Back-to-School kick-offs. Early dismissal or late start days. Return from Winter Break. All those other seemingly random days in which educators have PD…
But what shall we actually do with that time? And is it even enough?
A 2009 study from the Stanford Graduate School of Education reminds us of the challenge. U.S. teachers spend about 1,080 hours a year in front of students, significantly more than many of their international colleagues. With so much time devoted to instruction, there is far less space for the collaborative planning, professional learning, and reflection that fuel real instructional growth.
Research has also shown that meaningful impact requires sustained support, and much more than what is typically integrated into school calendars. Studies, such as the Effective Teacher Professional Development from the Learning Policy Institute, have demonstrated that teachers really need 45 hours of professional learning or more over weeks or months to achieve measurable gains in student learning.
As you likely already know, quick one-offs rarely move the needle.
After spending 20 years in public education, 12 of which in a leadership role, I pivoted to the consulting world to help educators access focused professional learning and build a culture of continuous growth that keeps students at the center.
So, what have I learned from all of this? Simply put, while there is no one right way to do this work so that everyone grows, there are some “wrong ways” that create disjointed learning, frustrated or disenfranchised staff, and wasted dollars.
Here are my top five takeaways for purposefully picking a professional development provider and putting together an effective plan.
1. Strategic Planning Benefits from an Outside Lens
I once wrote a piece about the need for instructional coaching, "Because Mirrors Have Bias.” The simple premise was that even the most passionately dedicated and deeply invested educators have blind spots that could prevent them and the system from reaching their maximum potential. As an example, I once had an introverted student let me know that she wished I had interacted with her the same way that I did with the extroverted students. I assumed that she, as an introvert, would not want that sort of attention, but I was WRONG. This assumption clouded my teaching, but once she let me know, I was able to provide her with the attention and support she needed to thrive.
An outside education consultant can do the same for you. Looking back at my time in public education, I deeply wish my former districts had used a consulting partner to serve as an unbiased strategic thought-partner at our planning tables. Educators of all roles share information with me as a consultant now that, in all honesty, they would not have shared with their “boss.” This extra outside lens can help all invested parties create the most comprehensive, honest, and focused PD plan possible, working past the internal biases that, no matter how hard we try, still exist.
2. Use Data Sets
The most powerful thing that I have done for and with districts is collect data with invested partners, especially with students. Interviews, surveys, and observations can all tell a story that might otherwise be difficult to see, and having an objective partner to help with this process (see above) can be critical to uncovering what is really going on.
Qualitative interviews or focus groups provide a depth of context that can help any and all decision makers better plan and shape the focus, purpose, and scope of any and all PD. Additionally, getting a non-evaluative expert into the classrooms to gather school-wide aggregated data can help paint a more robust picture of what REALLY needs to be the focus.
When we pair student outcome data WITH focus groups and classroom visits from a trained outsider, a clearer and more focused picture emerges for all involved. For example, we once worked with a district that had subgroups of students who were not performing as well as their peers. The district leadership team thought the issue was that they needed more flexibility in their learning environments. But after doing focus groups and classroom observations, the trend became clearer. There was plenty of flexibility already built into the classrooms, and it was important to honor teachers for that flexibility. The challenge was that the options and choices provided weren’t consistently aligned to a rigorous, grade-level goal. Having that insight enabled us to provide more targeted training on how to build engagement around learning goals, co-create success criteria with students, and develop flexibility that worked toward removing barriers to learning while building on the good work that educators were already doing.
3. Plan Beyond Tomorrow
Your PD provider (no matter how good they are!) doesn’t have a magic wand and can not shift student outcomes by providing a single day of workshopping. The selection of a PD provider and the work with them needs to be more than just a one-off, opening day kick-off in which the chosen provider “does PD” for 5 hours. Although this is a great way to kick off the work, it’s critical to have a plan to continue to build on that work throughout the year in faculty meetings, learning walks, instructional coaching, instructional rounds, and PLC meetings. Without ongoing professional learning embedded into the school calendar, great intentions get swept up in the day-to-day. Thinking strategically about the work that needs to be done before the PD begins, what the initial PD looks like, and what the follow-up will be associated with that throughout the year, is critical to a successful implementation. Remember, even though you don’t have 45 hours in your designated PD schedule, you still need to get to that number to shift outcomes. How can you provide co-planning time, job-embedded support, instructional coaching, online courses, PD during faculty meetings, observations, and more to supplement the work that is being done on scheduled PD days?
4. Get People into Classrooms
If you want your staff to grow, get people of all roles and responsibilities into classrooms. It is one thing for a teacher to be formally evaluated once a year (if that, in many states and districts), but it is another thing to have well-planned and deeply calibrated classroom walkthroughs in which people of many roles across the school are visiting classroom AND having the time and space after to share, discuss, and grow from the collaborative nature of this work. This does not require an outside PD provider, although it might be helpful to have one model the process and provide guidelines while you get started. This is a place in which the wide range of experience of a PD provider should be able to help you do the calibration work and facilitate the conversations afterward so that everyone involved feels safe and cared for while positively pushed to grow as individuals and as a team.
5. Carefully Consider Cost and ROI
It would be foolish of me to ignore the bottom line: bringing in a PD provider costs money, and we all know that school budgets are tight. And, yes, I am sure you are thinking, “Dude, I know it is expensive, and all the things you just named above are going to make it even more expensive; can’t we just put together an internal team that can plan some in-house PD?” OF COURSE YOU CAN. And if you do, I hope you will take into account the four steps above to help you best navigate your in-house plan.
That said, for those of you who are still with me, with the concepts shared above, and want to think about how to best select and utilize a PD provider, here are a few factors to consider.
- Rethink the 5-hour day in isolation: honestly, five hours of PD on the same day on the same topic by the same person doesn’t leave a lot of time for processing or trying things out. Done alone, it will not shift your student outcomes.
- Consider using your consultant creatively: what if it were 2-3 hours of PD followed by 2 hours of coaching, guided PLC time, and supported work time? This empowers all learners to hear the same message yet have time and space and support to do the work.
- Back-to-back days save you money: travel isn’t cheap, so always look at your schedule for a time and space to bring a PD provider in for two (or more) days in a row, when possible. Again, consider pairing PD with coaching or working with teachers, and then also working with leadership teams or early adopters.
- Virtual support can enhance in-person learning: Supporting in-person days with 1 or 2-hour virtual sessions between in-person visits is a fantastic way to keep the ball rolling at a lower cost.
- Take advantage of training materials. Once you have built your internal capacity, you can invest in training materials so your internal staff can facilitate high-quality workshops across the district, even if they don’t have the time to plan them. Think of PD materials as your training curriculum for teachers. Check out Novak’s materials here.
When it is all said and done, schools across the country are filled with educators doing great work and leaders doing everything they can to support that work. When it comes to planning professional development that impacts student outcomes in meaningful ways, consider the benefits of supporting your in-house work with outside PD providers who can help you focus on the professional learning experiences that will best support you as educators to help ensure all students have the best and most successful learning experiences possible.
