Models

Providing professional development for the sake of meeting PD requirements is simply counterintuitive to the professional learning process. The needs and wants of teachers have changed. It is imperative to adjust our PD programs to accommodate these wants and needs.

Similar to students as learners, teachers as learners benefit from multiple opportunities to learn. Those opportunities are created when teachers are afforded the time, space, structures, and support to engage in JEPD.

In the Embedded PD Model, we rotate teachers through a three-day cycle of observation, one-on-one training and planning, and implementation. The days may be back-to-back or may occur every other day, but never more than two days in between.

The Teacher PD Revolution is a movement sweeping our country. It’s truly the collective unrest of teachers in the realm of professional learning opportunities. There is a lot of contradiction between what learning should look like for our students and what it currently looks like for us as adults.

When it comes right down to it, teaching in general, and working as part of a professional learning community (PLC) specifically, are very human endeavors. Our charge as educators and the interactions we have with each other in pursuit of that charge are very personal, indeed.

JEPGO comes together in schools through grade-level, subject-specific professional learning communities that enable teachers to plan, execute, and assess how a district or school curriculum is working for students over the course of a year.

Teacher leaders can play an important role in school improvement efforts, but require district support to effectively lead their peers. Partnering with outside organizations is one way that districts can deepen their capacity to support and sustain teacher leadership.