RSA #2- Growing Schools: Effective Professional Development

http://content.ebscohost.com.cucproxy.cuchicago.edu/pdf29_30/pdf/2013/5AO/01Oct13/91262429.pdf?T=P&P=AN&K=91262429&S=R&D=tfh&EbscoContent=dGJyMNHr7ESep644zOX0OLCmr0ueqLBSsqq4TLKWxWXS&ContentCustomer=dGJyMPGuskm3qLFRuePfgeyx44Dt6fIA

     Abilock, Harada and Fontichiaro (2013) discuss what professional development needs to be in order to be effective and relevant to teachers. The article starts out with a school librarian pitching an idea to her principal regarding teacher professional development opportunities and to her disappointment does not get much of a response from the principal. As it goes on, we find out that the teachers were viewing librarians PDs as overwhelming, she was telling them about various tools rather than understand what would actually be useful and beneficial to their classroom.
    AERA (2005) states that teachers were more likely to change their instructional practices and gain greater subject knowledge and improved teaching skills when their professional development linked directly to their daily experiences and aligned with standards and assessments. This aligns with Abilock, Harada and Fontinchiaro's (2013) findings that professional development should be learner-focused so that teachers find it relevant to what they are doing in the classroom. Teachers are more likely to use the tools given to them if they are presented with ways to sustainably use them in the classroom long after the professional development is over.
  Overall, the importance of professional development is to improve student achievement and it is important for the developer of the professional development to keep in mind the teachers' needs when presenting. ADDIE (Abilock, Harada and Fontichiaro) is an acronym which stands for Analysis: who are your learners and what are their needs; Design: based on the analysis what does your workshop need; Develop: plan the workshop to include handouts and activities; Implement: lead the workshop; and Evaluate: what can you take away from this workshop to improve future workshops. In order to use the PD to improve student achievement it is important that the workshop presents educators with tools that are sustainable and effective.


American Educational Research Association. (2005). Teaching teachers: Professional development to improve student achievement. Research Points,3(1), 1-4.

Abilock, D., Harada, V., Fontichiaro, K. (2013).  Growing Schools: Effective Professional Development. Teacher Librarian,41(1), 8-13.