EDL 271: Change InitiativeMichael A. MarsdenDrake University

Professional DevelopmentWhy start with professional development? What is our case for change?• Lacking effectiveness• Not perceived well by the staff• Many teachers have become content and have found a

“comfort zone”

What are the hopes for this change initiative?• Build a pillar of strength to provide support• Start small - the culture is too fragile to handle a large

scale change• Begin to change the culture• Re-energize the staff and pull them out of their “comfort zone”

ASSESS THE SITUATION

• PD every 2nd and 4th Friday• No sign-in sheet• Many teachers choose not to attend• Many teachers believe PD is a waste

of time• Learning opportunities are rare• Most PD sessions are used for school

updates or meetings in content areas• Most subjects taught only have one

teacher

• Have turned PD into time for Lead Learning Teams to prioritize standards• Every session for the rest of the year will

consist of this

• Most staff participation occurs when there is a guest speaker

What do we have to work with?

ADDRESS THE ISSUE

ADDRESS THE ISSUE• Beginning of the school year• Take ownership• “This is a problem area for us and we need to improve upon it.”• Why is this a problem area?

• Clarify a goal for professional development• What do we want our PD time to look like?• What do we want to get out of our PD time?

• Remind the staff why professional development is important• So we can be the best teachers possible to provide an exceptional education for our students.

Richard

Elmore

HarvardUniversity

(Richard Elmore, 2013)

RICHARD ELMORE• Harvard University - Graduate School of Education

Professor• Advocates focusing on the instructional core• The teacher and the student in the presence of content • “The instructional core helps us identify where we're trying to

improve…the teacher, the student, the content – if you change one, you have to change them all.” - Richard Elmore

• Believes there are only three ways to increase learning and performance:• increase the knowledge and skill of teachers• change the content• alter the relationship of the student to the teacher and the

content (Henry, 2009)

SURVEY THE STAFF

Survey the staff• Beginning of the year and every semester • Get some input from the staff• What areas do you wish you could improve in?• What areas do you feel you excel in?• What areas do you wish the school could improve in?• What areas do you feel the school excels in?

• Find common trends in responses• Craft some professional development sessions around common

interests• Promote staff engagement in PD

• Identify strengths of staff• Find successes to share

CHANGING PERCEPTION

• Bring in guest speakers• 2-3 in the first semester• The highest staff attendance occurs when there are presenters from outside the district• Form a habit of attending professional development

• Introduce a sign-out sheet• First PD session• Requires a careful, non-threatening approach• Keep staff accountable• Purposely being absent undermines

the school’s efforts

• Start documenting staff attendance

Creating a

momentum shift

OPEN LINES OF COMMUNICATION

Open Lines of Communication• Addressing the issues / Surveying the staff• Feedback forms

• Following every PD session

• To be submitted after each PD session• Gain some insight from the staff• Was this information valuable?• “I Used to Think…and Now I Think…” (Elmore, 2010, p. 1)

• Find positives from PD sessions• Following every PD session

• Celebrate successes during PD• (good debate, important questions, valuable advice, etc.)• Communicated through an email recap

• Improve morale and perception

Timeline• Year 1

• Assess, address, and survey at the very beginning of the school year• Survey at the start of every semester• Introduce sign-out sheet at the end of the first PD session• 2-3 guest speakers within the first semester• Receive feedback throughout the year after every PD session• Communicate positives throughout the year

• Year 2• Activities dependent on results of year 1 changes (change is on-going)• Continue surveys, sign-out sheet, feedback forms, and continue to

maintain lines of communication

• Year 3• Activities dependent on results of year 2 and 3 changes (change is on-

going)• Continue surveys, sign-out sheet, feedback forms, and continue to

maintain lines of communication

Budget Items• Guest Speakers – potentially the only

expense• Cost dependent on speaker• Speaker dependent on staff preferences found

in the staff survey• Does not have to cost• Examples:• Panel of former students who are now in

college• Educators from nearby districts that have

found success

References• Henry, S. (2009). Usable knowledge: The (only) three ways to

improve performance in schools. Usable Knowledge: The (only) Three Ways to Improve Performance in Schools. Retrieved December 4, 2013, from http://www.uknow.gse.harvard.edu/leadership/leadership001a.html

• Elmore, R. F. (2010). "I Used to Think . . . and Now I Think . . ." Harvard Education Letter, 26(1), 1. Retrieved December 4, 2013, from http://hepg.org/hel/article/434

• Richard Elmore. (2013). In Solution Tree. Retrieved December 4, 2013, from http://www.solution-tree.com/authors/richard-elmore.html