I want my AISI pd program to…..

Comprehensive Professional Development Planning Making a Difference for AISI Projects

Outcomes Review Alberta’s Comprehensive PD Planning Framework Reflect on your AISI project context Identify sources of evidence to determine impact of PD Facilitate networking and sharing of effective PD programs

AGENDA Review PD Planning Cycle Individual and Team Reflections Evidence and Sources of Data Building Connections

Guide to Comprehensive PD Planning

Education Partners Involved Alberta Education Alberta Regional Professional Development Consortia Alberta School Boards Association Alberta Teachers’ Association Alberta University Partners College of Alberta School Superintendents Listed on page 9

Consensus Consensus is a powerful decision-making tool When consensus is reached among people of good faith the group achieves synergy Finding common ground develops shared responsibility for the decision and for successful implementation

Collaboration is Essential People who work together accomplish MORE and achieve greater QUALITY than those who work alone.

In life, the issue is not control but dynamic connectedness. - Margaret Wheatley, 1992

This guide is intended to support a process of collaborative conversation and planning among education partners at the school and district levels. The guide asks key questions. The answers to these questions will be determined locally because each jurisdiction has unique context which will influence the plan.

Professional Development – is the wide range of activities school jurisdiction staff engage in individually and collectively to improve their professional practice and enhance student learning.

Purpose of Comprehensive PD Plans Promote student learning Enhance professional practice Develop leadership capacity at school and jurisdiction level

Why develop a comprehensive PD plan? Learning is enhanced when staff have access to effective PD Effective PD is: systematically planned systemic supported sustained

Why develop a comprehensive PD plan? Support continuous improvement Ensure resources are used effectively Reflect unique contextual issues Balance the needs Synergy!

Steps in the Planning Process Environmental Scan / Participant Needs Develop Program Goals Identify Possible Strategies Finalize Action Plan and Measures Implement Action Plan Revise Action Plan, as required Summative Evaluation

Building an Integrated PD Program

Interconnected Learning Activities

Necessary Conditions

Plans of action are recipes for achieving our vision.

Reflecting on Project PD Plans (20 minutes) Individually, add details to the planning cycle to describe your project PD plan Compare your diagram with members of your AISI team With your team, develop a PD planning poster for your project These posters will be shared later this morning.

Data …is the information (both qualitative and quantative) used as a basis for reasoning, discussion and calculation.

Three Purposes of Data in PD Planning Cycle Formative Assessment Summative Evaluation

Assessing Impact - Killion Planning Assess Evaluability Formulate Evaluation Questions Construct Evaluation Framework Conducting Collect Data Organize and Analyze Data Interpret Data Reporting Share results and findings Evaluate the evaluation

Monitor and Collect Formative Data Guskey’s Five Levels of PD Evaluation Participants response to event Participant learning Systemic support – e.g., Organizational resources provided Participants applying new knowledge Program influencing practice and student learning

Summative Evaluation Did the program meet its goals? (student learning) Did the program meet participant’s needs? (enhanced practice) What worked well? What didn’t? What should be done next?

PD Evaluation How do we know we are making a difference In teacher practice In student learning

Evaluation Levels 1 & 2 Participant Reactions Participant Learning Did they like it? Was their time well spent? Did the material make sense? Will it be useful? Was the leader knowledgeable and helpful? Was the physical set up comfortable? Did participants acquire the intended knowledge and skills? Guskey (2000)

Parking Lot: Formative Check-Up Questions Concerns Confusions Comments The parking lot is used as a formative check on how the professional development is progressing during the session Perception check Reactions and understanding

Yellow Light (I think I’ve got it…) Red Light (help!) March 2007 Name: ______________________________________________ My level of comfort or understanding with the concepts discussed today: Green light (got it!) Yellow Light (I think I’ve got it…) Red Light (help!) Please add comments if needed Sharing outcomes with students 2. School Growth Portfolio formative Perception check after a piece of content or summative at the end of the day Influences next steps in pd planning Connects with our formative assessment work

Organization Support and Change Evaluation Level 3 Organization Support and Change What was the impact on the organization? Did it affect organizational climate and procedures? Was implementation advocated, facilitated, and supported? Was the support public and overt? Were problems addressed quickly and efficiently? Were sufficient resources made available? Were successes recognized and shared? Guskey (2000)

Levels Meetings: 1:30 – 2:30 Establishing Group norms Instructions will be provided for each group 4 Guiding questions K-12 schools – Board Room High Schools – Caribbean B Middle Schools – Bermuda Elementary – Board Modeled after our administrator levels meetings Levels – AISI teacher leaders divide themselves into the groups that most reflect their current context/school configuration = LEVELS Systemwide conversation – guiding questions are provided with room for emergent level needs Goal is to promote and share learning across the district To make connections with others

Levels Meetings: Focus Groups Today we talked about articulating your school team’s pd plan. How are you feeling about the direction you are taking in pd? What help or support might you need? Since we last met, what new idea has your team tried OR what work has been done with staff in this project? Moving this project forward in our schools requires a team effort. One person cannot do this alone. What role do the following play in the implementation of your school’s AISI project? Administrators Other teachers in your building A partner school Others such as students, parents, EAs Sample questions that would be posed to the groups for their consideration Each group has a recorder, chair, co-chair to facilitate discussion I get a copy of their notes We debrief as a large group to hear similar needs, concerns, or ideas

Participant's Use of New Knowledge Evaluation Level 4 Participant's Use of New Knowledge What was the impact on the organization? Did it affect organizational climate and procedures? Was implementation advocated, facilitated, and supported? Was the support public and overt? Were problems addressed quickly and efficiently? Were sufficient resources made available? Were successes recognized and shared? Guskey (2000)

What is a school growth portfolio? A collection of compelling evidence of our increasing competence on the knowledge and skills described in our AISI project

Why have school growth portfolio? To document our growth as classroom assessors. To reflect our personal and group assessment goals. To celebrate our success as learners of classroom assessment.

What should we collect? Evidence of our Learning: Targets are clear for students Feedback is provided to students on how to achieve the target Questioning techniques to engage and motivate student learners Assessment OF Learning – grading and reporting practices Variety of assessment processes and tools are used Stories and reflections Other… These are our categories of These are our categories of evidence that reflect our AISI goals Data is collected by the school for use in the school

How will we collect this learning? Binder will be left in (staff room) for teachers to put samples of evidence AISI leaders will ask from time to time for samples of work Bring samples to staff meeting for sharing Be sure to include a cover sheet for each entry to help you remember why you placed an item into your portfolio (see sample). Highlight the importance of the reflective component Indicate that this has moved beyond a binder to: -bulletin boards Video Note: reflective component

Why share this learning? Formative To promote further conversations within schools To share practical strategies that can be used in other classrooms To determine areas of need that influence professional development options Summative Data will be used in our school’s AISI annual report Planning Data will be used to inform planning

Student Learning Outcomes Evaluation Level 5 Student Learning Outcomes

AISI Visitations: Structured Interviews Who attends? AISI Team: AISI Lead Teacher at each school, Administrator, other team members Sample Questions: When you looked through your AISI plan, does it still make sense for you? Is there anything that you want to change? What do you want your staff to walk away with by the end of the year? How will you know if your AISI team is successful? What evidence will you have? What will your AISI team need to pay particular attention to between now and the end of the year?

Additional Data: Student Learning Outcomes Student report card data Student survey data Document analysis: Evidence of communication of outcomes to students, provision of feedback, school policies, new report cards

What data will tell you that your pd plan is helping to make a difference? Knowing your context and your pd program plan – what evidence do you collect now that provides you with indicators that your PD program is making a difference? What else might you want to collect to inform your program plans, and let you know you are making a difference?

Continued Conversations Professional Development in Alberta PD wiki http://erlc.pbwiki.com/FrontPage Password pdwiki

Support for Developing a Comprehensive PD Plan Alberta Regional Professional Development Consortia Alberta Teachers’ Association, Professional Development

Jacquie Skytt Lissa Steele Val Olekshy Alberta Teachers Association Jacquie.skytt@ata.ab.ca Lissa Steele Chinook’s Edge School Division lsteele@chinooksedge.ab.ca Val Olekshy Edmonton Regional Learning Consortium val.olekshy@erlc.ca