular basis. They’ll have a chance to see how their
peers handle classroom issues and approach their lessons. They’ll also have
the opportunity to collaborate and suggest areas of improvement.
Make sure you’re giving your teachers effective and actionable feedback that
helps them to improve. If teachers don’t know where they can do better, they’re
not going to ever have the opportunity to act.
Example:
In the report “Why Professional Development Matters,” Hayes Mizell outlines a
system of “learning teams” that can act as cooperative networks that drive
individual and collective professional development.
To start, look at student data: are there learning gaps in specific subjects or grades?
Which teaching strategies need to be developed more to be effective? Which
strategies are already working well? Are there any overarching student issues that
need to be addressed, either immediately or in the future?
Organize educators into learning teams based on their proximity to issues,
and assign each a topic with a goal. For example, if you notice that the Grades 4,
5 and 6 classes consistently struggle with fractions, challenge the teachers for those
grades to come up with a way to effectively scaffold content and boost student
achievement.
Mizell recommends that learning teams meet twice or three times a week, and each
have a “skilled facilitator” that can guide them as they focus on what they want to
achieve. Newer teachers can learn from the experience of others, and all teachers
work together to boost student outcomes.

5. Personalize teacher learning with a Professional Development Plan

Personalized learning works for students, so why shouldn’t it work for teachers?
A Professional Development Plan sets out individual learning goals for educators
on a short-term or long term basis, and gives clear steps for achieving them.
Sit down with educators in your school and determine what factors should
influence their individual plans:

 What subject do they teach?

 What age range?
 Are they happy in their current position? Where do they want to move in the
future?
 What do they need to learn to make that happen?

Figure out how individual teachers measure up against your school’s standards.
Challenge them to keep learning and stretching their professional capacities, and
encourage them to continue developing their career.
Use the SMART goal system to set achievable goals: make
them Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely. Track them on a
monthly and yearly basis to see how teachers are progressing and improving.
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Work with teachers to ensure that they have access to any other resources they
might need: courses, certification classes or even emotional support as they try
new techniques in the classroom.

Downloadable list of 5 teacher professional development

strategies
Want to make sure that your next teacher professional development session is
effective and engaging? Fill out the form below for a simplified list you can keep
nearby as inspiration! 📝

 Administrators >> Brown Bag It: A Professional Development Activity That Works

Brown Bag It: A Professional Development Activity

That Works
Looking for a great staff meeting idea? One that is totally practical and fun? The
"Brown Bag It" activity gives all members of your staff an opportunity to play the
role of professional developer for an hour. Included: Step-by-step activity
instructions.

Are you always on the lookout for a professional development activity you might use at a
monthly staff meeting or an in-service session? Why not Brown Bag It?

Brown Bag It is a professional development activity that staff developer Melba Smithwick has
used successfully at Paul R. Haas Middle School in Corpus Christi, Texas. In this activity, every
participant gets to play the role of professional developer for an hour.

"On the surface, this activity might seem too simple, but believe me, simplicity is the key to its
success," said Smithwick. "Perhaps the most profound result was that through this activity we
all learned to communicate about our problems in a constructive manner.

"I prefaced the activity by telling them that we all need sound advice from each other and that I
see excellent teaching and proactive behavior from many of them. Sharing successes with each
other affords all of our students our collective best."
 Training Tip

If you have never before

done an activity such as
this one, or if your
STEP BY STEP teachers are not used to
sharing issues they face
The real beauty of the Brown Bag It activity is the small amount of with one another, you
prep time associated with it. might prepare them ahead
of time. That way, they
Materials Needed don't come into the
activity "cold." Ask
teachers to be thinking
 9- x 14-inch brown envelopes; one per teacher
about a classroom issue
 4 x 6 index cards; each teacher should have the same they face
number of cards as there are participants in the activity -- for -- anything from a thorny
discipline issue to ideas
example, for 30 teachers you will need 900 (30 cards for each
for improving an area of
of 30 teachers) cards instruction/curriculum;
 a set of markers for each group of teachers from a personal
organization issue to a
parent issue. Tell them
The Activity
they will not need to "go
Model the following steps as you explain them to teachers. You public" with this issue but
might even write the steps on a chart so teachers will have them that it should be an issue
to refer to as you explain the activity. with which some of their
colleagues might have
 Arrange teachers in small groups. An ideal set-up might be
dealt and might be able to
offer some advice.
to arrange groups of four teachers at individual tables. Provide
brown envelopes (one per teacher) and a stack of index cards "I did not give our
at each table. teachers any advanced
notice," said Smithwick,
 Ask teachers, If you could be an animal, what animal would "but I meet with them
you be? Have them draw a picture of that animal in the front once a week and we
upper-right-hand corner of the envelope. Have them give the always share strengths
animal a name. The teachers' own names will not appear on the and areas of weakness. I
had a pretty good idea of
envelopes. This animal and its name will be the only identifiers. If
the questions and
another person draws the same animal, the name will further situations that would
identify the owner of each envelope. arise."
 Ask each teacher to identify a problem for which they
would like to solicit outside suggestions. Have them use markers to write in the middle of
the envelope that problem or situation. It might be anything classroom related: it can be a
disciplinary issue, an instructional situation, an organization question, a parent-involvement
issue There are no restrictions.

The following are a few among the topics that Smithwick's colleagues wrote:
--- I would love to do cooperative learning, but how do you keep all of the students on task?
 --- I can't get my students to come in and automatically begin their "bell work." What can I do
to make this a routine for them? I always have to remind them to get started on it.
--- When I try to use manipulatives in math class, all they do is play with them. What can I do
to get them to focus more seriously on the activity?
--- How do I get my students to show up for my detention?

 Collect all the envelopes. Shuffle them. Then re-distribute them; give one envelope to
each teacher. This will maintain confidentiality.

 Each teacher will read the problem described on the front of the envelope they receive.
The teacher will then respond to the problem by writing on one of the index cards a
suggestion, a related experience, a quote, or anything else that might help that teacher with
the problem. Teachers do not have to sign the cards unless they wish to do so. When they have
finished writing their thoughts, they should drop the index card into the envelope.

If your teachers have never done anything like this, emphasize that they should pen their
most constructive and practical responses. "Having set the parameters in my weekly staff
development sessions, the teachers I work with already know the norms," said Smithwick.
"Once in awhile I restate them, but that is usually not necessary."

 Next, each teacher will pass the envelope he or she has clockwise to another person
seated in the group.

 Continue passing the envelopes to others in the group until all members of the group
have had a chance to respond to each problem. Then pass the
group of envelopes to the next group of teachers. "Perhaps the most
profound result was that
 Continue doing this until every teacher has had an through this activity we
opportunity to respond to each problem, or until time runs all learned to
out. communicate about our
problems in a
Collect all of the envelopes and spread them out on a table close
constructive manner... I
have observed that this
to the room's exit. As they exit at the end of the session, each activity has the power to
teacher will scan the envelopes and pick up the one they open up lines of
personalized with their favorite animal. professional
communication between
At the next faculty meeting, share the results of the activity. "As colleagues..."
expected, some suggestions work while others require some
adaptation," said Smithwick. "I never force anyone to volunteer because they may not feel
comfortable divulging their problems to the rest of the staff."
"I have observed that this activity has the power to open up lines of professional
communication between colleagues who might not speak to one another under normal
circumstances," added Smithwick.