Professional Development
Must Be Seen

The number one determination of student success is the quality of the teacher. And the quality of a teacher is measured by classroom instructional practice and lesson design. Inconsistent instructional practices and weak lesson design will negatively impact student learning. A standardized instructional method repeatedly applied will have positive impact on student learning.

EDI has proven to be the most effective instructional method for learning new material, most especially for struggling learners.

1. teachers practice the techniques in the workshop;
2. teachers practice the techniques in the classroom.

To keep teachers in active teacher mode, an effective Professional Development workshop should involve the teachers pairing off or working in small groups to actually practice the techniques. Teachers need to rehearse the new strategies with their colleagues. This starts to rewire the brain for efficient implementation.

However, without implementation support in their classrooms, teachers typically stop trying the new techniques after the first few tries. It’s important to support teachers through the implementation dip.

An effective Professional Development workshop is followed by a teaching demonstration in the classroom. The presenter should demonstrate the techniques so teachers can SEE proof that the techniques worked with their students. Then, the teachers should be given time to practice in a classroom as well.

In terms of implementing new skills, the workshop is like taking a driving lesson in an empty parking lot, and the classroom practice is like driving in real traffic.

The goal is to develop automaticity – effortless use of the strategies. This is done through multiple repetitions so the brain can remember and retrieve at will.

To that point, please see the attached Special Report on Professional Development, written last year by John Hollingsworth. It outlines today’s challenges on PD and what you can do to help make it successful.