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March 15, 2002
Including Professional Development in the Regular School Day
Some districts conquer the time barrier by reshaping the school day to accommodate busy schedules. At Allen Independent School District in Allen, Texas, teachers receive staff development once each week as part of their regular instructional day through ACT (Allen Curriculum-Design Training). Since the high school is on a block schedule, teachers devote one half of their prep period-45 minutes on Wednesdays-to acquiring new skills and strategies. Teachers are obligated to attend, and since Texas requires each teacher to participate in 150 staff development hours every five years, most see these sessions as an easy way to satisfy their state requirements. Topics ebb and flow according to teacher interest, curriculum, and software capabilities.
Corbi Dillard, administrative intern in charge of curriculum development at Allen ISD, says, "Because teachers are required to attend, we have to work hard to make the sessions beneficial to all attendees. We do this by including strategies and tools that help teachers accomplish their curriculum goals. In this state, that means teaching the TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills)." Since there is a strong emphasis on technology at Allen, it is the focus of many ACT sessions. Teachers are required to use technology in their daily instruction, and they know it will be one component of their yearly evaluations. Everyone is constantly looking for ways to gain new technology skills.
Although most teachers are enthusiastic and anxious to learn about new instructional strategies and new technologies, some are resistant. To counteract this, Allen's approach is to provide incentives for teachers who go "above and beyond" in their technology use, implementation, and follow-up. Perks such as dinner at a local restaurant, gift certificates, software, and other give-away items reward teachers for their extra effort. The results are dramatic, and teachers not only take advantage of technology to improve their instruction, but they also enjoy the journey.
Related Links:
In 2001, the National Staff Development Council released "new and improved" Standards for Staff Development. The revised standards reflect what has been learned about professional learning since the creation of the original standards and define what is necessary if staff development is going to enhance student achievement. NSDC has also developed a new self-assessment that schools and districts can use to gauge their implementation of the new standards.
ASCD (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development) has an online assessment tool. The 20-minute survey will automatically tabulate results and make recommendations about areas that should be included in your professional development plan.
Schools, districts, and consortiums referenced:
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