SPOTLIGHT ON THE NORTH CAROLINA PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS

OVERVIEW OF THE STANDARDS

Following the work of the North Carolina Professional Development Committee(5), the North Carolina State Board of Education adopted vision and belief statements as well as standards for professional development. Vision statements typically paint a clear picture of how the landscape will look after one has been through it. The vision is the "ideal" or the end result of what will have happened.(6) The State Board has clearly painted the "ideal" for professional development in North Carolina.

The Vision
Classroom practice and school leadership in North Carolina will be improved through tailored, intensive professional development that includes follow-up, support, practice, feedback, and evaluation. It is a collaborative effort that provides every student access to a competent, caring, highly-qualified teacher. All fiscal and human resources within the educational community support classroom instruction and interactions that prepare students to thrive and contribute to a complex, dynamic, global, and multicultural society. Activities result in implementation of classroom practices that lead to improved student achievement.

Organization of the Standards
The standards are organized according to the context/process/content schema:

• Context Standards: address the organization, system, and culture in which the new learning will be implemented
• Process Standards: refer to the “how” of professional development describing the learning processes used in the acquisition of new knowledge and skills and addressing the use of data, evaluation, and research.
• Content standards: refer to the “what” of professional development beginning with an examination of what students must know and be able to do and what skills and knowledge teachers and administrators need in order to respond appropriately to all students.

NOTE: Each component of the schema is necessary to ensure that professional development improves student learning. If one dimension is ignored, the intended results are far less likely to be achieved. All standards must be addressed to ensure effective professional development that results in change and makes a difference in student learning and achievement.

The Standards

CONTEXT

• Learning Communities: Professional development that improves the learning of all students organizes adults into learning communities whose goals are aligned with those of the school and district.
• Leadership: Professional development that improves the learning of all students requires skillful school and district leaders who guide continuous instructional improvement.
• Resources: Professional development that improves the learning of all students requires resources to support adult learning and collaboration.

The Context Standards address a variety of topics including:

• Continuous Improvement
• Leadership Advocacy
• Organizational Alignment & Support
• Time for Learning
• Professional Development as an Innovation

PROCESS

• Data-Driven: Professional development that improves the learning of all students uses disaggregated student data to determine adult learning priorities, monitor progress, and help sustain continuous improvement.
• Evaluation: Professional development that improves the learning of all students uses multiple sources of information to guide improvement and demonstrate its impact.
• Research-Based: Professional development that improves the learning of all students prepares educators to apply research to decision making.
• Design: Professional development that improves the learning of all students uses learning strategies appropriate to the intended goal.
• Learning: Professional development that improves the learning of all students applies knowledge about human learning and change.
• Collaboration: Professional development that improves the learning of all students provides educators with the knowledge and skills to collaborate.

The Process Standards address a variety of topics including:

• Organization Development & Systems Thinking
• The Change Process: Individual
• The Change Process: Organization
• Data-Driven Decision Making
• Integration of Innovations
• Evaluation of Professional Development
• Models of Professional Development
• Selecting the Content of Professional Development
• Collaborative Skills
• Follow Up to Professional Development

CONTENT

• Equity: Professional development that improves the learning of all students prepares educators to understand and appreciate all students, create safe, orderly and supportive learning environments, and hold high expectations for their academic achievement.
• Quality Teaching: Professional development that improves the learning of all students deepens educators’ content knowledge, provides them with research-based instructional strategies to assist students in meeting rigorous academic standards, and prepares them to use various types of classroom assessments appropriately.
• Family Involvement: Professional development that improves the learning of all students provides educators with knowledge and skills to involve families and other stakeholders appropriately.

The Content Standards address a variety of topics including:

• Child Development
• Classroom Management
• Diversity
• Curriculum
• Pedagogy
• Research-Based Instructional Strategies
• Family Involvement
• Student Performance Assessment
• High Expectations
• Guidance

 

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