Q. Identify and discuss 3 professional development models along with any personal experience you have had with professional development.
Assuming that there are at least five general models of professional development (study teams, independent study, action-research, mentor-coach, and one-shot/ongoing training), I shall briefly explore my experience with three of these models: a) the study team approach; b) the independent study approach; and c) teacher-training approach. I will state at the outset here that I have experienced one serious limitation with my institutions' uses of the these approaches: I have never participated in any form of follow-up to determine as to whether my professional development experiences improved student learning. My schools have assumed that if I take part in some form of professional development then student learning will automatically take place. This is a precarious assumption to make.
The study team approach. The idea behind this model is that teacher professional development should be organized around teachers and administrators gathering in like-minded groups to discuss and evaluate pedagogy and elements of instructional design and assessment. This approach is not new, although it seems to me that the concept has recently been reformulated into a so-called professional learning community approach to teacher professional development. A plc is a group of like-minded individuals focused on some aspect of student learning. Plc members regularly communicate with one another and share data collected from their school or institution as a way of enhancing educational best practices. Blogs and on-line fora are wonderful ways to get a plc started. You can also use a schools intranet to organize school-wide plcs. We have organized several at my school. For example, each academic department (English, Social Studies, etc.) can create an internal forum and include all teachers, school-wide, with an interest in one or more of the academic disciplines. Our Social Studies forum includes all middle school and upper school social studies teachers, as well as lower school teachers with an interest in the social studies. This type of internal plc is a great way to connect teachers within a school or school system that would not ordinarily get an opportunity to collaborate on a regular basis.
The independent study approach. The idea behind this model is the assumption that effective teachers are lifelong learners, constantly pursuing more effective ways of practicing their craft. Teachers are encouraged to pursue anything from research into a specific question to enrolling in a graduate program at a university. In theory, the teacher would discuss his/her progress with an administrator, perhaps even sharing his/her insights with fellow faculty members during a divisional or all-school faculty meeting. The end result of this experience should be the teacher and/or school preparing some sort of report on how student learning was impacted by the teacher professional development.
My experience with this independent study approach has consisted of me filling out a form requesting that my school pick up half of the tab for my graduate program. In submitting the form to my school, I was asked to provide evidence (grades) of successful completion of each class I took. After the school received such evidence, I would be reimbursed for half of the amount of the cost of the class. I also had to promise that I would remain employed at the school for a period of two years following successful completion of my class, or else agree to repay the school for the amount spent on my behalf. I decided not to sign this form, so I am paying for my independent study myself; no one at the school is discussing my progress with me.
The teacher training approach. The idea behind this approach is that teachers attend a seminar/training session/or series of training sessions designed to attend to a specific aspect of student learning. From my perspective, this approach is probably the most common form of professional development currently implemented in schools today. I have attended professional seminars, annual conferences, etc. I am a member of three professional organizations: the International Baccalaureate, or IB, the National Council for the Social Studies, and the National Middle School Association, or NMSA.
The IB is an accelerated program of study designed for students entering their 11th-grade year. IB teachers must complete three levels of training offered at IB workshops held throughout the world in order to teach their IB classes. I teach IB History of the Americas and IB Economics, and I completed my training in London and New Mexico. The workshops that the IB offers are outstanding, highly focused, and usually led by master teachers.
The NCSS and the NMSA are professional organizations for social studies teachers and middle school teachers. I have attended NCSS seminars in the past (in Los Angeles) and usually attend the NMSA annual conference (the next one is coming up in November and is being held in Atlanta). While more general in nature as compared to the IB training that I completed, the seminars and conferences hosted by both NCSS and NMSA are widely attended by teachers throughout the U.S. and can be extremely valuable for those of us looking for new ideas and perhaps a source of inspiration.
Conclusion. I have participated in a number of activities that are classed as professional development opportunities, and most of my activities fall into one of the three models that I mention above. Most of my experiences have been rewarding, and a few have, no doubt, significantly improved my instruction and my students' capacity for learning. However, I have never examined to what extent my students' learning improved as a result of my professional development. My conclusions remain a set of experiential narratives as opposed to a set of scientifically analyzed results.
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