 |
|||
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
Commentary
by Stephanie Hirsh The National Staff Development Council's strategic goal of affecting federal and state policy about professional development is taking a giant leap with the launch of a new policy brief. The "NSDC Policy Points," made possible through support from the College Board, will be delivered four times in 2009 to members of Congress and their staffs. The quarterly policy brief is written to offer federal policymakers new views on how government can increase its support for and impact on effective teaching through teacher learning that directly affects student achievement. Each issue will examine a specific aspect of professional development and its relevance to policymaking. The first issue, published in January, focuses on the importance of professional development in a nation committed to high levels of student achievement, and illuminates what we can learn from higher-performing countries and select U.S. school systems. Few argue that when teachers learn, students learn. Continuous effective professional learning for all educators, especially teachers who work daily in classrooms with students, is the single greatest lever available to improve instruction in U.S. classrooms and student achievement on a broad scale. To meet federal requirements and public expectations for school and student performance, our nation needs to commit to strengthening teacher skills and knowledge to ensure that every teacher is able to teach increasingly diverse learners, knowledgeable about student learning, competent with complex core academic content and skillful at the craft of teaching. To accomplish this, schools must make sure that professional learning is planned and organized to engage all teachers regularly and to benefit all students. This requires high-quality, sustained professional learning throughout the school year, at every grade level and in every subject. Effective professional learning cannot happen without structured support from school systems, state departments and the federal government. In an effective professional learning system, school leaders learn from experts, mentors and their peers about how to become true instructional leaders. They work with staff to create the culture, structures and dispositions for continuous professional learning and create pressure and support to help teachers continuously improve by better understanding students' learning needs, making data-driven decisions regarding content and pedagogy, and assessing students' learning within a framework of high expectations. Teachers meet on a regular schedule in learning teams organized by grade-level or content-area assignments and share responsibility for their students' success. Learning teams follow a cycle of continuous improvement that begins with examining student data to determine the areas of greatest student needs, pinpointing areas where additional educator learning is necessary, identifying and creating learning experiences to address these adult needs, applying new strategies in the classroom, refining new learning in more powerful lessons and assessments, reflecting on impact on student learning and repeating the cycle with new goals as necessary. This system is supported by state and federal policies that encourage regular teacher collaboration and professional learning closely tied with school improvement priorities and that provide needed resources to give teachers time and opportunities to make this happen. "NSDC Policy Points" will be publicly accessible online at www.nsdc.org/policypoints/. While the policy brief is written specifically for federal legislators, NSDC invites its members and other interested parties to share the briefs with state-level policymakers and other key decision-makers within their own spheres of influence. Stephanie Hirsh is the executive director of NSDC, a nonprofit membership association representing more than 12,000 educators committed to effective professional development for every educator every day. NSDC recognizes the singular purpose of effective professional learning as ensuring great teaching for every student every day. NSDC believes that nations can deliver on this promise by creating policies that support school systems to ensure high-quality teaching every day so every student achieves at high levels. The NSDC Policy Points newsletter is made possible with support from the College Board. NSDC is solely responsible for its content and is not affiliated with the College Board.    
|
 |
|||
Copyright © 2009 collegeboard.com, Inc. |
|||