RISE TO THE CHALLENGE
Aligning and Assessing Educator Professional Development

By Stacy M. Cummings and Joann Sebastian Morris

For decades, educators have been involved in professional development (PD). Nonetheless, research tells us that too often PD is fragmented; the content and on the reality of the classroom. This may be because we have mistaken isolated training events for planned PD. Furthermore, educators have great leeway in deciding what they want to learn, and it is generally optional whether they implement the new knowledge.

In a time of greater accountability for results, we must rise to the challenge. The National Staff Development Council (NSDC), Joellen Killion, and other researchers believe that the primary purpose of all PD must be student improvement, then individual teacher and organizational development. To ensure that PD pays off in better student performance, we must begin with that goal. Next comes careful planning, which includes identifying current student learning needs; the knowledge, skills, and attitudes educators need to improve student achievement; and results-oriented PD addressing those target areas (see sidebar for a PD assessment model). Once we have implemented the PD, we must provide support to ensure implementation of the new knowledge (Killion, Assessing Impact: Evaluating Staff Development, 2002, pp. 31-32). Through these steps, we align PD efforts to our long-range educational goal.

For example, if our goal is to improve student literacy, we might follow a process like this. Prior to selecting the goal, teachers and administrators would analyze data to identify students’ literacy related learning needs. Teachers who need training on reading strategies and coaching would then select a PD model such as the Reading Success Network. They would receive training that increases their understanding of students’ reading difficulties; their knowledge about providing differentiated, high-quality reading instruction; and their capacity for peer coaching. Support would be given at the school level by allowing time for teachers to meet and at the regional level by providing quarterly follow-up phone calls, videoconferences, or related training. A long-term PD plan that is always aligned to its goal will result in improved reading scores for all students.

Professional development is central to all school improvement efforts. But we must remember to align that PD to the overarching goal of student achievement, align PD activities to the cultures of the educators involved, and assess the PD effort to ensure that it results in the learning, transfer, and impact that we intend.

For further assistance, visit the NSDC website at www.nsdc.org.

Evaluating PD: Learning, Transfer, and Impact

Demands for greater accountability have resulted in greater recognition of the need to assess all school reform initiatives, including professional development (PD). A PD model developed by Paula Berardinelli and Jim Burrow (Vella, Berardinelli, & Burrow, How Do They Know They Know: Evaluating Adult Learning, 1998, pp. 20-22) focuses on three program results that can be evaluated: learning, transfer, and impact.

Learning. Refers to immediate and specific individual results. Formal and informal methods are used to assess the knowledge, skills, and attitudes developed by learners.

Transfer. Refers to intermediate and applied results. Learning from the program is assessed as it is applied to the learner’s work. Transfer is a behavior that results in changed performance.

Impact. Refers to long-term, broad results focused on the organization. PD is assessed in terms of overall goals.

According to the authors, any learning experience can be improved through attention paid to these interacting variables: the learning experience, the characteristics of individual learners, and the environment in which they’ll apply their new learning (p. 31). In the Pacific, this means that successful PD activities are adapted to match the linguistic, cultural, and social realities of the educators.
Stacy M. Cummings is an Equity Specialist and Joann Sebastian Morris is the Program Director for the Pacific Comprehensive Regional Assistance Center.