STAFF DEVELOPMENT FOR GIFTED PROGRAMS

1. STAFF DEVELOPMENT FOR GIFTED PROGRAMS July 13-14, 2012 Mary Schmidt Gifted Education Consultant Heartland AEA mschmidt@aea11.k12.ia.us 515.270.0405 or 800.255.0405 ext. 14375 http://pdingt.pbworks.com http://prezi.com/tcbp4jlgwcny/edit/#79

2. Essential Questions • What is Professional Learning? • What Professional Learning do we need? • How do I develop/deliver Professional Learning? • How do I know Professional Learning is effective?

3. LEARNING TARGETS • To become familiar with effective professional learning practices for adult learners • To become familiar with models and types of professional learning • To learn ways to assess staff needs for PD in gifted education • To plan for evaluation of g/t staff development • To align professional learning with other components required by Iowa Code (Ch. 12, IAC)

4. AGENDA • Introductions, warm up, expectations • Characteristics of high quality and high impact professional development • Professional development standards • Characteristics of adult learners • Planning for professional learning • Managing complex change • Evaluating staff development

5. COURSE REQUIREMENTS • 100 % attendance • Active participation in learning • Completion of in-class activities • Completion of self-assessment and action plan • Completion of final project/presentation to be submitted by July 20.

6. A LOOK AHEAD Share a plan for action that will move gifted and talented professional development forward in your building/district, demonstrates key concepts from this class, and is designed to promote growth in learning for g/t students, their teachers, and/or administrators. • Examples • Overview of SD session • Plan for involvement on building/district teams • Year-long PD plan/overview including ways to “sell” the plan to administration • Your idea? • From the Action Planning web, develop a plan for your professional learning and send to me along with a reflection on your plan/work. • Things to think about • Situation/Context • Connections • Rationale • Focus on results

7. NORMS Support each other in the learning process Monitor progress (individual/group) Ask questions Respect others’ viewpoints Take time to reflect

8. Remember, if you choose not to lead… …you will be forever led by others. --J. Michael Straczynski

9. What is Professional Learning?

10. …whatever teachers become professionally, the process is not finished when they complete their teacher education program at age 21. Learning to teach well is a lifetime endeavor. The growth of understanding and skill in teaching terminates only when we do. --Eisner, 2002

11. STAFF DEVELOPMENT vs. INSERVICE Single event or series of short sessions Purpose is to raise awareness Conducted by outside expert Long-term commitment of time, energy, and resources Targets school goals Conducted by stakeholders Personnel preparation Dettmer & Landrum, 1998

12. Imagine hiring a basketball coach to come in once a month and advise players he has never seen play. He doesn’t know their strengths and weaknesses, but he still prescribes the plays they should use.

13. THINK ABOUT… …a time when professional development resulted in negligible change in your professional practice. What characteristics of that experience provided no encouragement to transfer the new learning into practice?

14. INSANITY… …endlessly repeating the same process hoping for a different result. --Einstein

15. THINK ABOUT… …a time when professional development led to a change in your practice. What characteristics of that experience encouraged you to transfer that new learning into practice?

16. THINK ABOUT… …a time when staff development led to a change in your students’ learning and achievement. What characteristics of that experience led to the change and how did students respond?

17. Characteristics of High Quality PL • Consider what you found positive and negative. • Form two groups and construct a “Top 10” list of the characteristics of quality professional development. • Share lists

18. Triangular Comparison Characteristics of Professions Student Teaching Bar Examination Residency Teaching Internships Counseling State Regulations Teaching Professions Education Medical Field Legal Profession Education Student Teaching Medical Field Residency Counseling State Regulations Internships Bar Examination Legal Profession

19. Triangular Comparison Inservice Professional Development Professional Learning

20. Leadership & Learning Matrix Organizational Results Antecedents of Excellence Reeves, p. 17

21. High Impact PD Three essential characteristics • Focus on student learning • Rigorous measurement of adult decisions • Focus on people and practices, not programs --Reeves, p. 21-3

22. Professional development must be an invitation to learn and reflect.

23. Characterisitics Of Powerful Professional Learning • Arises from real work going on in classrooms or schools • Focuses on what is happening with learners • Is generally collaborative • Establishes a culture of quality • Honors staff professionalism, expertise, experiences, and skills • Promotes inquiry and reflection • Ensures some level of application L.B. Easton, 2004

24. Characteristics Of Effective Professional Development • Longer duration • Greater span over time • Greater subject-matter focus • Greater active learning • More coherence • Integration of core content and pedagogy • Context-based Garet, et.al., 2001

25. What’s The Order? • Change in beliefs • Staff development • Student achievement • Change in practices

26. The Benefits of Practice “Teaching, like any complex cognitive skill, must be practiced to be improved.” --Willingham (2009) “…deliberate practice is the key to improved performance.” --Ericsson et. al. (2006)

29. Effective Professional Learning • intensive and sustained • directly relevant to needs of teachers and students • provides opportunities for • application • practice • reflection • Reinforcement --Reeves, 2010

30. McREL’s Knowledge Taxonomy Traditionally, most professional development focuses on declarative knowledge.

31. A PARADIGM SHIFT Dettmer & Landrum, p. 4

32. …the minute educators stop their own education, they start down the road to incompetence. --Wood & Thompson, 1993

33. Using Standards to Define the Target

34. When Alice was in Wonderland trying to decide which way to go during her travels, sheasked the Cheshire Cat, “Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?” “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat. “I don’t much care where--” said Alice. “Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat. “You’re bound to get somewhere if only you walk long enough.” Carroll, Lewis. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland

35. The Iowa Perspective Raising student achievement begins at the classroom level one teacher at a time.

36. IPDM

37. Iowa Professional Development Standards Implementation of a school district’s career development plan shall meet the following standards: • Align with the Iowa teaching standards and criteria • Deliver research-based instructional strategies aligned with the student achievement goals established by the district

38. Deliver professional development training and learning opportunities that are targeted at instructional improvement and designed with the following components: • Student achievement data and analysis • Theory • Classroom demonstration and practice • Observation and reflection • Teacher collaboration and study of implementation • Integration of instructional technology if applicable • Include an evaluation component of professional development that documents the improvement of instructional practice and the effect on student learning • Support the professional development needs of district certified staff responsible for instruction

39. CEC-NAGC Knowledge & Skill Standards • Foundations • Development and Characteristics of Learners • Individual Learning Differences • Instructional Strategies • Learning Environments and Social Interactions • Language and Communication • Instructional Planning • Assessment • Professional and Ethical Practice • Collaboration http://www.nagc.org/index.aspx?id=1863

40. NAGC Programming Standards Gifted Ed Programming Criterion 6 Professional Development • Description: Professional development is essential for all educators involved in the development and implementation of gifted program services. PD is the intentional development of professional expertise as outlined by the NAGC-CEC teacher preparation standards. PD may take many forms ranging from… ⏎

41. Responsibilities Responsibilities Standard 8 Standard 7 Standard 6 Standard 2 Standard 5 Assessment Student Achievement Standard 3 Professional Planning Standard 1 Instruction Classroom Management Standard 4 Content Professional Growth IEATP/SERVE

42. Standards for School Leaders ⏎

43. Connect the Dots

44. SYNTHESIZING • Form small groups. • Consideryoursets of standards. • What stands out for you? • What connections do you make between the standards and to what you have learned so far? • What are the implications for your work? • How will you apply this new learning?

45. Time to Reflect What have you learned (or how has your thinking changed) about professional learning based on our examination of the first essential question, “What is professional learning?”

46. What professional learning do we need?

47. Law of Initiative Fatigue When the number of initiatives increases while time, resources, and emotional energy are constant, then each new initiative – no matter how well conceived or well intentioned – will receive fewer minutes, dollars, and ounces of emotional energy than its predecessors. --Reeves, p. 27

48. PURPOSES • Job retention • Role modification • Professional development • Personal growth • Inspiration --Dettmer & Landrum, p. 20-1

49. DISCUSS… • Purpose(s) relevant for you and your building/district • Rationale for choices • Ways these purposes will affect staff development topics, delivery, approach

50. What’s Your Mindset? http://www.mindsetonline.com Explore the Web site. What surprises you? What validates you? What can you do with these results? How can you use this information with others?