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Some Alternatives to Short-Term, "One-Size-Fits-All" Workshops
Although there remains a place in a teacher’s overall professional development plan for short-term training sessions, a variety of other options exist that can be used to design an effective professional development experience that is sustained and intensive. In addition to a short-term training on a particular topic, a teacher who has identified a specific content-area need could elect to enroll in a college course that would strengthen his or her knowledge in the subject. Summer institutes are another option that can provide indepth opportunities to study and learn new skills and knowledge. The following activities offer additional avenues for teachers’ professional growth:
- Collaborative or action research, whether conducted individually or in teams, actively engages teachers in designing and pursuing investigations that serve as productive professional development experiences. Teachers pose questions based on district priorities, school goals, or classroom situations. Through the collection and analysis of data, teachers gain useful insights that can inform and shape classroom practices. Although usually tailored to the unique needs of their particular school, the findings and conclusions from the research are often applicable to other sites. Thus, an important aspect of teacher research is the opportunity to share the results with colleagues.
- Study groups typically are organized around a particular topic of interest. For example, a group of elementary teachers might decide to read and discuss a variety of sources on the subject of teaching reading. The science teachers at a middle school could form a study group to learn more about how they can improve the school’s science fair through the use of inquiry-based teaching. Facilitation of the group can be assigned to one member or rotated on a regular schedule. Typically, study groups examine the topic by reading and discussing current literature, visiting sites where the practice of interest is employed, or attending conferences or classes to gain additional knowledge on the selected topic (Loucks-Horsley et al., 1997).
- Staff retreats, a frequent practice among business professionals, offer educators many benefits. A regular, uninterrupted single or multiple-day session provides staff with unique opportunities to develop goals and action plans targeting their specific needs and context. Schools using this strategy report that one of the most significant benefits from regular staff retreats is the progress made in building a spirit of professional community among all staff (Little, 1997). If at all possible, the retreat should be held at a site other than the school building.
- Scoring student work samples produced in response to performance assessment tasks offers unique opportunities for professional development. This experience typically is organized around training sessions in how to use scoring guides or rubrics to evaluate an open-ended math problem, writing sample, or oral presentation. Whether structured at the school, district, or state level, this experience not only provides teachers with an opportunity to gain and practice new skills associated with the use of scoring guides, but equally important, it can also engage them in thoughtful conversations with colleagues about standards-based instruction and what characterizes student success. Furthermore, this practice promotes the use of uniform assessment strategies or procedures. These discussions are most productive at the school level, where they can be frequent and ongoing.
- Planning or work days provide opportunities for indepth, lengthy discussions of a particular idea or problem. A day devoted to strategizing and developing an approach for action allows teachers to make significant progress toward goals—progress that is often not accomplished in daily or weekly planning times. A slightly different concept than staff retreats, work days typically involve smaller groups focused on a particular task. For example, a team of eighth-grade teachers could use a work day to plan a thematic unit, or the primary teachers at an elementary school could meet in the spring to evaluate the school’s multiage grouping policy and to make decisions about the next year’s class assignments.
- School visits are excellent vehicles for teachers and others who are considering a new approach or strategy to observe what it looks like in "real life." School visits are most informative when there is a close match between the visiting and hosting schools’ student population, grade configuration, community expectations, and learning goals. Lessons can be learned by visits to schools in varying stages of implementation. Staff at a school where the strategy has been in place for several years will have a different perspective than those where the innovation is relatively new. Another key component of productive school visits is the opportunity for visiting teachers and staff to have time to ask questions and discuss what they have observed with their hosts. Key questions and things to look for should be considered and determined prior to the visit to ensure efficient use of time.
- Networks are often organized around specific content areas. Little (1997) argues that subject-specific collaboratives or networks can be particularly effective in "ensuring that teachers acquire expertise that joins subject knowledge with a solid grasp of pedagogical challenges and possibilities." As more schools are becoming "wired" for Internet and e-mail capabilities, electronic networks and listservs are alternatives to the more traditional face-to-face networks. The exchange of ideas and the ability to tap into the expertise of colleagues across town or on the other side of the country make networks particularly effective professional development opportunities that exemplify the concept of learning communities.
- Peer coaching and mentoring "are professional development strategies that provide one-on-one learning opportunities for teachers focused on improving teacher practice" (Loucks-Horsley et al., 1997). The coaching relationship can be fostered through classroom observations, planning instruction, developing materials, or discussing students. Joyce and Showers (1996) report that contrary to what many believe, verbal feedback need not be a part of coaching activities involving classroom observations. The simple act of observing another teacher in action is a professional development experience. While coaching is most often a peer relationship, mentoring typically involves a more experienced teacher paired with a novice. Both coaching and mentoring are activities that focus on strengthening teachers’ practice in the environment where it most counts—the classroom. Just as site-based management puts decisionmaking responsibilities in the hands of those most affected by the decisions, coaching and mentoring place professional development at the critical level of the classroom, where it has the potential for a significant impact on students’ learning.
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© 2001
Date of Last Update: 09/19/2001
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