Professional Development
The purpose of professional development in the Williamsville School District is to support educators to help all students meet or exceed State and local standards and to support their character development. Our professional development model is constantly undergoing revisions to meet the needs of our staff and to reflect the research-based professional development practices that are most likely to result in teacher effectiveness and student learning.
Paradigm Shift in Professional Development
From Too Much |
To More |
Focus on individual development |
Focus on individual and system development |
Transmission of knowledge, skills, and strategies |
Inquiry into teaching and learning |
“Pull-out” training |
Job-embedded learning |
Generic teaching skills |
Combination of content and content-specific teaching skills |
Fragmented, piece-meal, one shot |
Driven by clear, coherent, long-term strategic plan |
District direction and decision making |
School direction and decision making |
Professional developers as trainers |
Professional developers as facilitators, consultants, and planners |
Professional development as some people’s jobs |
Professional development as everyone’s job |
Professional development for teachers |
Professional development for everyone |
Professional development as a “frill” |
Professional Development as essential |
Source: Adapted from ”Shifting the paradigm of Professional Development” by Susan Loucks-Horsley and Dennis Sparks. Developed for the Goals 2000 Conference, Washington, DC, May 1994
The value of professional development as an integral part of systems development can best be described by these words:“To be fulfilled and productive, all individuals need to grow throughout their lives and the health of any organization depends upon, in part, the growth of the people working within it. In education, where the focus is on the development of individual’s potential and self realization, staff members, building administrators, and the Board of Education are dedicated primarily to students’ growth; yet this commitment extends to encouraging the growth of adults who work within the schools. To understand students, to serve as their models and guides, and to increase our professional skills, we must remain students. To foster learning, we must continue to learn and teachers especially must remain acutely aware of how learning occurs and how it can be encouraged. In this way, we can be assured that we are serving students well.”
Source: Rye School District, National Staff Development Conference Presentation, December, 1996