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?
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.”
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
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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
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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
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?
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?
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?
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
Matching PD objectives to PD activities
 Traditional PD Conferences/Workshops
 How do you make these more meaningful?
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Choose sessions based on your identified
needs
Focus your efforts-participate in a strand of
sessions
Complete action CEU assignment
Share information with peers
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?
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
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?
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: [email protected]
Kirsten Fuglseth: [email protected]
Updated PD templates will be available at www.mnabe.org