A Roadmap for Professional Development Planning Astrid Liden, Minnesota Department of Education Kirsten Fuglseth, Northwest Service Cooperative

Session Objectives: Reflect on your current process for PD planning Follow a data-driven process for PD planning Use templates provided to develop PD plans Identify features of effective PD and choose PD opportunities based on identified needs Review completed PD plans and provide constructive feedback for improvement

What is your current approach? What is your current approach to professional development (PD) planning for your consortium? How is this working for you? What do you see as the benefits and drawbacks of your current process? Large group debrief: What challenges brought you to this session?

Cafeteria approach “We always go to that conference.” “That sounds like a fun workshop.” “My friend is going to that session, so I’m going to tag along.” “The only trainings we participate in are regionals because that’s all we can afford.” Many have typically approached PD without a plan. With the cafeteria approach, they pick and choose randomly based on what looks good in line, without a clearly thought-through plan made in advance.

What is data-driven PD planning? PD needs are identified and prioritized based on data SMART objectives are developed based on those needs PD activities align with identified needs & objectives

Why is it important? Improved understanding of staff and learners’ needs and characteristics Meaningful decisions about training offerings Alignment of perceived needs with expected outcomes Selection of effective activities & materials to support training goals Effective use of limited resources Impact of professional development is maximized

PD planning process Assemble PD planning team Collect & analyze data to identify PD needs Identify and prioritize PD needs using a variety of data Develop PD objectives Identify and/or develop PD activities to meet objectives Carry out/participate in PD activities Reflect on & maximize impact of PD activities Evaluate whether objectives have been met Share MDE-ABE Consortium PD Planning Template. We’ve made some changes from last year to try to make it more user-friendly and to address some of issues we’ve seen in PD plans that have been submitted. This is just a draft; will be finalized this fall before the Narrative Writer’s Workshop in October.

Assemble the PD planning team Include a mix of roles & perspectives Leadership support and involvement

Establish a sustainable process for PD planning Who is/will be part of your PD planning team? When do/will you meet? What is/will be your planning cycle? What resources do/will you need? May need to build in some time at staff meetings or set extra meetings for this; make sure to allocate resources

Collect & analyze data to identify PD needs Look at the PD planning template & discuss with a small group: What data do you currently use to inform PD planning? What data could you use in the future? What other data would you include on this list? Emphasize importance of reviewing a variety of data, not just NRS. Role of individual PD plans – it’s a cyclical, not linear process; individual plans should inform program PD plan, program PD plan should inform individual plans Report back on “other data” you added.

Identify & prioritize PD needs Which needs are supported by the greatest amount and diversity of data? Which needs reflect local and state priorities & initiatives that need to take precedence? Which needs are possible to address in the upcoming program year? Which needs can be met with available personnel, resources, and technology capabilities? Any other guiding principles people want to share?

Developing PD objectives SMART objectives are: Specific – What? Why? How? Measurable – How will I measure progress & know when I’ve achieved my goal? Action-oriented – Can I take actions to accomplish this objective? Realistic – Is this challenging but still possible to achieve? Time-bound – What is my timeframe for this goal?

SMART objective Example: Improve reading instruction → SMARTer objective: By June 2013, basic skills teachers will be able to administer diagnostic assessments for the 4 components of reading & use the results to identify their students’ areas of reading strength and weakness.

Develop measurable PD objectives ___________ will be able to __________ by ________. Example: By June 2013, basic skills teachers will be able to administer diagnostic assessments for the 4 components of reading & use the results to identify their students’ areas of reading strength and weakness.

Features of effective PD 15

Matching PD objectives to PD activities Traditional PD Conferences/Workshops How do you make these more meaningful? Choose sessions based on your identified needs Focus your efforts-participate in a strand of sessions Complete action CEU assignment Share information with peers Note that you may not know about all of the activities will meet your objective when you are writing your plan; you should revisit the plan regularly and add activities as you become aware of them or develop them – this is a living document!

Matching PD objectives to PD activities Online courses Study Circles Professional working groups Site visits Peer observation/mentoring Program & product development

Identify or develop appropriate PD activities & resources Discuss with your partner: What PD activities would help achieve the objective you identified? What resources (presenters, materials, etc.) would you need to carry out this activity? Go back to objectives on flip chart sheets

Reflect on and maximize impact of PD activities Reflective practice license renewal requirement Activity log Teacher journal Staff meetings Professional learning communities Meeting with supervisor or colleague Action CEU ???

Action CEU’s: Put your learning into action! Get new ideas off the shelf and into your classroom Complete the Action CEU reflection assignment and submit it to ATLAS within 6 weeks of an ABE-sponsored professional development event focused on classroom instruction Earn 5 CEUs For more info: www.atlasABE.org (under CEUs & Graduate Credit)

Evaluating PD (adapted from Guskey, 2002) Level 5: Student learning outcomes Assessing student learning Level 4: Participants’ use of new knowledge and skills Assessing degree and quality of implementation Level 3: Organization support and change Assessing organizational advocacy, support, accommodation, facilitation, recognition Level 2: Participants’ learning Assessing new knowledge and skills Level 1: Participants’ reactions Assessing initial satisfaction with experience 21

PD plan review Are the PD objectives SMART? Could they be made SMARTer? Will the activities help the program achieve the objectives? What other activities should they consider? What are the strengths of the plan? Other suggestions for improvement? Small groups review a completed PD plan using these guiding questions

Planning for next steps Using the PEP in your program booklet, reflect on your next steps for PD planning. Share with a partner.

Questions? Feedback? Astrid Liden: Astrid.Liden@state.mn.us Kirsten Fuglseth: kfuglseth@nw-service.k12.mn.us Updated PD templates will be available at www.mnabe.org