Professional Learning Standards
Successful professional learning increases educator effectiveness and results for all students.
The Standards for Professional Learning describe the context, processes, and content for effective, high-quality professional learning.
These standards set clear expectations for professional learning at the state, district, and building levels. The standards guide the efforts individuals, teams, school, and school system faculty, public offices, for-profit, and nonprofit organizations engaged in setting policy, organizing, facilitating, managing, monitoring, or measuring professional learning to increase educator effectiveness and student achievement.
Standard 1: Learning Communities
Professional learning that increases educator effectiveness and results for all students occurs within learning communities committed to continuous improvement, collective responsibility, and goal alignment.
Best Practices for Professional Learning Communities
This article explains the overall function of PLC’s and key characteristics to maximize effectiveness and student achievement.
Principles for “Learning Communities”
1.1 Engage in continuous improvement
- Cycle of Continuous Improvement Provides excellent direction is how to create a cycle of continuous improvement in your school. Charts, visuals, and printables are included for easy adaption and implementation.
1.2 Develop collective responsibility
- School-wide Collective Responsibility for Raising Student Achievement A model school for creating a collective responsibility for raising student achievement.
- How to Create a Professional Learning Community Easy to read and understand tips for creating a collaborative learning community with links to other resources.
1.3 Create alignment and accountability
- Data Driven Decision Making and Data TeamsGeneral information about the data teams process with many downloads and resources that can be adapted to your individual school environment.
- Standards and Accountability An article looking at what public education has accomplished with standards based education and what course corrections need to made in the future.
Standard 2: Leadership
Professional learning that increases educator effectiveness and results for all students requires skillful leaders who develop capacity, advocate, and create support systems for professional learning.
Todd Whitaker is one of the nation’s leading authorities on staff motivation, teacher leadership, and principal effectiveness.
Principles for “Leadership”
2.1 Develop capacity for learning and leading
- Strengths Based Leadership Find educator and administrator strengths to leverage and increase leadership capacity and ultimately student achievement.
2.2 Advocate for professional learning
- Leading Groups Take a look at how group creation, facilitation, and implementation and impact effectiveness. This is a very comprehensive, information resource for improving overall communication during professional learning.
2.3 Create support systems and structures
- Continuous Professional Learning An example of a professional learning program at the county/state level complete with producible PDF’s, charts, visuals, directions, and much more to help create a supportive system for professional learning.
- Professional Learning Leader An example of online course content, including assessments, readings, modules, and presentations that can be use in whole or part to create a support system and structure for professional learning.
- Professional Learning and Leadership Development An example of a professional learning program at the district level complete with modules, outlines, rubrics, and much more to help create a supportive structure for professional learning.
Standard 3: Resources
Professional learning that increases educator effectiveness and results for all students requires prioritizing, monitoring, and coordinating resources for educator learning.
Prioritize and Delegate Your Way to Effective Leadership
Information on how to maximize the use of prioritization and delegation at the building level. Information can be used by administrators and educators in a school or an individual classroom.
Principles for “Leadership”
3.1 Prioritize human, fiscal, material, technology, and time resources
- Tools A comprehensive list of guides, check lists, and online software to start the process of prioritizing educational resources.
- Prioritizing Student Learning A resource focused on how you can reconfigure the resources you have and use them in a way to maximize teacher effectiveness and increase student achievement.
- Open Educational Resources A comprehensive list of sites and places to find OER’s for educational purposes.
3.2 Monitor resources
- Create Effortless Forms Use Google forms to create surveys and other monitoring application so you know resources are being used effectively.
3.3 Coordinate resources
- Example Resource Plan Step by step information on how to create a resource plan so resources are coordinated to maximize productivity of teachers and students.
Standard 4: Data
Professional learning that increases educator effectiveness and results for all students uses a variety of sources and types of student, educator, and system data to plan, assess, and evaluate professional learning.
A national database of wide-ranging education access and equity data collected from our nation’s public schools.
Principles for “Data”
4.1 Analyze student, educator, and system data
- Basis Statistical Tools in Educational PlanningPresentation focused on the process of data collection, types of data needed, and the processing, storage, and retrieval of educational data.
- Data Basis for Educational Planning This resources describes the different planning phases used to create a successful plan of using educational data to inform educational reform efforts.
- Analyzing, Interpreting and Reporting Basic Research Results A step-by-step description on how to analyze, interpret, and report data including examples and pitfalls to avoid.
- What is the Different Between Qualitative Research and Quantitative Research? Discusses the difference of qualitative and quantitative research and offers solution on how to capture your data easily and accurately.
4.2 Assess Progress
- Determining Information System Needs Step-by-step instructions to assess and determine needs based on data, including an assessment to gets things rolling.
4.3 Evaluate professional learning
- Evaluating Professional Learning Information, examples, and first-hand account about evaluating professional learning at the school and district level.
- Teacher Professional Development Guide A guide with questions, strategies, and analyses focused on quality teacher leader development.
Standard 5: Learning Designs
Professional learning that increases educator effectiveness and results for all students integrates theories, research, and models of human learning to achieve its intended outcomes.
Overall definition of learning design and its implications inside and outside the classroom.
Principles for “Learning Designs”
5.1 Apply learning theories, research, and models
Examples of general learning designs
- Socrates Guide Socrates Seminars: This learning design focused on the use of questions to guide discussion and learning opportunities.
- Learning Design: An overview of learning designs and how to create a learning sequence, included excellent charts and visuals.
- Designing Significant Learning Experiences: Learning designs groups by content area and tailor to meet the needs of learners based on their chosen course work.
- What Is Cooperative Learning and What Does It Do? An overview of cooperative learning and how to can maximize teacher influence and student performance.
- How To Plan and Implement a Peer Coaching Program: Resource focused on the learning design of peer coaching. Read and reflect on the summary and suggestions or read the entire text.
- Schools As Collaborative Learning Communities: Article focused on collaborative learning communities and how they can positively impact a school environment.
- Lesson Student Group at Mills College: An overall comprehensive description of the lesson study learning design, its origins, and impact on student achievement.
5.2 Select learning designs
- Reach the Highest Standard in Professional Learning: Learning Designs A comprehensive resources about various learning designs proven to improve teacher effectiveness and student achievement.
5.3 Promote active engagement
- Educational Reform, Student Engagement Defines student engagement and how it can be enhanced to increase achievement.
- Teaching That Emphasizes Active Engagement Article focuses on preparation, teaching, and processing activities geared at engaging students in the classroom. Resource can also be implemented at the administrative level used for actively engaging educators in meetings.
- Active Engagement Strategies for Each Direct Instruction Component A detail presentation describing the six components of direct instruction and how teachers can increase engagement. Example strategies are listed with descriptions and resources.
Standard 6: Implementation
Professional learning that increases educator effectiveness and results for all students applies research on change and sustains support for implementation of professional learning for long-term change.
Resource, includes videos, speaks to the systematic series of steps used for gaining valuable learning and knowledge for the continual improvement of the educational process.
Principles for “Implementation”
6.1 Apply change research
- Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) Resource, including videos, provides tools and techniques that enable leaders to gauge educator concerns and program use in order to give each person the necessary supports to ensure success and create positive change.
- Stages of Concern Resource, including videos, explains how education leaders can assess and respond to the worries, attitudes, and perceptions of staff as they deal with the challenges of changing the way they work.
6.2 Sustain implementation
- Nonusers UsersExcellent handout that explains the Levels of Use in a visual way that is easy to understand.
- Levels and Categories of LoUResource describes the levels of use including categories for a better understanding of how this cycle can implement position change in the education system.
6.3 Provide constructive feedback
- How To Assess LoUPresents different ways that Levels of Use can be assess in the workplace.
Standard 7: Outcomes
Professional learning that increases educator effectiveness and results for all students aligns its outcomes with educator performance and student curriculum standards.
A Handbook for Professional Learning: Teacher Team Reflection
An outlined activity for educators to use in assessing outcomes and look for future professional learning topics and areas of need.
Principles for “Outcomes”
7.1 Meet performance standards
- Writing Measurable Learning Outcomes A resource focused on writing learning outcomes including vocabulary, charts, rubrics, examples, and additional resources.
7.2 Address learning outcomes
- How does Professional learning support my performance and development?A presentation that focuses on the effectiveness of current professional learning practices and its links to future educational professional learning opportunities.
7.3 Build coherence
- Creating Coherence Resource includes sample frameworks and core instructional strategies with key take-aways and potential implications for future professional learning
- Professional Review and Development Looks at how educational leaders can review and reflect on professional learning. Includes charts, sample questions, and additional resources and links.
Additional Supports
- A Comprehensive Professional Learning System A comprehensive system focused on professional learning. The professional learning plan is a navigation system that creates conditions and structures that powers educator learning and inspires student achievement.
- Out with PD, In with PL Explains why professional learning is essential to improving public education and give a little summary of each standard and their importance in teaching and learning.
- A National Institute for Teaching and School Leadership One nation’s comprehensive professional learning system; including initiatives, resources, and tools for teachers and administrators, and great information to adapt to your school environment.
- A State Guide to Professional Learning Standards One states plan for professional learning brought about by teacher and leader need identified through an evaluation system. This resource provides examples and supports for transitioning to an on-the-job, embedded professional learning model.
- Standards Assessment Inventory A strong job-embedded professional learning system starts with a comprehensive look at what is going in your school building.
