Professional development is considered high quality when it meets the definition of professional development in 704 KAR 3:035 - Section 1(2) and all of the Kentucky Department of Education Professional Development Standards which are consistent with the federal criteria in Section 9101 of No Child Left Behind.  Schools and districts will determine if the professional development for teachers, administrators and other school staff meets the following definition and standards for high quality professional development.  The Department of Education recognizes that the extent to which professional development meets each standard may vary.

Definition

704 KAR 3:035 - Section 1(2) "Professional development" means those experiences which systematically, over a sustained period of time, enable educators to acquire and apply knowledge, understanding, skills, and abilities to achieve personal, professional and organizational goals and to facilitate the learning of students.  Section 4(2) Professional development activities shall be related to teachers' instructional assignments and administrators' professional responsibilities.  Activities shall support the local school's instructional improvement goals and objectives identified in the professional development plan.

Kentucky Department of Education 

Professional Development Standards

Standard 1:  Professional Development is aligned with:

• local school and district goals and priorities as reflected in the school or district comprehensive improvement plan or individual professional growth plans;

• Kentucky's Standards and Indicators for School Improvement; and

• Kentucky New or Experienced Teacher Standards or Interstate School Leaders Licensure consortium Standards, or other professional/job standards.

Standard 2:  Professional Development is a continuous process of learning through consciously constructed relevant job-embedded experiences so that professional development experiences and professional learning are integrated in the day-to-day work of teachers, administrators, and others to support improved practices, effectiveness and the application of skills, processes, and content.  (e.g., action research, study groups, online learning, collegial professional learning network, peer collaboration, peer coaching, mentoring, formal and informal peer observations, coaching, instructional demonstrations, collegial feedback, personal reflection, team planning, collaborative-problem solving, analysis of student work, self directed learning).

• PD is sustained, intensive, classroom-focused and in order to have a positive and lasting impact on classroom instruction, the teacher's performance in the classroom, and increased student performance; and

• PD is not one-day or short-term workshops or conferences unless they are a component of an intentionally designed comprehensive professional development plan based on teacher and student needs and are an integral part of the school or district comprehensive improvement plan or an individual's professional growth plan.

Standard 3:  Professional Development focuses on the knowledge and skills teachers, principals, administrators, and other school and district staff are to know and to do in support of student learning and students' well being.  Professional development is based on what students need to know and be able to do in order to meet Kentucky's challenging content standards and student performance standards.  Student content, performance and opportunity to learn standards are the core of professional development.

• National standards (e.g., content, leadership, teacher, safety, transportation, nutrition, health)
• Kentucky Learning Goals
• Academic Expectations
• Program of Studies
• Core Content for Assessment
• Performance Standards/Student Performance Level Descriptions (PLD)
• Kentucky Early Childhood Standards
• Occupational Skills Standards
• Technology Standards
• Character Education
• District/school aligned curriculum

Standard 4:  Professional Development actively engages teachers, principals, administrators, and others in learning experiences that advance their understanding and application of research based instructional practices and skills that reduce barriers to learning, close achievement gaps, and improve student performance (e.g., inquiry-based learning, investigation, work backwards, act out the problem, make a drawing or diagram, employ guess and check, make a model, jigsaw, self monitoring strategy, simulations, formulating a model, invention, questioning, wait time, restate in own words, break into smaller steps, goal setting, experimentation, debate, reciprocal teaching, writing process, story maps, structured note taking, think aloud, round robin, pairs check, inside-outside circle, manipulatives, data collection tools, time lines, picture clues, sequence chains, compare/contract matrix, concept mapping.  Venn diagrams, advanced organizers, checklists, community based instruction, bus safety, and safe physical management).

Standard 5:  Professional Development prepares teachers, administrators, school council members and others in the school community as instructional leaders and collaborative partners in improving student performance (e.g., instructional leadership, organizational direction, collaborative decision making, analysis and use of data, planning, community partnerships, and creating a learning culture).

Standard 6:  Professional Development is data and results driven focused on increasing teachers, administrators, and others' effectiveness in improving student performance and is continuously evaluated to improve the quality and impact of professional development on practice.

Standard 7:  Professional Development fosters an effective ongoing learning community that supports a culture and climate conducive to performance excellence.

Standard 8:  Professional Development is culturally responsive and facilitates removing barriers to learning in an effort to meet each student's needs (e.g., planning, time, release time, staff, technology, funding sources).

Standard 9:  Professional Development is planned collaboratively (e.g., teachers and principals) and organized to maximize the collaborative use of all available resources to support high student and staff performance (e.g., planning, time, release time, staff, technology, funding sources).

Standard 10:  Professional Development fosters a comprehensive, long-range change process that communicates clear purpose, direction, and strategies to support teaching and learning.

Standard 11:  Professional development is grounded in the critical attributes of adult pedagogy (e.g., connections to work, reflective practice, guided practice, feedback, multiple intelligences, learning styles, choice, time for processing and integrating and applying information, implementation in job setting, analysis and follow-up of results, brain research, peer interaction, peer review, peer observations, mentoring, personal and active inquiry, investigations, self-reflection, and collegial networks).

National Staff Development

Standards for Staff Development

CONTEXT STANDARDS

Staff development that improves the learning of all students:

• Organizes adults into learning communities whose goals are aligned with those of the school and district.  (Learning Communities)

• Requires skillful school and district leaders who guide continuous instructional improvement.  (Leadership)

• Requires resources to support adult learning and collaboration.  (Resources)

PROCESS STANDARDS

Staff development that improves the learning of all students:

• Uses disaggregated student data to determine adult learning priorities, monitor progress, and help sustain continuous improvement.  (Data-Driven)

• Uses Multiple sources of information to guide improvement and demonstrate its impact.  (Evaluation)

• Prepares educators to apply research to decision making.  (Research-Based)

• Uses learning strategies appropriate to the intended goal.  (Design)

• Applies knowledge about human learning and change.  (Learning)

• Provides educators with the knowledge and skills to collaborate.  (Collaboration)

CONTENT STANDARDS

Staff development that improves the learning of all students:

• Prepares educators to understand and appreciate all students, create safe, orderly and supportive learning environments, and hold high expectations for their academic achievement.  (Equity)

• Deepens educators' content knowledge, provides them with research-based instructional strategies to assist students in meeting rigorous academic standards, and prepares them to use various types of classroom assessments appropriately.  (Quality Teaching)

• Provides educators with knowledge and skills to involve families and other stakeholders appropriately.  (Family Involvement)