Comments on: Raising the Bar on Professional Development

By: Scott

Scott — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 03:07:54 +0000

I remember suffering through more than my share of bad PD and I refuse to be complicit in subjecting hard-working teachers to something that doesn't help move them forward.

Thanks so much for reading!

By: ladydiwyo

ladydiwyo — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 15:35:56 +0000

Having to sit through hour and a half hour pds are not fun. Many times the staff feel the time has been wasted and are starting to resent the fact that we have one every month. I think that a survey would be nice and get the teachers on board. As of now, the content of the pds are driven from the district administration. It is amazing how people are more focused when they are interested in a particular topic or subject. I feel pds would be better received from the teachers end if they had an interest. Thats my thought on this matter. Great thoughts!!

By: Scott Elias

Scott Elias — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 03:27:28 +0000

Mike -

Sounds like you're well on your way. I like the idea of involving your National Board folks, but I would want to make sure to include other teacher leaders who have the desire/knowledge to help out.

What are you using to administer your surveys? We use SurveyMonkey and do them online. It's really simple to send an email with the link to the survey and sit back while the results come to you.

By: Mike Waiksnis

Mike Waiksnis — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 19:09:19 +0000

I also had my faculty recently complete a pd survey. I think we (teachers and admin.) know we need pofessional development. However, I think administrators sometimes fail to think from the teachers viewpoint. Sometimes we face resistance with PD--and if we stop and think about what we are offering or how we deliver--I am not suprised.

Using the results of the srvey, I am in the process of developing 3 after school courses. Eventually, I would like to embed these courses during the day, but after school seems the easiest place to start.

We will still have our monthly staff development that applies to all teachers. However, I wanted to offer the courses needed as determined by our teacher survey.

I plan to have my teachers complete a survey before the end of the year. I would like to use the survey to drive our pd plan next year. I also plan to have our national board teachers lead the way.

By: Scott

Scott — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 21:00:13 +0000

Thanks, Mark, for underscoring the point that looking at data is more than just analyzing standardized test scores.

When we're able to collect even anecdotal data like this, we are able to make meaningful changes to the way things are.

By: Mark Stock

Mark Stock — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 14:59:34 +0000

Scott, You have hit upon something that I have been working hard to get administrators and teacher leaders to see. Namely, that data collection does not just mean looking at test scores.

We collect student data and communicate it all the time, but seldom do we collect teacher perception data, pedogogical data, or curricular data and communicate back to our staff.

Nice use of technology, data, and instructional focus from administration.

The Stock Mark Report http://drmarkstock.com