GoogleDocsProfessionalDevelopment

LessonPlan

Presenters:
LaurenAlbert,NancyKucera,DanielleCotton,AllisonGersonde

Date:
April29,2015

Time:
8:30am10:30am(2Hours)

Setting:
LocalElementarySchool(K6)

Thesettingforthisprofessionaldevelopmentwillbeanelementaryschool.Theprofessional

developmentwilltakeplaceinafacetofacesetting.Thepreferablelocationwillbetheschools

computerlab.However,itisdesirablethatparticipantsbringtheirowncomputerandthedigital

devicetheywillusewiththeirstudents.Asitispossibletheprofessionaldevelopmentwilltake

placeinaclassroomormediacenter.

ParticipantDescription:

th
Teachersreceivingthisprofessionaldevelopmentinstructstudentsfromkindergartenthrough6

gradeandincludeacombinationofELL,ESE,generaleducation,inclusion,andspecialarea
teachers.Allteachersreceivingtheprofessionaldevelopmenthaveaccesstotheirowncomputer
aswellasa1:1deviceclassroomorasharedclassroomcomputercart.Whileteachershave
accesstothehardware,manyhavelittleunderstandingofvariousapplicationsand/orsoftware
thatcouldbeintegratedintocurrentinstructionalpractices.Teachersreceivingthistraininglack
knowledgeofGoogleAppsforEducationandhaveminimalunderstandingofGoogle

Documents(GoogleDocs).Byreceivingthistraining,teacherswillgainabasicunderstandingof
howtocreate,edit,share,andutilizeGoogleDocswiththeirstudents.
Handouts:
SeeGoogleDocsFolder

Objectives:
Teachers/StaffwillbeabletologintotheirGoogleDriveaccounts.
Teachers/StaffwillaccessGoogleDocsandcreateadocument.
Teachers/StaffwillsharetheirGoogleDocwithanothercolleague.
Teachers/StaffwillcommentontheGoogleDocsharedwiththem.
Teachers/Staffwilllearnhowtoimportaphoto/clipartintotheirGoogleDoc.

EquipmentNeeded:
LaptoporiPad
LaptopCharger
ProjectorScreenforpresentation
GoogleDriveAccount
Handouts
oScreenshotofStepswithexplanations
oISTETechnologyCommonCoreStandardsforTeachers

ISTETechnologyCommonCoreStandardsforTeachers:
1.
Facilitateandinspirestudentlearningandcreativity
2.
Designanddevelopdigitalagelearningexperiencesandassessments
3.
Modeldigitalageworkandlearning
4.
Promoteandmodeldigitalcitizenshipandresponsibility
5.
Engageinprofessionalgrowthandleadership

LessonProcedure:

Theprofessionaldevelopmentsessionwillbeginat8:30a.m.andlastapproximatelytwo
hours.Duringthesession,teacherswillhaveaccesstobothadesktopcomputerandthedigital
devicethattheyusewiththeirstudents.

Fortheinitialhalfhour,teacherswillreceiveanintroductionreviewingtheobjectivesfor
thetraining.TeacherswillalsobeinstructedonhowtoaccessGoogleDriveandallGoogle
Documentsrequiredfortheprofessionaldevelopment.Forthefollowingtwentyfiveminutes,
teacherswillbeinstructedonhowtocreateaGoogleDocument.Teacherswillalsobeprovided
timetopracticeeditingtheGoogleDoc.FollowingthecreatingandeditingoftheGoogle
Document,teacherswillbeprovidedafiveminutebreak.Uponreturningfromthebreak,
teacherswillspendthenexttenminuteslearninghowtouploadphotosintotheirGoogle
Document.Afterward,teacherswilllearnhowtosharetheirGoogleDocumentwithcolleagues.
Teacherswillalsobeprovidedtimetopracticesharingdocumentswithothers.Finally,teachers
willlearnandpracticeleavingcommentsononeanothersdocuments.Theprofessional
developmentwillconcludewithviewingactualteacherandstudentworkthroughGoogleDocs
togetabetterunderstandingofreallifeapplications.
Timeframe:
Time

Presenter

Activity

8:308:45

Lauren,Nancy,Danielle,
Allison

Introduction

8:459:00

Lauren&Danielle

Nancy&Allisonfacilitate
anytechnicalissues

Teachers/Staffloginto
GoogleDriveandaccess
GoogleDocsharedwiththem
whichsharesallhandouts
withthemviaGoogleDrive
forourpresentation.(Saving
paper:))

9:009:15

Lauren&Danielle

Teachers/Staffwillcreate
GoogleDocandnameit
(lastname_firstname)andadd
asentencethatdescribestheir

favoriteactivitytodooutside
ofschool.
Lauren&Danielle

Allowsometimefor
Teachers/Stafftonavigate
througheditingtheirGoogle
Doc.(Font,Sizes,Colors,
etc.)

9:259:30

Break

9:309:40

Lauren&Danielle

Teachers/Staffwillfinda
photothattheyhaveontheir
computer/iPadandwill
uploaditintotheirGoogle
Doc.

9:409:50

Lauren&Danielle

Teachers/Staffwillshare
theirGoogleDocwith
anothercolleague.Each
personwillopentheothers
GoogleDoc.

9:5010:00

Lauren&Danielle

Teachers/Staffwillleavea
commentontheirpartners
GoogleDocsharedwith
them.

10:0010:05

Lauren&Danielle

Teachers/Staffwillaccess
theiroriginalGoogleDocand
viewthecommenttheir
partnerleft.

10:0510:15

Nancy&Allison

DisplayTeacher&Student
workusingGoogleDocsso
Teachers/Staffcanseevalue
inthisapplication.

10:1510:30

Nancy&Allison

Questions/Answers

9:159:25


Summary:

ItisimportantforteacherstolearnhowtoeffectivelyuseGoogleDocsintheir
classroomsandwiththeircolleagues.ThereareseveralreasonswhyGoogleDocsisauseful
Web2.0tool.GoogleDocsisapowerfultoolthatcanbeusedforcollaboration,caneasilysave
time,andallowscloudbasedstorage.

GoogleDocsprovidesuserswithasimplifiedmeansforcollaboration.Insteadof

constantlyemailingupdatesorprintingcopiesofashareddocument,userscansimplyworkon
thedocumentonline.Userscansimultaneouslymakechangesandinstantlyviewthechangesof
otherusers.Thesefeaturesalsohelptosavevaluabletime(Mansor,2012).

GoogleDocscanbeusedbyinstructorsinmanydifferentways.Itisclearthatita

valuabletoolforcollaboration,butitcanalsobeusedinotherways.Teacherscansetup
documentswithquestionsforstudents.Teacherscanviewstudentanswersinrealtime,andare
thenabletohelpstudentswhoarestruggling.GoogleDocscanalsobeusedasanassessment
instrument.Again,ateachercansetupthedocumentwithquestions,andthenallowstudents
timetoanswerthequestions.Aftertheassessment,theteachercanchangethesettingsofthe
documentandallowstudentstoonlyviewit.Thestudentsanswerswillbelockedin,andthe
teacheristhenabletoreviewthestudentswork(Spaeth&Black,2012).

TheseareonlyafewofthemanyusesforGoogleDocs.GoogleDocshaschangedthe

waystudents,teachers,andotherprofessionalcollaborate.Itisausefultool,andallteachers
shouldunderstandthebenefitsofitsuse.
Themodelchosenforthisprofessionaldevelopmentisafacetofacesetting.According
toGradelandEdson(2012),facetofaceprofessionaldevelopmentcanbeimprovedwhen

cloudbasedtechnologyisinvolved.Professionaldevelopmentthatinvolvescloudbased
learninghasbeenfoundtokeepparticipantsmoreengaged.Thereareseveralreasonsforthis.
Theparticipantsarelearningabouttoolstheycanimplementintheirclassrooms.Also,the
participantsareengaged,becausetheprofessionaldevelopmentisinteractive.Itisimportant,
though,thatlearnersaregivenresourcesthathelpthemfacilitatetheuseoftheirnew
cloudbasedtechnologyknowledge.

References
Gradel,K.,&Edson,A.J.(2012).Integratingcloudbasedstrategiesandtoolsinfacetoface
trainingsessionstoincreasetheimpactofprofessionaldevelopment.
JournalofEducational
TechnologySystems
,40(2),113130.

Mansor,A.(2012).GoogleDocsasacollaboratingtoolforacademicians.
ProcediaSocialand
BehavioralSciences,59,
411419.doi:
10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.09.295

Spaeth,A.D.,&Black,R.S.(2012).GoogleDocsasaformofcollaborativelearning.
Journal
ofChemicalEducation
,(8).

AnnotatedBibliography:

AbdalHaqq,I.(1996).Makingtimeforteacherprofessionaldevelopment.ERICDigests.
Teacherstodayarenotonlyexpectedtohavesubjectmatterexpertisebuttoalsobeawareofand
understandtheimpactofdiversityintheirclassrooms.Asaresult,effectiveprofessional
developmenthasbecomeevenmoreimportantforeducators.Thisarticlelooksatthechallenges
schoolsfacewhenincorporatingprofessionaldevelopmentintotheirschedule.Currentpractices
includealimitednumberofdevelopmentdaysortheexpectationofteacherstoparticipatein
professionaldevelopmentoutsideoftheirnormalworkday(summertimeorbeforeandafter
schoolsessions).ThisisincontrasttosomeAsianandEuropeancountrieswhereteachersspend
aboutonethirdoftheirdayoutsideoftheclassroomworkingwithcolleaguesandengagingin
professionaldevelopment.TheNationalEducationAssociationhasmadeseveral
recommendationsformakingprofessionaldevelopmentofUSteachersapriority.They
recommendtheuseofteachingassistantsandinternstospendmoretimeintheclassroom.They
alsoadviseschoolstoincludeearlyreleasedaysonaregularbasistoallowforprofessional
developmenttooccurduringteachersnormalworkday.Blockscheduling,commonplanning
timeslotsforteachers,andachangeintheschooldayitself(eitherthroughextendeddaysor
yearroundschool)werealsomentionedaspathwaystogiveteacherstimetofocuson
professionaldevelopment.Thechallengesofimplementingthesechangesareidentifiedbythe
author.Hecitestheresistanceofparentsconcernedwithchildcare,studentsthemselveswhoare
concernedaboutparttimejobsandtheprevailingmindsetthatviewsanytimeteachersarenotin
frontoftheirstudentsaslackingvalue.
Desimone,L.M.(2011).Aprimeroneffectiveprofessionaldevelopment.
KappanMagazine
,
2831.
Thisarticlefocusesonthechallengesfacedwhentryingtodeterminetheeffectivenessof
professionaldevelopmentforteachers.Theauthornotesthatwhileawidevarietyofactivities
canmakeupprofessionaldevelopmentitshouldincludefivecorefeatures.Thesefeaturesare
contentfocus,activelearning,coherence,duration,andcollectiveparticipation.Studieshave
shownthatinadditiontolookingatthesefeatures,aconceptualframeworkisneededtoassess
professionaldevelopment.Thisframeworkshouldlookatthreespecificoutcomes.These
outcomesanalyzeifteacherslearnnewcontent,iftheychangetheirclassroompracticesasa
resultofthisnewinformationandlastly,ifgainsareseeninstudentsasaresultofthesechanges.
Oncethesessionhasconcluded,itisnecessarytodetermineifthedesiredoutcomeshave
occurredasaresultoftheprofessionaldevelopment.Theauthoridentifiesthreetoolsthatcanbe
used:observations,interviews,andsurveysanddiscussestheprosandconsofeach.

Dunne,K.A.(2002).Teachersaslearners:Elementsofeffectiveprofessionaldevelopment.NES
Publications,111.
Inthisarticle,Dunnelooksatkeyprinciplesofeffectiveprofessionaldevelopment,evaluationof
itseffectiveness,andwhatcanbedonetodesignprofessionaldevelopmentcourses.The
principlescitedincludecreatingavisionfortheclassroomandensuringtheteachersreceivethe
necessaryskillstoimplementthevision.Encouragingteacherstolearnfromeachotherandthen
assumeleadershiproleswithintheirschoolsisalsocitedaskeytoeffectiveprofessional
development.Lastly,Dunnestressestheimportanceofaligningprofessionaldevelopmentwith
thegoalsspecifictotheschooldistrictandthenevaluatingtheprogramseffectiveness.The
evaluationprocessshouldconsiderfeedbackfromtheparticipants,theirabilitytoimplementthe
informationtheylearnedandthenwhatimpactthatimplementationhadontheeducators
students.Aframeworkforprofessionaldevelopmentneedstobeinplacebeforedesigningthe
coursecontent.Thisincludesknowingwhattheintendedoutcomesaremeanttobe,the
audienceandanymitigatingfactorssuchaslocalschoolpoliciesorresourceconstraintsandthen
howbarrierstoimplementingprofessionaldevelopmentwillbeaddressed.Inconclusion,Dunne
reiteratestheimportanceofcontinuingtodevelopourteachersprofessionalskillssothatthey
canbebetterpositionedtohelptheirstudentssucceedintheclassroom.

Effectiveprofessionaldevelopment:Principlesandbeliefs.(n.d.).RetrievedfromCTSERC.org:
http://www.ctserc.org/s/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=184:pdprinci
plesbeliefs&catid=51:8professionaldevelopment&Itemid=144
TheStateEducationResourceCenterinConnecticutischargedwithprovidingprofessional
developmenttoeducatorsstatewide.Theircoursesarebuiltaroundtenprinciplestheyfeelare
criticaltothesuccessoftheirprograms.Collaborationisakeycomponentoftheircourses.
Teachersdonotworkinsilosrathertheyworkwiththeircolleaguesandincorporatetheir
learningexperiencesthroughoutthecourse.Allcoursesmustbepurposedriven,meaningthey
addressindividuallearnerneedssuchasskillbuildingorstrategicplanning.SERCsprograms
areofferedindifferentmodalitieswithcontinuedsupporttoeducatorsfromSERCstaffonethe
coursehasended.SERCstaffalsoworkwithlocalschooldistrictstohelpthemincorporate
professionaldevelopmentfortheirteachersintotheworkday.Theyalsoworkwithschool
administrationtoensureprofessionaldevelopmentisviewedasanecessityandthatitreceives
districtsupportatallphasesofrollout.Bygainingthissupport,SERCandlocalschooldistricts
worktogethertoovercometheuncertaintyandanxietythatcomesaboutwhenchangesaremade
toprofessionaldevelopmentprograms.WhileSERCworkswithschooladministrationand
educators,theultimategoaloftheirprofessionaldevelopmentofferingsistoenabletheteachers
tohaveapositiveimpactonstudentachievement.

Hunzicker,J.(2010).Characteristicsofeffectiveprofessionaldevelopment:Achecklist.113.
http://
files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED510366.pdf

Inthispaper,theauthorprovidesaguideline(basedonresearch)forschooladministratorstouse
whencraftingprofessionaldevelopmentopportunitiesfortheirteachers.Thefirst
recommendationistorecognizetheteachersindividualneedsaswellasthoseoftheschool
district.Byrecognizingtheimportanceofbothsetsofneeds,acollaborativeenvironmentis
establishedforprofessionaldevelopment.Professionaldevelopmentalsoneedstoberelevantto
teachersandtheirdailywork.Whileworkshopsandinservicedaysarestillnecessary,
Hunzickerpointsoutthatteachersneedtobeabletotakethenewinformation,applyitinand
thenevaluateitseffectivenessintheirclass.Thisstudyalsoemphasizestheneedfor
professionaldevelopmenttoincorporatenotonlystrategiesforinstructionbutalsosubject
specificfocustoassistteachersinworkingwiththeirstudentstoachievetheirlearning
outcomes.Theneedforcollaborationamongstteacherswasalsostressedascrucialtothe
effectivenessofprofessionaldevelopment.Teachersvaluetheopportunitytoregularlywork
togethertoexchangeideas,solveproblemsandgive/receivefeedback.Lastly,thereportcited
theimportanceofprofessionaldevelopmentasanongoingendeavor,providingteacherswith
multipleopportunitiestodeveloptheirskills.Theformatofthedevelopmentsessionswasof
lessimportancethantheamountoftimeallocatedforprofessionaldevelopment.
Kedzior,M.,&Fifield,S.(2004).
TeacherProfessionalDevelopment
.
Udspace.udel.edu
.
Retrieved25April2015,fromhttp://udspace.udel.edu/handle/19716/2439

Inthisarticle,effectiveprofessionaldevelopmentforeducatorsisseenassomethingthatneeds
tobecustomizedaccordingtotheschoolcommunity,takingintoaccountdifferencesin
administrations,educatorsandstudents.Thereareanumberofcharacteristicswhichhavebeen
foundtomakeprofessionaldevelopmenteffective.Whilenotalloftheseelementsneedtobe
included,theyshouldbeconsideredwhendevelopingaprogram.Professionaldevelopment
programsshouldbecontentfocusedandshouldtakeplaceoveranextendedperiodoftimeas
opposedtoaonetimeoffering.Collaborationamongstteachersiskeytoasuccessfulprogram,
allowingthemtoshareideasandexperiences.Administratorsshouldworkwithteachersto
makedevelopmentapartoftheworkday,notsomethingteachersneedtodoontheirowntime.
Also,followuponaprogramaswellastheopportunityforselfevaluationshouldbeincluded.
Thisallowsforchangestobemadetotheprogramasneededaswellasenablingteachersto
assesswhetherwhattheylearnedhasmadeapositiveimpactontheirstudents.Onceelementsof
theprofessionaldevelopmentprogramhavebeenselected,thereareseveralmodelsofinstruction
whichhaveproventobesuccessful.Mentoringprovidesbenefitstonewandexperienced
teachersalike.Theycanengageinactivitiessuchasclassroomobservation,coteachingand
providingfeedback,givingteachersanotherresourcetodrawupontohelptheirstudents.A

methodologyentitlesContentBasedCollaborativeInquiryisusedtohelpteachersunderstand
howwelltheirstudentsunderstandsubjectmatter.Teacherscancollectdataonthisandbringit
toagroupofteachersforanalysis.Workingtogether,theycancomeupwithdifferentwaysto
helpdeepenstudentsunderstandingofthesubjectcontent.Anothermodelthathasalsoproven
tobesuccessfuliscalledLessonStudy.Thisinvolvesoneteacherconductingalessonwhile
otherteachersobserveandwriteupcritiques.Thisisaprocessthatisrepeatedsothatalesson
canberefinedasneededfordifferentgroupsofstudents.Effectiveprofessionaldevelopmentfor
teachershasmanypositivesyetcontinuestofacebarriersingettingimplemented.Asseenin
otherresearcharticles,barrierscanbeeconomic(costcuttingineducation),timebased(willit
beincorporatedaspartoftheworkdayordoneoutsidethattimeframe,impactingateachersfree
time)andenvironmentbased(doestheschooladministrationanddistrictseethevalueofand
supportprofessionaldevelopmentforitsteachers).
LoucksHorsley,S.,Stiles,K.,&Hewson,P.(1996).Principlesofeffectiveprofessional
developmentformathematicsandscienceeducation:Asynthesisofstandards.
NISE
Brief
,1,28.

Inthisarticle,educatorslookatprofessionaldevelopmentasitrelatestoeducatorsofmathand
sciencetodetermineifdifferentdisciplineshaddifferentcriteriaforprofessionaldevelopmentto
beeffective.Itwasfoundthatsevenprinciplesappliedtobothdisciplineswhendesigning
effectiveprograms.Aclearunderstandingofclassroomlearningandteachingincludingthings
suchascollaborativework,welldefinedoutcomesandassessmentsshowingstudent
achievementwasthefirstprinciplediscussed.Second,teachersneedtheopportunitytodevelop
indepthknowledgeoftheirsubjectareaandthenbegiventheopportunitytoapplythat
knowledgeintotheircurriculum.Next,whenparticipatinginthedevelopmentprograms,
activitiesshouldbemodeledafterhowtheywillbeteachingtheirstudents,meaninghandson
assignmentsaswellascollaborativeworkwiththeirpeers.Thefourthprinciplefocusedonthe
importanceofteachersworkingtogethertostrengthentheirprofessionaldevelopmentonan
ongoingbasis.Tothisend,theimportanceofadministrationsupportofandrecognitionofthe
valueofteacherprofessionaldevelopmentwasemphasized.Thefifthprinciplediscussed
addressedteachersassumingleadershiprolesintheirschoolordistrict.Again,thebackingof
administrationwasmentionedaskeytomakingthispossible.Byencouragingteachersto
assumerolessuchasmentorsandgroupfacilitators,teachersbecomeagentsofchange,not
merelypassivebystanders.Supportiveadministrationwasalsoaddressedinthesixthprinciple
ofeffectiveprofessionaldevelopment.Thearticlestressedtheimportanceofensuringteachers
understandcurrentcurriculumstandardsandprovidenecessarymaterialsandtrainingbefore
theyareimplemented.Thelastprincipleaddressedinthisarticleemphasizedtheimportanceof
continuousassessmentandreviewofprofessionaldevelopmentprogramstoensuretheystay
currentwiththeneedsoftheteachers.

Rodriguez,G.(2000).Criticalissue:Providingprofessionaldevelopmentforeffective
technologyuse.RetrievedfromNorthCentralRegionalEducationalLaboratory:
http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/methods/technlgy/te1000.htm

Technologyintegrationintheclassroomanditssuccess(orlackthereof)isaddressedinthis
article.Whiletechnologyisastapleintodaysclassrooms,itisimperativetoprovideteachers
withthenecessaryresourcesinordertoutilizeiteffectively.Incorporatingtechnologyintothe
classroomneedstobeaddressedinprofessionaldevelopmentprograms.Rodriguezoutlinesa
numberofcomponentsshouldbeincludedinprofessionaldevelopmentprograms.First,there
mustbeaclearconnectionbetweentheimplementationoftechnologyandimprovedstudent
learning.Teachersplaceahighvalueonseeingtheirstudentsimproveandifshownthat
technologycanhelpachievethatgoal,theyaremotivatedtolearnthetechnology.Teachersalso
needtobetrainedinahandsonenvironmentwhenbeingtrainedontechnology.Theybenefit
frommentoring,observationofotherteachersusingtechnologyandregularlyscheduled
workshops.Itisimportanttolinkthetechnologytospecificcoursecontentsotheycanseehow
itcanbeincorporatedtoimproveuponthecontentandmakeitmoremeaningfultotheir
students.Learningnewtechnologyrequiresthattheteachersbegivenadequatetimetomasterit
andredesignlessonstotakeadvantageofthetechnology.Theyalsoneedtohavetechnical
supporthousedintheirschoolsothattheycanreceiveassistanceinatimelymanner.Lastly,the
schooladministrationmustsupporttechnologyintheclassroombyprovidingteacherswiththe
toolstheyneed.Thissupportisnotonlyshortterm,suchasinitialprocurementofequipment,
butalsolongterm,withthevisionforwheretechnologyisheadedandtheallocationof
personnelandfundstogrowthetechnologyasneeded.

Vega,V.(2013).Teacherdevelopmentresearchreview:Keystoeducatorsuccess.Retrieved
fromEdutopia:
http://www.edutopia.org/teacherdevelopmentresearchkeyssuccess

Thisarticlelooksatwhatfactorshelpstrengthenteacherdevelopmentandsuccessinthe
classroom.First,schooladministratorssetthetoneforemphasizingtheimportanceof
professionaldevelopmentandapositiveschoolenvironment.Thiscanbedonebyhavinga
strongvisionforstudentsuccess,trackingactivitiesthatleadtoimprovedstudentlearningand
involvingstaffandparentsinleadershippositions.Itisalsoimportantforteacherstohave
leadershiprolesintheschoolanddistrict.Theirexperiencecanhelpdrivethingssuchas
curriculumdevelopment,professionallearningopportunitiesandevaluations.Vegagoesonto
pointoutthatstudentachievementshowsimprovementswhentheirteachersreceiveasufficient
amountofeffectiveprofessionaldevelopmentinthecourseofayear(49hoursasopposedto14
hoursorless).Tobeconsideredeffective,theprogramsshouldincludecollaborativeelements,
theabilityforteacherstopracticewhattheyhavelearnedandreceivepeerfeedbackandprovide
teacherswithindepthcontentknowledge.ThethirdsuccessfactorVegadetailsisprofessional

learningcommunities.Thesegroupsderivestrengthfromthewealthofexperienceofits
membersandthecollaborationthattakesplaceastheyfocusonincreasingstudentachievement
levels.Thearticlementionsseveraltechniquesthathavemetwithsuccesswhenusedby
learningcommunities:videobasedreflections,lessonstudies(teachersworkingtogetherto
analyzelessons),mentoringprogramsandgradelevelteams.
Walker,T.(2013).Nomoresitandget:Rebootingteacherprofessionaldevelopment.Retrieved
fromNEAToday:
http://neatoday.org/2013/04/29/nomoresitandgetrebootingteacherprofessionaldevel
opment/

Professionaldevelopmentforeducatorshastransitionedfromanicetohavebenefittoa
musthaveforteacherstostaycurrentintheclassroom.Walkertellsusthatprofessional
developmentdoneright,thatis,inacollaborativeandongoingbasis,energizeseducatorsand
increasestheirjobsatisfaction.Onewaytostrengthenprofessionaldevelopmentisthroughthe
implementationofprofessionallearningcommunities.Theseenableteacherstodrawupon
resourcesthroughouttheirschoolordistrictforthingssuchasmentoring,peerreviewsand
commongoalsetting.Themajordrawbacktothesegroupsisthetimecommitmentrequiredby
itsmembers.Thathurdleisovercomewhenschooladministratorslendtheirsupportandfind
waystocarveouttimeforteacherstoworktogetherforthegoodofthestudents.