Designing POWERFUL PROFESSIONAL …

1 Designing POWERFUL . PROFESSIONAL . development . for Teachers and Principals DENNIS SPARKS. N A T I O N A L S T A F F D E V E L O P M E N T C O U N C I L. Designing POWERFUL . PROFESSIONAL development . FOR TEACHERS AND PRINCIPALS. By Dennis Sparks Editor Joan Richardson Designer Sue Chevalier NATIONAL STAFF development COUNCIL. Box 240. Oxford, OH 45056. Telephone (800) 727-7288. (513) 523-6029. Fax (513) 523-0638. E-mail Internet Copyright National Staff development Council, 2002. All rights reserved. Educators are welcome to download Designing POWERFUL PROFESSIONAL development for Teachers and Principals at no charge and to print as many copies as necessary for their work to improve schools.

2 No permissions are required in order to make additional printed copies. However, every copy of the book or any portion thereof must include the cover and this page in order to ensure that users have complete identification of the author and the source of the book. Although printed copies of this book are allowed, no copies of Designing POWERFUL PROFESSIONAL development for Teachers and Principals may be posted on other web sites. In addition, no copies of this book may be sold or otherwise used for commercial purposes. Individuals interested in reprinting portions of Designing POWERFUL PROFESSIONAL development for Teachers and Principals in another publication should submit a request to NSDC Director of Publications Joan Richardson via e-mail or fax (313) 824-5062.

3 Please allow two weeks for a response. National Staff development Council / Designing POWERFUL PROFESSIONAL development For Teachers and Principals TABLE OF CONTENTS. Introduction .. i-i PART I: SET THE STAGE FOR POWERFUL PROFESSIONAL LEARNING. Chapter 1 .. 1-1. The Case for POWERFUL PROFESSIONAL Learning Chapter 2 .. 2-1. Stretch Goals, Deep Change, and a Compelling Vision Chapter 3 .. 3-1. A Compelling Vision for PROFESSIONAL Learning PART II: PROVIDE A CONTEXT FOR PROFESSIONAL LEARNING. Chapter 4 .. 4-1. Develop the System To Improve Learning Chapter 5 .. 5-1. School System Responsibilities Chapter 6.

4 6-1. A Goal for District Action: All Schools as PROFESSIONAL Learning Communities National Staff development Council / Designing POWERFUL PROFESSIONAL development For Teachers and Principals PART III: DEVELOP SCHOOL LEADERS. Chapter 7 .. 7-1. School Leadership Chapter 8 .. 8-1. The development of Principals and Teacher Leaders PART IV: DEVELOP TEACHERS. Chapter 9 .. 9-1. Focus Teacher development on Student Learning Chapter 10 .. 10-1. Continuous Improvement of Teaching and Learning PART V: GET TO THE HEART OF THE MATTER. Chapter 11 .. 11-1. Look for Root Causes Chapter 12.

5 12-1. Lead for a Transformation in PROFESSIONAL Learning Chapter 13 .. 13-1. The Power of What We Think Chapter 14 .. 14-1. Create Schools in Which Everyone's Job Is To Learn National Staff development Council / Designing POWERFUL PROFESSIONAL development For Teachers and Principals introduction INTRODUCTION. E. ach year, dozens, if not hundreds, of research studies, reports, articles, and books are published with the intention of improving the quality of PROFESSIONAL learning within schools. Scholars, practitioners, and reformers have written them for au- diences as diverse as teachers, administrators, school board members, and policy makers.

6 Unfortunately, all this information is producing only marginal improvements in the quality of PROFESSIONAL development in schools. While particular lighthouse schools and school systems are the exception, my sense is that PROFESSIONAL development as it is experi- enced by most teachers and principals is pretty much like it has always been unfocused, insufficient, and irrelevant to the day-to-day problems faced by front line educators. Put another way, a great deal more is known today about good staff development than is regu- larly practiced in schools. Tinkering around the edges of improvements in staff development is insufficient.

7 I feel a sense of urgency because I want high quality PROFESSIONAL learning to benefit students who are now in our schools, not their younger siblings or their own children. Adding a day or two to the inservice calendar or having workshops on cutting-edge topics with nation- ally-recognized presenters is not enough. So why prepare another book on this subject? One reason is my desire to place in one container my best thinking about the qualities of PROFESSIONAL development for teachers and principals that improves leadership, teaching, and the learning of all students.

8 And making this book available for free on the web to anyone who wishes to use it is one way the National National Staff development Council / i-i Designing POWERFUL PROFESSIONAL development For Teachers and Principals introduction Staff development Council can widely spread its ideas to members and nonmembers alike. A second and more important reason for preparing Designing POWERFUL PROFESSIONAL development for Teachers and Principals is that I truly intend it to make a significant contribution to the quality of PROFESSIONAL learning in schools. The ideas presented in some books are so POWERFUL in themselves that they produce dramatic changes.

9 For instance, I. remember a well-regarded authority in the field of science saying that his life was changed and the direction of PROFESSIONAL life altered by reading Rachel Carson s Silent Spring. Unfortunately, this is not Silent Spring. If this book is to make a significant contribution its readers must have a different kind of relationship with its content and with one another than is typically the case. I will describe this relationship more fully below. My wish for you as a reader is an approximation of the sustained engagement and interaction I have had with the book s ideas as I organized and gave them meaning in writing.

10 NSDC S INTENTION. Designing POWERFUL PROFESSIONAL development for Teachers and Principals is a web- published book intended to promote among educational leaders a more detailed and fine- grained vision of PROFESSIONAL development , a deeper understanding of standards-based pro- fessional learning, clarity regarding next steps, and a sense of accountability for putting improvement plans into action. For the purpose of this publication, educational leaders are all those who shape reform efforts and PROFESSIONAL learning within a school or school sys- tem. They include but are not limited to administrators, union leaders and other teacher leaders, school board members, parents, and community members with an interest in the quality of public education.