FAQ FOR VENDORS

QUESTIONS

1. How does North Carolina define professional development?



2. Is professional development the same as in-service?



3. Are there standards for professional development?



4. How can I get a copy of the North Carolina Standards for Professional Development?



5. What does professional development ‘look like’ in North Carolina?



6. How can a vendor guarantee that the professional development offered (whether onsite in a school or district or in another location such as at a hotel) will be approved for renewal credit?



7. When can professional development be conducted in North Carolina schools?



8. Who should be the target of professional development in North Carolina schools?



9. How do schools make decisions about what teachers are going to learn? Who gets to make these decisions?



10. So schools should conduct formal needs assessments prior to any professional development?



11. What are the characteristics of a good professional development program?



12. What will be the impact of the No Child Left Behind Act on professional learning?

ANSWERS

1. How does North Carolina define professional development?
   
   Professional development is the term that educators use to describe the continuing education of teachers, administrators, and other school employees.
   
   Teachers need a wide variety of professional development. For example, an English teacher might need to attend classes to learn more about the content she's teaching. In addition, she might need other types of staff development to learn better ways or alternative methods for teaching that new material. She might also need to learn more about classroom management techniques, how to incorporate technology into her instruction, and how to better address the needs of language minority students or exceptional learners in her classroom.



2. Is professional development the same as in-service?
   
   The terms in-service education, teacher training, staff development, professional development, and human resource development are often used interchangeably. But some of these terms may have special meaning to particular groups or individuals. It is best to always clarify what you mean.



3. Are there standards for professional development?
   
   Yes. There are national standards for professional development and our state has developed standards (based on the work of national groups such as the National Staff Development Council) for professional development.



4. How can I get a copy of the North Carolina Standards for Professional Development?
   
   The standards are accessible through the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction's website. The standards resulted from the work of the North Carolina Professional Development Committee. The full report of their work including a copy of the standards may be viewed at:
   
   http://www.ncpublicschools.org/humanrsrcs/prodevreport/report.pdf
   (pdf, 246kb)
   
   A one page Standards At-A-Glance document is available by clicking the link at the vendor page.
   
   NOTE: The North Carolina State Board of Education adopted the Belief and Vision statements and standards only.



5. What does professional development ‘look like’ in North Carolina?
   
   Professional development has a lot of ‘looks’ in North Carolina. While attending classes, workshops, or conferences is one way that educators can learn some of what they need to know, other types of professional development are just as important and, often, more effective than traditional sit-and-get sessions.
   
   For example, when teachers plan lessons together or study a subject together, that's a form of professional development. A teacher who observes another teacher teach is also participating in a form of professional development. If a teacher is being coached by another teacher, that's professional development. Visiting model schools, participating in a school improvement committee, writing curriculum, analyzing and discussing case studies, engaging in critical friends groups, action research, and keeping a journal about teaching practices can all be professional development activities. A good reference for educators and vendors is Powerful Designs for Professional Learning edited by Lois Brown Easton (2004).



6. How can a vendor guarantee that professional development offered (whether onsite in a school or district or in another location such as a hotel) will be approved for renewal credit?
   
   In short, you can’t. Approval of professional development experiences for renewal credit is a decision made by the local board of education (the local school district). While districts have entered into an agreement with the Department of Public Instruction and under the guidance and authority of the Department have established minimum criteria for renewal credit, local boards of education may establish criteria above and beyond what the Department requires.
   
   There are steps that a vendor can take to increase the likelihood that experiences will be approved:
   
   
   1. Show clear alignment with the NC curriculum, The Standard Course of Study. (see www.ncpublicschools.org)
   2. Show clear alignment with the NC Standards for Professional Development.
   3. Identify specific intended participant learning outcomes.
   4. Offer experiences that align with the NC State Board of Education’s vision for professional development – experiences that are tailored to specific educator need and are intensive including follow-up, support, practice, feedback, and appropriate evaluation beyond initial reaction and human environmental needs and concerns. If, as the vendor, you cannot provide the follow-up, offer clear plans and guidance to the individual participants or to the school or district for how they can plan and implement their own follow-up. (See Three Phase Follow-Up document.)
   5. Strongly encourage participants to seek prior approval from their local board of education before registering for the session!
   6. Provide participants with a certificate or statement at the conclusion of the session documenting the exact number of contact hours.



7. When can professional development be conducted in North Carolina schools?
   
   Just as professional development has many ‘looks,’ it can also occur at different times. The most effective professional development experiences are job-embedded occurring during the school day and within the work setting. Professional development may also occur before or after school, on weekends, and during the summer. Schools and districts are expected to have comprehensive professional development plans that should include, in addition to goals, projected timelines.



8. Who should be the target of professional development in North Carolina schools?
   
   Everyone who works for the school district needs to continually learn to improve the work they do.
   
   Janitors, bus drivers, and school secretaries make important contributions to creating a school climate where children feel safe and welcome as they learn. They also have frequent contact with parents - especially school secretaries - so it's important for them to understand many aspects of school life.
   
   Any adult who comes in contact with a student during the school day has an opportunity to influence their learning. Paraprofessionals play a critical role in schools and must be teaching assistants able to provide instruction to extend and enrich that conducted by the teacher or to conduct instruction in the teacher’s absence. These individuals need to know as much as possible to be effective in this important role.



9. How do schools make decisions about what teachers are going to learn? Who gets to make these decisions?
   
   Schools should establish goals for student learning and then examine data - from tests, from classroom work - to determine how many children have been meeting those goals. Examining data also helps teachers identify areas where students are struggling. Schools are also encouraged to examine educator data to determine any gaps between student needs and educator ability to meet the need. Schools and school districts are encouraged to provide the professional development that will enable teachers to help all children reach identified goals.



10. So schools should conduct formal needs assessments prior to any professional development?
    
    Schools should determine what professional development is needed and by whom. There are "formal" needs assessment instruments that schools can purchase, but really schools just need to study their data. The question often arises - what data? The answer - all the data! Schools should look at student data (i.e. formal and informal test data, non-academic data such as attendance and behavior referrals) and teacher data (teacher strengths and areas for growth noted in observations and evaluations, teacher background information such as course work completed). Schools should look at data collected on individuals and on groups (i.e. individual teachers, a grade level, a grade span). Schools should also look at overall school data and at district and state data. The idea is to get a clear picture of what needs exist. Data should be carefully studied by teams to determine needs and not symptoms.



11. What are the characteristics of a good professional development program?
    
    The characteristics are the same as the Standards for Staff Development. The National Staff Development Council's revised Standards for Staff Development reflect what NSDC and the broader staff development community have learned about professional learning since the creation of the original standards in 1995.
    
    Staff development standards provide direction for designing a professional development experience that ensures educators acquire the necessary knowledge and skills. Staff development must be results-driven, standards-based, and job-embedded. The North Carolina Standards for Professional Development (NCSPD) are based on the work of the NSDC.



12. What will be the impact of the No Child Left Behind Act on professional learning?
    
    The legislation has the potential to affect professional development enormously. First, billions of dollars are included in the legislation to ensure teacher quality. Second, the legislation indicates that the government has recognized what makes professional development effective; the definitions of professional development in the law are roughly in line with the NSDC standards.
    
    However, the specifics of the implementation of No Child Left Behind will ultimately determine how much attention is paid to professional development. While the stringent requirements for selecting and evaluating professional development will help to ensure its quality, they will also make it easier to use the money allotted for teacher quality in other ways. The teacher quality provision also emphasizes teacher recruitment and retention, and those areas will be drawing from the same monies that fund professional development. Decisions made at the state and local levels about teacher quality and school improvement programs will be deciding factors in the role professional development plays in No Child Left Behind.