Introduction to Framework for Professional Practice

The Mayerson Academy Professional Development Framework 2008 was created to continue the work outlined in the Academy’s strategic plan. The Mayerson Academy works in partnership with its clients in identifying needs in the areas of teaching/learning, leadership, school culture, and district change and then recommends or provides and evaluates effective professional development to serve those needs.

Professional development frameworks are organizing structures that provide a comprehensive view of focused, coherent, and sustainable professional development available in specific content areas. Frameworks address the question of what teachers and leaders must know and be able to do to lead the teaching/learning process.

The Mayerson Academy Professional Development Framework: Leadership addresses the question of what a leader must know and be able to do to lead. The organization of the leadership framework follows the five standards for Ohio principals:

The Mayerson Academy provides four levels of differentiated professional development within each of these areas. For descriptors of the levels, please see “How to Use the Mayerson Academy Professional Development Framework” or the “Professional Development Opportunities” section pertaining to each standard.

Mayerson Academy provides professional development that translates into effective classroom instruction and increased student learning. The following principles guide the Academy’s work:

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Learning must be problem-defining and problem-solving, hands-on, constructive, and reflective (allowing teachers/leaders to think deeply about their beliefs and how those beliefs impact their practices).
Learning takes time and requires exposure across multiple contexts. Professionals go through stages of development as they incorporate new learning into their concept of teaching/leading.
Sustained collegial interaction is essential to assist teachers/leaders in making connections between the information learned during professional development experiences and classroom/school practices.
Professional development focuses on both content and process, enabling teachers/leaders to deepen their own knowledge of content while broadening their repertoire of successful strategies.
Professional development is designed for, extended to, or situated within the context of the teacher/leader’s classroom, school and the mandates of the district and state.
The assessment of professional development is based on the teacher/leaders’ implementation and the impact of that implementation on student achievement.

Decisions about what professional development the leader, the team, the school, or the district engages in should be based on quantitative and qualitative data. Sources of information used in making those decisions include:

The outcome of professional development is increased student achievement. The following are means to that end:

Increased knowledge of content: Leaders update/enrich their knowledge of the specific content areas they need in order to meet the standards.
Increased knowledge of instructional strategies: Leaders use effective instructional strategies which enable students to gain a deep understanding of the content.
Participation in professional learning teams: By working together in vertical/horizontal learning teams, leaders analyze outcomes of instruction by studying student work, conducting action research, reflecting on their own practice, and planning together for instructional improvement and increased student success.
Development of leadership capacity: Administrators and teachers develop a deep understanding of the change process and strengthen their ability to lead groups

Embedded in this Framework are the three components of professional development: direct teaching, coaching support in the classroom, and reflective team collaboration in the schools.

All of the delivery models for professional development will be directly connected to teaching/leading and learning.

Workshops/Action Labs: Single or multiple sessions of fewer than twenty hours built around specific skills, knowledge, or best practices. Use of school- or district-adopted materials or texts, and school- and district-adopted strategies may be delivered in this delivery model.
Book Studies: A study of professional literature with books provided to participants. A book study may have any number of sessions. Between sessions, participants should seek to apply new concepts in their classrooms, bringing their reflections/student products to the next session for discussion/analysis. Each session should involve the participants in sharing how the contents of the book or the discourse in the book study group has led to new knowledge, skills, or dispositions that can transfer to their classrooms.
Classes: Coursework of twenty or more hours provided by Mayerson Academy. In some cases, colleges or universities grant credit for coursework which may fulfill the credit requirements for credentialing, licensure, salary-line improvements, and/or count toward a degree. Coursework may be delivered face-to-face, online, or a combination of the two.
Institutes: Day-long or multi-day sessions on a particular topic or theme supported by multiple tracks to provide a variety of targeted learning opportunities. The goal is to provide interactive learning activities designed to afford deep knowledge. Such institutes should be connected to follow-up which may include face-to-face sessions, classroom coaching, online discussions or project showcases, in which participants share artifacts to demonstrate the implementation of their learning.
Seminars: A group of interested learners gathered to explore through dialogue a concept, issue, text, and/or presentation. Participants are given an opportunity, for example, to examine a common piece of text, art print, or piece of music. Open-ended questions are posed to allow participants to think critically, analyze multiple meanings and express ideas with clarity during the dialogue. This probing process encourages divergent thinking primarily to get more deeply into the source being scrutinized.

External coaching: Teams of teacher and principal coaches who provide on-going support, including in-classroom coaching, to follow up on the implementation of new learning. Teams are assigned to specific schools, in which they spend four days each week. On the fifth day, they participate in professional development and meet as teams to review their work and to plan for the coming week.
School-Based Master Teacher: The teacher who analyzes student data and creates and institutes an academic achievement plan for the school. The master teacher leads cluster groups, provides demonstration lessons, coaching, and team teaching to career teachers.

Collaborative Structures

Teams of teachers/leaders involved in ongoing, in-depth study of instructional issues. Collaborative learning teams may take many different forms.

The purpose of professional development is to help leaders grow in knowledge and skill so that students perform at higher levels. Leading either children or adults is knowledge work and thus a complex activity. Evaluating its impact requires a multi-dimensional approach.

Mayerson Academy gathers information, both formally and informally, from data sources and participant perspectives; analyzes that information; and then determines how to improve the professional development provided.

The Mayerson Academy examines five interrelated levels of evaluation, as adapted from the model designed by Dr. Thomas Guskey (2000):

Participants’ reactions – Questions addressed at this level may include the following: Was participants’ time well spent? What was the effectiveness of presenter’s skills and level of presenter’s content knowledge? What additional strategies could the presenter have used to impact participants’ level of understanding?
Participants’ learning – The following are some examples of questions at this level: What knowledge/skill(s)/ understanding did participants get from the session? What is their ability and level of motivation to begin implementing the knowledge/skills? How will they use this information in the classroom? What are next steps?
Organizational support and change – Questions addressed at this level may include the following: How did the training impact the school and/or district? How was implementation of the knowledge/skills supported and facilitated?
Participants’ use of new knowledge and skills – The key question at this level is whether the participants could effectively apply the new knowledge and skills.
Student learning outcomes – Positive impact on students is the ultimate goal of professional development. The following are some questions which could be addressed: To what degree did the professional development improve student performance or achievement? Has there been any impact on student confidence and/or physical or emotional well-being? Has student attendance improved? Has the number of dropouts decreased?

Guskey, T. R. (2000). Evaluating professional development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, Inc.