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Teachers Take Charge of Their Learning:
Transforming Professional Development for Student Success
The preparation of this report was supported by The George Gund Foundation, The Pew Charitable Trusts, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and The National Foundation for the Improvement of Education. NFIE wishes to acknowledge and thank the 2.2 million members of the National Education Association for their support of excellence in education.
Prepared by Judith Rényi
Executive Director
Dedicated to William H. Kolberg, member, NFIE Board of Directors, and president emeritus, National Alliance of Business, who urged that this report be written so that what NFIE has discovered about professional development will be made available to all who go to school to teach and to learn.
Washington, D.C. 1996
CONTENTS AND OVERVIEW
Preface
Weaving continuous learning for teachers into the fabric of the teaching job is the foundation for large-scale improvement of student achievement in all public schools. This work can and should be initiated by the teaching profession itself, in partnership with other education employees, communities, districts, and states in an effort to reshape public schooling in order to support contiguous learning for all districts, and states in an effort to reshape public schooling in order to support continuous learning for all the workers in every school--adults and children alike.
Abbreviations
Acknowledgments
I. TEACHERS' PRIMARY CONCERN: STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
American teachers overwhelmingly judge the value of their professional growth by its effect on their students. Teachers are clear about the purpose of continuous learning: First and last, it is student learning that drives their passion for professional development. Improving the quality of teaching now means a lifetime of study and a workplace that supports continuous learning as an integral part of the daily, weekly, and yearlong job. Working toward this goal individually and collectively must become a top priority. Teachers and their organizations are ready to work for this goal in partnership with school boards, parents, government, community groups, and others.
II. FINDING THE TIME TO BUILD PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT INTO THE LIFE OF SCHOOLS
Ask teachers what they need in order to do a better job, and the first response is always "more time." Teachers need time to prepare and equip themselves with the knowledge and skills necessary to maximize student learning. Professional development for teachers must become a seamless part of the daily and yearlong job. Teachers' learning must be accommodated by changes in how time is used throughout school year and beyond it.
III. HELPING TEACHERS TO ASSUME RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR OWN PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Teachers in the past have exercised little control over their professional lives. In today's effective schools, however, teachers make important decisions about their teaching and the life of the school as a whole. Teachers' responsibility have grown beyond the isolated classroom walls to embrace the success of all children and adults who work in the school. Teachers are assuming a greater role in their own professional development and that of their colleagues. Enhancing student learning entails constant improvement in teaching and expanded roles for all teachers, including peer assistance and review.
IV. FINDING COMMON GROUND: WORKING WITH THE COMMUNITY TO PROVIDE HIGH-QUALITY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Although teachers must be allowed greater responsibility, they should not carry the entire burden alone. To increase their ability to serve students, teachers need partners who can help them enhance their knowledge and skills. Parents are teachers' most important partners. Other partners include universities, libraries, museums, other community organizations with educational missions, and businesses. Teachers and these organizations should form, long-term, genuinely collaborative relationships. Such cooperation could fulfill the obligation of each of these educational, cultural, or private organizations to the public. Rich resources should be made available to support teachers' and students' learning, Each community should enhance or create long-term partnerships for teachers' professional development. In addition, the federal government should establish a national institute for teachers' professional development.
V. FINDING THE REVENUES TO SUPPORT HIGH-QUALITY PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
We do not have full information about how much states and districts currently spend on professional development. Various studies recommend increasing expenditures by specific amounts or percentages, but the job of teaching envisioned and recommended by this report suggests a long-range goal of institutionalizing such expenditures and requiring all education funds to be supportive of teaching and learning. New expenditures may also be necessary to build high-quality professional development into the foundation of the teaching job. These can be calculated if states and districts will undertake an assessment of their current professional development expenditures, agree with teachers' organizations on appropriate measures of professional development effectiveness, and gain public support for new appropriations as needed.
Appendix A: Sources of the Report
Appendix B: Other Organizations
Bibliography
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