Issue 5, November 2000

This issue of Sharpening the Focus looks more closely at the relationship between the revised National Administration Guideline 2 and professional development and answers some frequently asked questions.

... it is important that the work of teaching is constructed and supported in such a way that it makes the intellectual and emotional labor of the job feel exhilarating rather than draining and exhausting. Ensuring that curriculum planning formats are flexible and engaged; encouraging pedagogical breadth and growth rather than compliance with singular, dogmatic approaches; and having opportunity and encouragement to work in many different ways with colleagues provide key supports for this necessary intellectual and emotional labor.
Hargreaves, A., L. Earl, S. Moore, and S. Manning. Learning to Change: Teaching Beyond Subjects and Standards. San Francisco: Jossey Bass Publishers. Available November 2000.

Each Board of Trustees with the principal and teaching staff is required to:

Planning for professional development

Frequently asked questions

One example of a professional development sequence.

Each Board of Trustees with the principal and teaching staff is required to:

i develop a strategic plan which documents how they are giving effect to the National Education Guidelines through their policies, plans and programmes, including those for curriculum, assessment and staff professional development;
ii maintain an on-going programme of self-review in relation to the above policies, plans and programmes, including evaluation of information on student achievement;
The National Administration Guidelines (NAGs), Guideline 2

Planning for professional development

Guideline 2 i requires each school to consider its professional development programme in the context of its strategic plan. A shared commitment to ongoing professional development for teachers helps to create an environment in which teaching and learning can flourish. The objectives for the school's professional development programme will need to align closely with the school's desired outcomes for its students as well as with teachers' needs for career development.

Issue 4 of Sharpening the Focus summarised the scope of strategic planning and identified the place of professional development within this larger context, as follows:

In strategic planning, each school:

• revisits the vision and core values expressed in its charter;
  
  
• plans how to realise these aspirations;
  
  
• responds to any local or national priorities;
  
  
• identifies social, educational, and technological developments that are likely to have an impact on the school and gathers relevant information to guide it in responding to these changes;
  
  
• uses assessment information to plan programmes of teaching and learning;
  
  
• builds in professional development to support the programmes of teaching and learning.

Planning for professional development is informed by the New Zealand Curriculum, school and teacher self-review, principal and teacher appraisals, and analysis of quality assessment information. The school identifies professional development needs, draws up a timeline for meeting these, and evaluates and costs possible professional development options both within and outside the school. As well as particular local needs, the school will need to take account of national priorities, such as the implementation of curriculum statements or other government initiatives and the professional development being offered in support of these.

When schools document their professional development programme in the completed strategic plan, they will generally translate their professional development objectives into specific indicators and milestones in the operational or annual plan. These planning documents are then used to guide or monitor choices and resourcing considerations as the school implements its decisions.

Frequently asked questions

Why is professional development a significant requirement of a school's strategic plan?
Effective teaching is one of the most significant influences on positive learning outcomes for students. Professional development is essential if teachers are to update their subject and pedagogical knowledge, reflect on classroom activities, and add to their practical skills and classroom strategies. A professional development plan that reflects the goals and indicators in the school's strategic and annual or operational plans helps to map out a consistent, agreed pathway for school growth and individual career development. A school affirms its teachers' career aspirations and encourages their professional growth by involving them in planning for professional development. Shared planning also fosters a whole-school commitment to improved learning opportunities for all students.

What are the key general points to consider when planning professional development?
The current big-picture issues are:

• government initiatives, such as raising the achievement of Māori and Pacific students and lifting their levels of participation in education; the Literacy and Numeracy strategy; information and communication technology; assessment; and special education;
  
  
• implementation of the final curriculum documents for the Arts/Ngā Toi and Hauora;
  
  
• ongoing implementation in the other curriculum areas.

  The school's aims might include:
  

• meeting the broad learning needs that are identified in the school's assessment and monitoring of student learning;
  
  
• recognising the individual needs of each learner;
  
  
• ensuring that school programmes and systems are responsive to students' learning needs;
  
  
• helping parents understand why professional development is important and keeping them informed about the positive gains made in the school as a result of professional development.

How does the analysis of assessment information link to professional development?

Assessment information will only make a difference to student learning if teachers do something differently as a result. Schools analyse assessment and other relevant information about their students to help them decide which aspects of their teaching and learning programmes need attention or, possibly, a new approach. For example, if current assessment information shows that boys are not coping as well as girls in English as a subject in a particular year level, the school will look for professional development that will equip the teachers with relevant information, strategies, or fresh approaches to help meet these students' learning needs.

How can school leaders create a climate for effective professional development?

Leadership is not only about managing a school or team. It is about sharing a vision, active participation, and innovation. It is enabling and transformative. School and team leaders identify the actual and potential capacity of colleagues and work to move teachers forward and nurture their specific capabilities. School and team leaders need to take their own needs into consideration as well and find appropriate sources of help and mentoring to further develop their professional capacities. School leaders may need to challenge themselves with the genuinely difficult question of their own attitude to professional development and whether they are "walking the talk", that is, following through for their staff: their positive commitment is an essential element for school growth and development. Suggestions for school-based professional development and links to relevant materials will be published on Te Kete Ipurangi in early 2001 under the heading Making Changes.

How can schools create conditions for teachers to learn?
School leaders can use many strategies to achieve expectations that staff will continue to develop their knowledge and skills and use their new learning in the classroom.

these might include:

• giving priority in staff meetings to ideas about teaching and to finding other ways of dealing with, or disseminating information about, basic school "housekeeping" activities;
• setting up time for planning, discussing new ideas, and sharing classroom strategies;
• encouraging teachers to try new strategies in the classroom and report back on the results;
• building in opportunities for tutor-teacher support and modelling;
• setting up observation visits to other classes in the school or to other schools - School Support Services can suggest possible schools with relevant programmes.

How can school leaders encourage shared ownership of the school's professional development choices?
When teachers have participated in the planning process, they will be better placed to see the overall logic of the school's choices and actively support its priorities in the professional development programme. Any personal or attitudinal difficulties with aspects of the professional development process may need to be acknowledged and talked through in a supportive setting. Encouraging ongoing conversations about professional development, both formal and informal, will help teachers access and share new knowledge and move beyond surface learning. Capacity building, rather than adopting short-term tactical responses to change, becomes the school's shared goal.

How can schools evaluate their professional development programme?
When goals for professional development are documented in the strategic plan, clear indicators and milestones that describe what will happen when each goal is achieved should also be developed. When review processes take place in the school, including both school-wide reviews and personal appraisals, these indicators and milestones provide an explicit structure for monitoring progress. School-wide reviews will also highlight areas of need for ongoing professional development.

Some starter questions that a school might ask itself include:

Are our professional development priorities clear to all?

Are there clear links between our professional development programme, local and national priorities, and quality information about student learning?

Is our professional development programme well organised, including indicators and milestones?

Is change being managed in a coherent way?

Are the supporting resources appropriate?

Is there shared ownership of our programme?

How will we judge the effectiveness of our professional development programme in relation to our work and the learning of our students?
How can we show that professional development has made a difference?

Where can schools go for further help?

Curriculum Update 44 (item 10174) sets out the broad scope of professional development programmes being funded in 2001.

Your nearest School Support Services can assist with professional development options. To visit the college of education support services websites, go to:

· Auckland College of Education:
http://www.teamsolutions.ac.nz/

· Waikato University College of Education:
www.soe.waikato.ac.nz/sss/

· Massey University:
http://ced.massey.ac.nz/

· Wellington College of Education:
http://www.wce.ac.nz/inservice/schoolsupport/

· Christchurch College of Education:
http://www.cce.ac.nz/info/support/

· Dunedin College of Education:
http://www.dce.ac.nz/

Visit Te Kete Ipurangi for general support for the New Zealand Curriculum and the NAGs:
www.tki.org.nz/e/community

To follow up on performance appraisal, visit:
www.minedu.govt.nz/

Published 2000 for the Ministry of Education by Learning Media Limited, Box 3293, Wellington, New Zealand.
Website: www.learningmedia.co.nz

All rights reserved. Enquiries should be made to the publisher.

Issue 10
This issue of Sharpening the Focus outlines the support available to schools and teachers as they address the need for students to develop high levels of competence (knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values) in physical education and physical activity. It also includes the amended sections relating to physical activity in the National Education Goals (NEGs) and National Administration Guidelines (NAGs).

Issue 9
This issue of Sharpening the Focus outlines support that is available for schools in addressing the needs of their gifted and talented students.

Issue 8
This issue of Sharpening the Focus, is a newsletter for boards of trustees, principals, and teachers on school management and administration.

Issue 7
This issue of Sharpening the Focus looks at the intent and effect of the Education Standards Act 2001, which has introduced the requirement that every school's charter include planning for improvement of student outcomes.

Issue 6
This issue of Sharpening the Focus discusses the National Education Guidelines' requirement for boards of trustees to identify and provide for students who have special needs related to disabilities, learning difficulties, and behavioural problems. It also answers some frequently asked questions.

Issue 5
This issue of Sharpening the Focus looks more closely at the relationship between the revised National Administration Guideline 2 and professional development and answers some frequently asked questions.

Issue 4
This issue of Sharpening the Focus looks more closely at the requirements that the revised National Administration Guideline 2 places on schools as they undertake strategic planning.

Issue 3
This issue of Sharpening the Focus looks more closely at what schools will need to consider as they align their curriculum and assessment policies and practices to the revised National Administration Guidelines 1 and 2.

Issue 2
This issue includes information on Kia mahitahi - working together, Frequently Asked Questions, and Better Relationships for Better Learning.

Issue 1
This newsletter backgrounds the recent revision of the National Education Guidelines, outlines the help to be offered to schools as they adjust to the new requirements, and answers some frequently asked questions.