What Makes Professional Development Effective?
Author: Guskey, T.R.
Publisher: Phi Delta Kappa
Publication Date: 2003, June
Journal: Phi Delta Kappan
Journal Volume: 84(10)
Available for purchase online at: http://www.pdkmembers.org/members_online/members/orders.asp?action=results&t=A&desc=PROFESSIONAL+DEVELOPMENT&text=&lname_1=GUSKEY&fname_1=&lname_2=&fn
Abstract (written by WestEd)
The author collected and analyzed 13 recent lists of characteristics of "effective" professional development and came to three conclusions. First, little agreement is apparent among researchers or practitioners on criteria for effectiveness. He urges going beyond evidence based on teacher self-reports to focus instead on the end goal of student achievement. Second, statements about effective development programs generally include "yes, but" qualifiers, frustrating policymakers and practitioners seeking simple answers. Yet, he agrees, the complexity of real-world context makes one-size-fits-all statements impossible. Finally, he says, while the promise of research-based decision making on professional development remains unfulfilled, it does not need to remain so. He urges identifying the strategies of effective teachers in each school and sharing them with colleagues as a basis for highly effective professional development in that context.
Note: The full-text article is available for purchase from the PDK Web site. Use the URL above to locate the article by title in the Archived Issues section of the PDK Publications Archives
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