By Bill Osman on February 2010

January 31, 2010 might be circled in red on many NJ educators’ calendars; for that is the deadline given to school-based professional development teams for completion of their 2010-2011 individual school-based professional development plans.

This shift in thinking around the issue of collaborative teacher professional learning at the school level mirrors the “paradigm shift” that occurred early in my career. Twenty-some years ago, I was one of the first teachers in my district to take part in a “new program” called ITIP, Instructional Theory into Practice, being offered for pay, 3 days after school from 4:00-9:30 p.m. (with a supper break provided by our cafeteria staff) with an Academy trained staff developer.  This was revolutionary. I wasn’t going to listen to a speaker; I was going to participate in a diagnostic reflection on teaching, my craft. This would later be followed up with opportunities to be educated in learning styles, multiple intelligences, cooperative learning, brain based learning and even peer coaching. This investment in professional development was unprecedented. We now take it for granted. 

I share this because it is déjà vu all over again.  Another paradigm shift has occurred; shift 3.0. Teachers now are empowered to assess the learning needs of their students and collaborate at the school level to address them as a team. Current research concludes that when teachers work together on tasks such as designing curriculum, planning lessons, and assessing student learning, there is a significant and positive spillover effect, resulting in improved teaching and greater student learning overall, in all classes.  Wow!

Over the last few months I have guided PD teams from 24 schools in the process of identifying and planning for school-based professional learning. At first it seemed as if everyone was confused by this shift and couldn’t quite wrap their brain around what it was they were charged with doing. They gladly accepted hand outs, packets of materials, web links, and resource books on standards and tools for teaming, but they still felt uncertain about what had to be done. Once we came together to go through the planning template, section by section, and learn together to connect the dots between the reflection questions and the purpose (impacting student learning), the conversations deepened, ideas bubbled up, and a common language began to emerge. We weren’t just doing PD, we were shaping it and taking ownership. These conversations led to similar conversations among staff at individual schools, for some it was the first time such focused discussions occurred. 

I’ve been invited to sit with teams and talk about their goals, provide feedback on sections of their plans, validate their efforts, ideas and priorities, and help them clarify their thinking. I’ve been so impressed by the commitment I’ve seen by our teams. They are the force behind this shift in our district. It is indeed a time of significant change.

Bill Osman is the Supervisor of Professional Development, Mentoring and Character Education in the Hamilton Township School District (Mercer County). He is also a past present of NJSDC.