Leading Professional Development

Based on your learning in this specialization program and this course, respond to the following scenario: The superintendent of your school district is threatening to cut the entire professional development (PD) budget because there is no evidence of improved student learning related to professional development in the district in the last two years. You and your principal have had many discussions about your professional development coursework, and the principal is impressed with how much you know about developing processes that can demonstrate true impact of PD on student achievement. Based on your knowledge, passion, and vision for effective professional development, the principal asks you to develop an overview and action plan proposal to send to the superintendent as a persuasive argument to save the professional development budget. Your presentation must include the following: A convincing argument for the importance of professional development in 250 words or less. Include the most important qualities of effective professional development that gets results in terms of student learning, as well as a brief explanation for why certain types of professional development are ineffective and do not get results. Provide a big picture action plan (in narrative form) that outlines the major activities/resources that will lead to effective professional learning. Include the most critical elements of the design, evaluation, and implementation phases (approximately one paragraph for each phase). Explain the importance of the content, process, and context framework in professional development efforts. Share your ideas about some of the most challenging issues related to context at your school. Provide suggestions for how to address the context issues you identify.