What's New - June 2007

Professional Development Opportunities (2007-2008)

Introduction
As in all professions, educators need to keep pace with advances in their field to ensure their students' learning experiences are rich and relevant1. Curricular revisions occur; in some cases the changes are significant. Researchers promote innovative teaching strategies based on current brain research. Technology continues to play a central role in education, enabling new approaches to teaching and learning as well as increasing the capacity to support student learning, teacher development, and administrative efficiencies.2 A wealth of teaching resources is made available each year by various publishers and distributors. New insights regarding learning organizations, leadership, and professional learning communities are continually being shared by experts.

A Guide to Comprehensive Professional Development Planning3 defines professional development as "the wide range of activities school jurisdiction staff engage in individually and collectively to improve their practice and enhance student learning." This Guide offers the following findings and tips for teachers as they engage in continuous professional development in its various forms. Findings:

1. The primary purpose of professional development is the improvement of student learning.
2. In a learning community, shared mission, vision, values, and goals are developed collaboratively, and are used to guide the professional development of all staff.
3. A collaborative team approach is proving to be increasingly effective in helping staffs achieve agreed-upon goals.
4. Effective professional development builds organizational capacity.
5. Professional development focuses equally on process and product, and both are shared widely as evidence of success.
6. A primary focus on teaching is replaced by a primary focus on learning.
7. Professional growth activities affirm the view that the teacher is a lifelong learner and a role-model-for-learning for students.
8. Effective professional development is job-embedded and purposefully focused. The professional development of all staff is connected to all other aspects of school operations.
9. To be effective, professional development must be sustainable and must foster continuous inquiry.
10. Requires substantial time and resources.

• Whenever possible, provide teachers with time during the school day for collaborating and time to practice new skills with feedback.
• Work to develop an atmosphere of trust in order to facilitate mentoring and collaboration.
• Form partners or peer coaching groups and study one new teaching model at a time.
• Professional development activities should be planned with a shared mission, vision, values, and goals.
• Look for mechanisms and processes that allow teachers to meet and discuss student learning and required supports across grade levels and schools.
• Use SMART goals (i.e., strategic and specific, measurable, attainable, results oriented, time-bound) to guide the professional development experience.
• Look for opportunities to organize formal and informal networks.
• Professional development should have clearly stated goals.
• Educators should be involved in continuous learning over the span of their careers, and the learning of both the individual and the organization must be considered.
• Teachers, administrators, and other school system employees need purposefully-structured time to work in study groups, conduct action research, participate in seminars, coach one another, plan lessons together, and meet for other purposes
• Educators should ask themselves three questions and use them to guide their conversations in schools:
  1. What do we expect students to learn?
  2. How will we know what they have learned?
  3. How will we respond when students don't learn?

These findings and tips are helpful whether you are planning your personal professional growth or working within a school or district professional development committee. Read on to find resources that highlight professional development opportunities within and beyond Alberta.

Opportunities Within Alberta

2Learn.ca, Telus Learning Connection (TLC)
http://www.2learn.ca/mapset/tlcpd/pdprogrammenu.html

The mission of the 2Learn.ca Education Society is to "initiate, advocate and share with educators technology-enriched teaching, learning and leadership options of tomorrow, empowered by unique alliances with educational and community partners." One such alliance is the TELUS Learning Connection which involves Alberta Education, the Alberta Teachers' Association, the College of Alberta School Superintendents, the Faculty of Education at the University of Alberta, and the TELUS Corporation. The TLC supports educators in effective technology infusion in the curriculum through a cascading in-service model and various online tools and resources. A provincial team of three teachers provides leadership, in-service and resources to over two hundred and fifty teacher-leaders. These teacher-leaders, representing Alberta school districts, receive release time to share their knowledge with their colleagues.

The TLC's professional development programs are focused on helping teachers achieve outcomes at foundational, exploratory and empowerment levels in three areas of competence: technology, discipline-based, and analytic and reflective competencies (see http://www.2learn.ca/mapset/tlcpd/content.html and http://www.2learn.ca/mapset/tlcpd/outcomes.html for more information). The formal and informal processes and practices used to achieve these program objectives are described at http://www.2learn.ca/mapset/tlcpd/process.html and range from personalized workshops and school visits to helping teachers explore the resources and tools on the 2Learn.ca web site.

To contact the teacher-leader in your area see http://www.2learn.ca/mapset/contacts/contacts.asp.

2Learn.ca, School Administrators' Technology Integration Resource (SATIR-RITAS)
http://www.2learn.ca/satirritas/

This site is designed to assist administrators in their roles as educational leaders, with a focus on technology integration. SATIR-RITAS offers an extensive collection of annotated links to research and articles on technology and teaching, leadership and development, bullying and harassment, staff development, assistive technologies, school improvement, and so on. As such, this site provides professional development resources for self-study.

Valued Integration of Technology Through Administrative Leadership or VITAL is a new online newsletter service offered by SATIR-RITAS. VITAL provides bi-monthly updates on these same topics. This newsletter is delivered to subscribers' e-mail addresses. Subscribe for free at http://www.2learn.ca/satirritas/vital/vital.html.

Alberta Assessment Consortium (AAC)
http://www.aac.ab.ca/

The AAC, formed in 1993, is a not-for-profit partnership of education organizations that "is dedicated to enhancing student learning through classroom assessments that both increase student confidence and enable them to effectively demonstrate what they know and can do." Membership for the 2006-2007 school year included fifty-nine Alberta school boards.

In addition to the literature and research available on their web site, the AAC holds an annual fall conference, a summer institute, and various assessment workshops throughout the year as described below.

• This year's summer institute will take place from July 30th to August 1st at the Village Creek Country Inn in Pidgeon Lake (see http://www.aac.ab.ca/summer_institute.html for more information).
• The 2007 fall conference is entitled, "Assessment: Keys to Unlock Learning" with keynotes by Jay McTighe and Carol Ann Tomlinson. It will be held at the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton from October 25-27. For more information about this conference and future conferences, see http://www.aac.ab.ca/summer_institute.html and http://www.aac.ab.ca/future_conf.html respectively.
• Workshops cover a range of assessment topics including assessment for learning, performance assessment, grade level of achievement reporting, assessment resources, and many more. For more information about these workshops see http://www.aac.ab.ca/assesswork.html.

Alberta Education
© 2007 Government of Alberta
https://www.education.gov.ab.ca/k_12

Alberta Regional Professional Development Consortia (ARPDC)
http://www.arpdc.ab.ca/

The ARPDC is dedicated to promoting student learning and achievement; school improvement; and parental engagement in the educational process through the provision of effective professional development services, at the local, regional and provincial levels. See the brochure at http://www.arpdc.ab.ca/pdf/brochure2005.pdf for more information about the Consortia's goals and stakeholders.

The ARPDC is comprised of seven regional consortia, each of which offers a range of professional development services and tools as described in more detail below.

Alberta Teachers' Association; Specialist Councils
http://www.teachers.ab.ca/Professional+Development/

The Alberta Teacher's Association twenty-one specialist councils were created to "foster the professional development of teachers interested in common curriculum or specialty areas. By organizing annual conferences, producing publications, maintaining web sites and offering regional workshops and seminars, councils provide members with opportunities to share ideas and gather new information.

Each council is operated by a team of volunteer teacher members who contribute their time, talents and enthusiasm to plan and implement programs and activities for the council. The Association plays a supporting role by contributing financial grants, providing publication services, hosting web sites, and offering administrative advice.

To learn more about specialist councils visit http://www.teachers.ab.ca/Professional+Development/Specialist+Councils/ About+Specialist+Councils.htm. For a complete listing of the web sites for each specialist council see http://www.teachers.ab.ca/Professional+Development/Specialist+Councils/ Council+Directory/. These web sites provide details about the various professional development opportunities (e.g., workshops and conferences) and resources provided by each council.

Galileo Educational Network (GEN)
http://www.galileo.org/

The GEN creates, promotes and disseminates innovative teaching and learning practices through research, professional learning, and fostering external collaborations. Galileo works with students, teachers and policy makers across Canada both onsite and online. The GEN develops and delivers pre-service teacher education and post-degree continuous learning opportunities for both graduate students and professional educators. A primary focus of the GEN is to support teachers to design inquiry-based projects in which students use digital technologies in creative and thoughtful ways. To learn more about GEN visit their web site or contact them at (403) 220-8942 or via e-mail at mailto:gladston@ucalgary.ca.

More and more, it is becoming possible to engage in remote professional development by accessing knowledgeable experts via videoconference or web casts without the need for expensive and time-consuming travel. For example, viewing and discussing the web casts of presentations by the keynote speakers' at Interactive Innovations (http://www4.insinc.com/interactiveinnovations2007/), a recently-held conference on professional growth in British Columbia, amongst a group of colleagues is an effective alternative to attending the conference.

Although professional development trends indicate a move away from large "mall-type" conferences, national and international organizations offer a range of professional development opportunities. A sampling of educational organizations and conferences are listed below.

• Canadian Council for Geographic Education; http://www.ccge.org/ccge/english/default.asp
• International Society for Technology in Education; http://www.iste.org/
• National Council of Teachers of Mathematics; http://www.nctm.org/
• National Educational Computing Conferences (NECC 2007 & 2008); Learning and Leading with Technology http://center.uoregon.edu/ISTE/NECC2007/; Convene-Connect-Transform http://center.uoregon.edu/ISTE/NECC2007/program/NECC2008.php

  The 2007 NECC conference, which is focused on technology's role in developing 21st-century learners, is being held June 24-27 at the Georgia World Congress Center in the heart of Downtown Atlanta. This conference boasts more than 700 presentations in a variety of program formats that

  • highlight promising practices for leadership and school transformation;
  • showcase the impact of 21st-century learning environments and virtual schools;
  • demonstrate the impact of technology on student achievement and school improvement; and
  • emphasize the ethics and equity issues involved in all these topics.

  The 2008 NECC conference will be held June 29-July 2 at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center on the San Antonio River Walk. Complete details for proposal submissions will be available online September 5, 2007. The conference program covers the breadth and depth of the educational technology field:

  • from developing and articulating a vision of the role of technology in school improvement to implementing the technology infrastructure;
  • from learning about technology to integrating technology into the curriculum; and
  • the ethics and equity issues involved in all of these topics.
• National Science Teachers' Association; http://www.nsta.org/