SLAV Publications and Journals



	fyi : back issues Summer 2004 - Policy and Planning
	Planning for effective PD Mary Manning ‘Quality teachers and teaching, supported by strategic professional development, is what matters most in students’ experiences and outcomes of schooling.’ Rowe (2003). ‘Professional development for teachers is now recognised as a vital component of policies to enhance the quality of teaching and learning in our schools.’ Ingvarson, Meiers and Beavis (2003) With accountability and evidence-based practice continuing to be high on the agenda, it is vital that you plan and document your professional development to achieve: -transformed teaching practice, and -improved student learning outcomes. This was reinforced recently with the launch of the Blueprint for Government schools, However similar expectations exist in the other school sectors. In the section entitled “Building the skills of the education workforce to enhance the teaching-learning relationship” the following criteria are included in relation to the development of a positive school performance and development culture: -multiple sources of feedback for teachers -customized plans to meet individual teacher development needs -quality professional development to address those needs -induction and mentoring for beginning teachersIn the context of enhancing the teacher-learning relationship, the teacher-librarian is a -recipient of professional development -provider of professional development, and -planner of the library team’s professional development requirements.A number of questions therefore need to be answered. 1. What makes for good professional development? In presenting key findings from Australian and international evidence-based research on educational effectiveness at the Building teacher quality conference of the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), late last year, researchers were able to identify a number of characteristics of effective professional development. These were that effective professional development should: -focus on content and link to curricular materials and assessment -promote coherence, active learning and collective participation -show teachers how to connect work to student performance -be concrete and evidence-based -allow deepening of content and deepening of knowledge -connect to other aspects of school reform Ingvarson, Meiers and Beavis (2003) Hawley and Valli (2001) discuss the design principles for effective professional development. These eight design principles focus attention on strategies that appear to be essential to improving students’ learning over time. Such models: -are driven, fundamentally, by analyses of the differences between (a) goals and standards for student learning and (b) student performance -involve learners(e.g. teachers) in the identification of their learning needs and, when possible, in the development of the learning opportunity and / or the process to be used -are primarily school-based and integral to school operations -provide learning opportunities that relate to individual needs but are, for the most part, organised around collaborative problem-solving -are continuous and on-going, involving follow-up and support for further learning – including support from sources external to the school -incorporate evaluation of multiple sources of information on (a) outcomes for students, and (b) processes that are involved in implementing the lessons learned through professional development -provide opportunities to develop a theoretical understanding of the knowledge and skills to be learned -are integrated with a comprehensive change process that deals with the full range of impediments to and facilitators of student learningA number of successful strategies and formats for professional learning were identified by Loucks-Horsley et al in Designing Professional Development for teachers of Science and Mathematics (1998) and are equally applicable to the needs of teacher-librarians. Immersion 1. Immersion into inquiry and problem solving:Engaging in the kinds of learning that teachers are expected to practice with their students, such as inquiry-based investigations Curriculum 2. Curriculum Implementation: Learning, using and refining the use of a particular set of instructional materials 3. Curriculum replacement units: Implementing a unit of instruction that addresses a topic in a way that illustrates effective teaching techniques 4. Curriculum development and adaptation: Creating new instructional materials and strategies or tailoring existing ones to better meet the learning needs of students Examining practice 5. Action research: Examining teachers’ own teaching and their students’ learning by engaging in a research project 6. Case discussions: Examining written narratives or videotapes of classroom/library events and discussing the problems and issues 7. Examining student work and thinking, and scoring assessments: Carefully examining students’ work to understand their thinking so that appropriate instructional strategies and materials can be identified Collaborative work 8. Study groups: Engaging in regular collaborative interactions around topics identified by the group, with opportunities to examine new information, reflect on classroom practice, and analyse outcome data 9. Coaching and mentoring: Working one-on-one with another teacher to improve teaching and learning through a variety of activities, including observation and feedback, problem-solving and co-planning 10. Professional networks: Linking in person or through electronic means with other teachers to explore topics of interest, pursue shared goals, and address common problems Vehicles and mechanisms 11. Workshops, institutes, courses and seminars: Using structured opportunities outside the classroom to focus intensely on topics of interest and learn from others with more expertise Deciding on the most appropriate format and allowing opportunities for follow-up and team approaches are as important as identifying the appropriate program content. 2 How do I decide what is suitable professional development for myself or my team? The clarification of your own and your library’s goals and objectives in the light of the school mission or charter is a vital starting point. Skilling up offers a planning model for your own and your team’s professional development. It suggests that professional development is more than just attending conferences – it is about how you implement the ideas and concepts presented at conferences. It is about professional renewal and challenging and reiterating your goals and philosophies. It is vital that you keep your plan relevant. The following should be taken into account: -Your/your library’s current role and its support of school priorities ? additional professional development required to fulfil that role -Changing nature of your/your library’s role ? additional professional development required to respond to that change -Your/your library’s potential or future role ? additional professional development required to fulfil your potential or future roleSkilling up also reminds us that we should always record our attendance at professional development activities and jot down relevant ideas and plans. Good professional development will provide you with ideas for initiating change. It is important to record these changes and how and why they were implemented. Professional development priorities Your own professional reading will also positively inform your decision making in this regard. Professional journals and professional support resources for teacher librarians and the broader educational community should be your guide. Take control of and plan your own and your team’s professional development by knowing what you need to know! Read, read, read! 3. How can I change teaching practice? This is where your role as a professional development provider comes to the fore. The primary objective of this initiative is again to improve the educational outcomes for each student by working with classroom teachers to respond to each student’s independent research needs. Contemporary educational research such as that presented in the ACER research papers (Lonsdale, 2002) quotes Ross Todd: indicating that, to establish a positive relationship between school libraries and student success there needs to be ‘a shared educational philosophy centering on inquiry learning; the systematic development of students’ information competence via flexibly delivered classroom instruction; active reading programs that foster high levels of reading comprehension, vocabulary development and language skills; and successful school library programs which set clear expectations, and gather systematic feedback from students / teachers.’ Teacher librarians can achieve this shared educational philosophy by offering practical professional development for other teachers using tools such as the SLAV published CD ROM, Making a difference: Research guide which offers both theoretical material and practical teaching strategies. This tool responds to whole school initiatives relating to thinking skills and individual learning styles as well as practical strategies for designing effective questions and developing information literacy. If one of the design principles of effective professional development is connecting to other aspects of school reform – then ensure that you make the links between the role of the library and major initiatives taking place at the national, state and school levels. In the same way as the CDROM links to thinking skills and learning styles as identified in the middle years reform, so too can you link lifelong learning objectives to the Blueprint for Education. In this document, in “Flagship Strategy 1: Student learning” the objective of students as ‘active, life-long learners’ is central to the policy. Further reading of this and similar documents will identify a raft of links between teacher-librarians’ objectives and those of governments and education authorities. Presenting professional development to other teachers, therefore, within the context of broader educational trends and initiatives will assist in achieving this shared philosophy and your own objectives. Most of all teacher-librarians can also model lifelong learning, continually being open to new ideas and challenges that respond to students learning needs. To quote Terry Hayes, Executive Officer of the Council of Professional Teaching Associations of Victoria, “Teaching blossoms best when teachers think of themselves as learners who are ‘still learning’ and who think of the world of knowledge as an ‘awesome place’.” 4. How do I measure the impact of professional development on student learning outcomes? SLAV’s professional development program aims to: Provide more comprehensive and detailed evidence of how the teaching and learning focus of the school library improves student learning outcomes – what these outcomes actually are, how teacher-librarians identify these outcomes and how teacher-librarians can more effectively work towards these. -Provide teacher-librarians with a range of strategies, initiatives and measurement techniques that will enable them to carefully and effectively chart and document the tangible learning outcomes of their teaching and learning activities. -Enable teacher-librarians to build a portfolio of local school evidence of the importance and value of the school library to their school communities -Identify barriers to evidence-based practice. The sharing of documented evidence can also offer models of school based research activities that can guide you in evaluating your practice. Examples of good practice exist in a number of sites and publications within easy reach. The SLAV website publishes past conference presentations where both academics and practitioners have shared their methodologies and the portal EDNA has established a Teacher Librarians Community page so that teacher-librarians can document and share their research findings at http://www.edna.edu.au/edna/page975.html. A over-arching thought to keep in mind above all when planning and evaluating professional development: ‘The strong voice of the profession has to be the tangible evidences that learning-centred library activities and collaborative teaching practices make a real difference to student learning outcomes.’ Todd (2003) References Blueprint for government schools: future directions for education in the Victoria government school system (2003) Melbourne, State of Victoria, Department of Education and Training. Ferretter, G. and Manning, M. (???) Skilling up: Developing a professional portfolio for teacher-librarians, Carlton, School Library Association of Victoria, reprinted 2001. Hawley, W.D. and Valli, L.D. (2001) ‘The essentials of effective professional development: A new concensus’ in Boesel, D. Continuing professional development, National Partnership for Excellence and Accountability in Teaching. Ingvarson, L., Meiers, M., and Beavis, A. (2003) Evaluating the quality and impact of professional development in Building teacher quality: What does the research tell us? Research Conference Proceedings, Camberwell, Australian Council for Eduactional Research, p.15-23 Lonsdale, M. (2003) Impact of school libraries on student achievement: A review of the research. Available at www.asla.org.au/research/index.htm Loucks-Horsley, S et al, (1998) Designing professional development for teachers of science and mathematics, Corwin Press Rowe, Ken (2003) The importance of teacher quality as a key determinant of students’ experiences and outcomes of schooling in Building teacher quality: What does the research tell us? Research Conference Proceedings, Camberwell, Australian Council for Educational Research, p.15-23 Todd, Dr Ross (2003) Learning in the information age school: Opportunities, outcomes and options presented at IASL 2003 Annual Conference Durban, South Africa, 7 – 11 July 2003 http://www.iasl-slo.org/conference.2003-virtualpap.html Mary Manning is Executive Officer of the School Library Association of Victoria and the Director of its Professional Development program.