What is Professional Learning? How is professional learning supported in your school and district? Is it a drive by, a one time hit, or a round about on-going concept? Is one better than the other or do they each serve a purpose? Is it individual or group? Is it solely decided upon by administartion at the top or are teachers surveyed for their ideas?
Professional learning comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes; often driven by administration as a result of direct teacher input, observation, evaluation data and student test scores. Depending on the purpose of the learning that is to take place, drive bys, one time hits and on-going training all serve a purpose. Personally, I believe the later is the best no matter what the topic or learning curve may be.
Despite the variety of formats and topics the professional learning process has research behind it. This research has identified, set, defined and strongly suggested a method for implementation. The eight (8) Standards for Professional Learning are: (link to Learning Forward)
* Learning Communities
* Leadership
* Resources
* Data
* Learning Designs
* Implementation
* Data
No matter who decides on the topic, it must be relevent and supported by a need, the need great enough to inact a professional level of concern, as well as, delivered in a manner that will reach the most people and have a lasting effect. The standards laid out by Learning Forward assist schools and districts in ensuring that every minute spent in professional development is being spent wisely.
In North Dakota, North Dakota Learning Forward is holding a conference this fall. It will be held November 8-9, 2012, at the Seven Seas in Mandan and will introduce, revist, remind, and help schools ensure that all professional learning is on a needed/ target area shown by data. It will also help schools and districts make sure thay professional learning it is getting the attention and response that it deserves. For conference information please check out the flier at http://www.dpi.state.nd.us/title1/events/11-8-12.pdf or the ND Department of Public Instruction's Professional Development Blog .
Here's to quality, needed, impacting, professional learning!
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