Common Core State Standards & the Transformation of Professional Development: What Does High-Quality, Common Core-Aligned Professional Development Look Like?
Education First has prepared a series of briefs called Common Core State Standards & the Transformation of Professional Development to help policymakers and educators understand the professional development teachers need that meets a high bar for quality and impact called for by the new standards. The goals of the series are to clearly define the specific supports and learning opportunities educators need, to illustrate how to deliver professional development opportunities at scale and at depth, and to translate conclusions of policy changes that state and local leaders should consider. The series begins with an Executive Summary. This brief (Brief #2) describes three examples of high-quality professional development that are being implemented across the country. The purpose in sharing these vignettes is to help generate useful ideas for other districts and states that are thinking about ways to implement effective professional development with teachers.
Brief no. 2 features three diverse examples of how districts in different parts of the country have developed and implemented professional development for the Common Core State Standards. The vignettes show examples of professional development practices from three successful delivery approaches: (1) a central, statewide train-the-trainer model provided by a vendor; (2) a multi-district consortium that allows for networking of resources, knowledge, and professional development strategies; and (3) a grassroots approach in a single district with limited funds. Each vignette is readable and short (no more than two-and-a-half pages for each) and provides a concrete example after Brief no. 1 of this series, in which the research base of effective professional development was described.