Professional Development

AMLE says:

Ongoing professional development reflects best educational practices.
Professional development is a continuing activity in middle level schools where teachers take advantage of every opportunity to work with colleagues to improve the learning experiences for their students.

It means:

Professional development is any means by where teachers, and I would argue, paraprofessionals, further their development as educators.  It could be anything from observing, collaborating, or consulting with colleagues, attending a formal professional development session or conference, or soliciting help from someone such as curriculum support, network leader, or community source (e.g. Museum of Modern Art).  Heck, it could be watching a Coulee podcast.  Undoubtedly, teachers, administrators, staff, and related service providers alike all need continuous professional development if they are to remain current with best proven practices and theories.  It is necessary to have regularly scheduled professional development, with differentiated topics to address teachers' interests and needs. 

Example:

The Therapeutic Crisis Intervention System, also known as TCI, was developed at Cornell University.  It is built off of positive behavior intervention and meant for crisis prevention and intervention, supporting the student in crisis both physically and emotionally.  Without going into the details of TCI too much, NYC Teaching Fellows are required to become TCI certified, taking the workshop over the summer and the examination during the school year.  District 75 offers the workshop through its PBIS arm, as well as TCI for students with developmental disabilities, with an overview found here.  Special educators in District 75 are free to sign up for either session under the District 75 PD page.  The main difference is in the life-space interview (LSI), reducing it from 7 steps under "regular" TCI to 3 steps under TCI for students with developmental disabilities.

Why it works:

The NYC Department of Education, and specifically District 75 arm of the DOE, is proactive in helping teachers, administrators, and staff alike develop themselves as educators and stakeholders in the lives of students with exceptional needs.  D75 PD offers a multitude of courses, hitting everything from anger management to PBIS, and from literacy to implementing technology.  By providing it on such an open forum, teachers can peruse courses and register.  Administrators can sign up teachers and staff as they see fit.  Courses are generally ongoing throughout the academic year, with some taking place on the weekend.


My classroom/school:
  
My school has been very proactive in providing teachers with opportunities for professional development.  Apart from sending me to TCI for students with developmental disabilities, my school also:

• brought in Leslie Schecht, director of technology for District 75, for a series of PD sessions so teachers and staff could effectively implement iPads, iPods, computers, Smartboards, and other technologies, in their classrooms.  Fox came in to do a clip on this.  You can see the video here.
• brought in Jessica Robishaw, PBIS specialist, to work with teachers and paraprofessionals on creating a better school environment and implementing best practices with students who have very exceptional needs.
• sent teachers to paid weekend professional development sessions.
• sent new teachers to the Celebration of Learning conference, held in winter/early spring.
• sent teachers on regular inter-visitation periods, to observe colleagues in an informal setting, so that they could become more competent in their own work.
• scheduled regular professional development periods for teams of teachers, each focusing on a different area.
• scheduled 7 periods per week of professional development time for new teachers with curriculum support.
• scheduled fading weekly meetings for new teachers. 

Oh, this list could go on and on.  Really, working at my school is great.  But, anyway, what can I do as a second-year teacher to continue my professional development?  Well, I can hop onto the D75 webpage and register for sessions that I feel will better my practices as an educator.  Usually, this is for stuff I can't get in school, such as certification for TCI.  I can proactively ask to observe teachers who I think "have got it," and really know how to work with students.  I am already on the curriculum support team, as well as the rubric planning team.  As far as those teams go, I feel that as a younger member currently studying for a MST, I can bring in new theory and break it down, so that colleagues hear about what is out there.  It's not that I think I'm any smarter than them; it's simply that I'm still involved with the school of education, whereas many of them are veteran teachers who know the theory from the time they studied and have years of experience to bring to the table.  This is my intention for the upcoming school year.  I can also proactively offer my help, if need or want be, to the 9 new teachers coming into my site.