In this tutorial, we'll explore competency-based collaborative professional development. We'll begin by discussing the significance and purpose of professional development in general. We'll then take a closer look at teacher standards and teacher evaluation. We'll then see how teacher standards apply to competency-based professional development. And finally, we'll discuss the idea of focused professional development. Let's get started.
Let's begin by discussing the significance and purpose of professional development in general. Research on teacher effectiveness tells us that access to highly effective teachers is one of the most influential factors in increasing student achievement. This tells us that we need to be able to measure not only the effectiveness of teacher practice, but also the impact of professional development on teacher effectiveness in practice.
We know that teacher standards can help us to evaluate teacher effectiveness. Perhaps the most common setup of teacher standards are the InTASC standards, which were developed by the Chief Council of State School Officers. These standards provide an outline of the skills and the practices that effective teachers should demonstrate.
In fact, the Danielson evaluation model incorporates the InTASC standards into the evaluation framework rubrics. This framework provides an overview of different proficiency levels that teachers should demonstrate, and this framework is also incorporated into various state teacher evaluation models as well.
So how does this relate to competency-based professional development? Well, our professional teacher standards can help us to clearly define the skills and the competencies that teachers should be acquiring through their professional development. Using a competency-based approach to our professional development further defines the desired targets and benchmarks and objectives, and results in facilitating specific and actionable feedback throughout the process.
How do you know what the focus of your professional development should be? Ideally, professional development should be focused on high-yield strategies that are going to have the most significant impact on increasing student achievement. When developing a professional growth or development plan that is focused on high-yield strategies, teachers may wish to consider Marzano's high-yield instructional strategies. Marzano's strategies are research-based and are proven to be highly effective. Another great source of high-yield instructional strategies is John Hattie's Visible Learning.
Professional development may also be focused on site-based initiatives that are aligned with artwork in areas of collective need that have been identified by an individual school. Furthermore, teachers may find it beneficial to do some collaborative work on their professional development and growth plans.
Now it's your tread to stop and reflect. Consider checking your professional development plan for alignment to professional teacher standards. Can you identify competencies and targets and objectives from those teacher standards that might apply to your personal professional growth plan?
As you reflect on how this new information can be applied, you may want to explore the Additional Resources section that accompanies this video presentation. This is where you'll find links to resources chosen to help you deepen your learning and explore ways to apply your newly acquired skillset. Thanks for watching. Have a great day.
(00:00 - 00:28) Introduction
(00:29 - 00:57) Significance and Purpose of Professional Development
(00:58 - 01:41) Teacher Standards and Teacher Evaluation
(01:42 - 02:12) Teacher Standards and Competency-Based Professional Development
(02:13 - 03:12) Focused Professional Development
(03:13 - 03:54) Stop and Reflect
Feedback for Better Teaching: Nine Principles for Using Measures of Effective Teaching
This is a useful guidebook for providing actionable feedback after teacher observations. The guidebook builds upon the research from the Measures of Effective Teaching Project's research and data.
https://k12education.gatesfoundation.org/resource/feedback-for-better-teaching-nine-principles-for-using-measures-of-effective-teaching/
Measures of Effective Teaching: Project Resources
These resources from the Measures of Effective Teaching Project pull in research-based strategies, and use of standards as guides in creating teacher evaluation systems that improve teaching and learning.
http://www.metproject.org/resources.html