Professional Development part of the Education Reform Network

Learning

Staff development that improves the learning of all students applies knowledge about human learning and change.

Rationale:

No matter the age at which it occurs, human learning is based on a common set of principles. The following links support this standard:

• A Measure of Concern
  One research-based component of Concerns-Based Adoption Model is Stages of Concern. The articles defines the seven stages of concern.
• CELA Researchers Suggest Useful Framework for Studying Professional Development
  Summary of the report, Appropriating Conceptual and Pedagogical Tools for Teaching English: A Conceptual Framework for Studying Professional Development by Pamela Grossman, Peter Smagorinsky, Sheila Valencia. They propose that activity theory-following from the work of Vygotsky (1987), Leont'ev (1981), Wertsch (1981), Cole (1996), and others-provides a useful framework for studying the conceptual development of teachers.
• Educators Go To SCOUT Camp for Technology-Enhanced Learning
  An intensive summer experience introduces teachers and teacher educators to new ways to learn about technology. The school of education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, and their business partner, Nortel, Inc., collaborated on a unique professional development program that begins by sending teachers to summer camp and extends through the year because of the networking among teachers.
• Questions for Self-Study: Assessing Our School's Professional Learning Community
  Series of questions to assess school as a professional learning community. Links to selected readings about professional learning communities.
• standards-of-practice.net
  Self-assessment tool provides teachers with diagnosis of standards that can be developed. The standards are linked to print, media, and Internet resources.
• Take a closer look
  Reflection is a process that allows educators to look back at what has happened and then take action from what has been learned. This article describes different forms of reflection: personal, small group, and whole school.