About Professional Development


First, think broadly! Classroom observations and feedback Reflective journals Coaching and mentoring Student feedback Discussions about student work Professional reading School visitations Grant writing	Making presentations Course work Professional conferences and workshops Curriculum development Support groups and networking Analysis of student performance data Group problem solving Videotape analysis School surveys Internship
Looking at Student Work	This web site presents the work of educators committed to new ways of looking at student work, ways that emphasize: teachers looking together at student work with colleagues focusing on small samples of student work reflecting on important questions about teaching and learning using structures and guidelines ("protocols") for looking at and talking about student work
National Staff Development Council	The National Staff Development Council (NSDC) is the largest non-profit professional association committed to ensuring success for all students through staff development and school improvement. The Council views high quality staff development programs as essential to creating schools in which all students and staff members are learners who continually improve their performance. In particular, check out Standards for Professional Development Library of Resources (books and articles). I'm particularly partial to Robert Garmston's direct, clear style
About Working In & With Groups	While there's lots of literature about group work, here are some highlights - group norms, group work development. Thanks to the folks in San Diego (November 21, 2000) for encouraging me to make these available.
Professional Learning Communities	"I Finally Drank the Koolaid" has an irresistible title, and is award-winning teacher Bill Ferriter's funny account of challenging most professional development initiatives in his district - until he saw the power of the teaming model. This might be a good article for a staff meeting that includes introducing or assessing the quality of the team meetings in your school:
PBS Teachers	The site is the front door for all educational resources and services that PBS offers, including thousands of free lesson plans, teacher professional development opportunities, videos, blogs, and more. It also provides information about effective ways to use media and technology in school or home-based learning environments. Coming this summer 92007) are advanced personalization features that will enable educators to bookmark, annotate, and share the resources they find.
Center for Development and Learning	CDL specializes in the development and dissemination of leading edge research, knowledge, and best practices from multiple disciplines that impact teaching and learning.
Tapped In	TAPPED IN™ is the online workplace of an international community of education professionals. K-12 teachers and librarians, professional development staff, teacher education faculty and students, and researchers engage in professional development programs and informal collaborative activities with colleagues. Join the discussions and learn from the activities!
Training Games from McGraw Hill	Need a climate setter or icebreaker? A quick activity to energize a tiring group? A fun way to demonstrate the value of teamwork? Here are a few FREE 100% reproducible games -- ready for you to grab and go.
HP Learning Center	The HP (Hewlett-Packard) Learning Center teaches excellent online classes. At the HP Learning Center, you can find courses such as Wireless Networking Solutions, Adobe Photoshop 6 Basics, Advanced MS Word for Windows, and How to Build Your First Web Site. The tutorials are FREE, easy to follow, and experienced instructors are available to help 24/7. Classes change monthly so you will always find something new.

Acknowledgements

Site last modified & updated April 24, 2008