Evaluating whether someone has developed professionally can be difficult depending on their position, but there’s always room for growth. When looking at someone’s contribution to their work environment, many things are taken into consideration, especially in K12 settings. At some schools, we use indicators to identify how well teachers are working towards their practice. Questions such as:

• How many teachers are involved in coaching cycles?

• Is this Professional development effort changing teacher practice?

• Is our Professional development meeting the needs of our teachers and staff?

• To what extent has there been progress towards the Professional Development stated objectives?

• Do we have evidence of student learning attributed to Professional Development?

• How can this Professional Development improve to meet the needs of teachers and improve student learning?

These types of questions can be used in surveys and asked at the beginning, middle, or end to gauge interest, student growth, or teacher satisfaction. As for teacher progression in schools, there are three main areas that I see often content evaluation measured by assessments, collaboration measured by team-teaching, and teacher reflections.

Content-Focused PD Can Help

When schools evaluate professional development, many times they use a content-driven focus. This helps build teachers’ content-specific pedagogy. When schools provide this type of professional development it provides new insights into learning which allow for teachers to take action inside their classrooms to not only improved their content knowledge but make a change in their lessons. If coaches and PD leaders mirror what the lesson looks like in practice, it helps! This gives them hands-on experience, to see what their students see, and the ability to make adjustments at the moment, where necessary.

Collaboration With Teachers is Necessary

Being able to work together in a team environment is crucial for workplace growth, and it builds culture and fosters relationships. Encouraging these relationships also encourages a safe and honest place to learn and ask questions, which is important when working as a team. It also makes constructive criticism and feedback feel more welcomed and they’re more likely to grow from it (The Mind Tools Content Team). Team teaching a lesson can be fun; it may take a little planning but with a little time together teachers can develop creative, dynamic, and engaging lessons. Many times it allows for teacher to pull in thier personal resources which allow for true enrichment and differentiation. It also breaks up the idea of one teacher doing all the work. This is a fun ways to switch things up while using PD to inform instruction.

Teacher Reflection Should be used Often

Teachers are always finding new ways to share their successful practices, tell others what tricks and tips worked and help others who are working towards the same goal. Teacher reflection can be a tricky one to share but so valuable to skip over. For one Professional development, I asked the teacher to reflect on the professional development, I gave them some keywords to discuss, and then I collected them. Of course, I told them before the lesson that I will be collecting them and summarizing them and sending them to the group. We have built trust over the last year so I wasn’t worried; the summary provided me with insight into their interpretation of the lesson, areas where I could have unpacked concepts more, and ideas for my next professional development. The power of reflection I think is sometimes underutilized in schools.

Teacher Growth Comes in Many Forms

Challenging yourself is one of the best ways to continue to develop personally and professionally.   I’ve been in various book studies, mastermind groups, and brainstorming challenges and each one continues my personal learning. I always incorporate teacher reflection, active learning, collaboration, team building, and hands-on models and experiences in much of my PDs. Communication and coaching are also huge factors, as well as how we present feedback and constructive criticism and maintain mutual respect. Overall, it’s essential to ensure our teachers get positive feedback and are supported by an encouraging environment.

References

Sutton, K. S. and R. (n.d.). Educational psychology. Lumen. Retrieved April 6, 2022, from https://courses.lumenlearning.com/educationalpsychology/chapter/teaching-is-different-from-in-the-past/

The Mind Tools Content Team. (n.d.). Building good work relationships: Making work enjoyable and productive. From MindTools.com. Retrieved March 27, 2022, from https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/good-relationships.htm

https://www.frontlineeducation.com/program-evaluation/