Posted by:
Aaron Listhaus
K-12 Classroom teacher
Long Island, NY

Topic:
Stated Goals Must be Met

Message:

What works in the classroom works outside the classroom. How does a teacher assess whether his/her students have learned what he/she has taught? If we have clear articulated goals for staff development, it ought to be easy to assess its success. If you focus a school-wide discussion on Internet research, evidence of its success will be noticed in student work and teacher lesson plans. If the focus is attendance, the success of the program should be seen in daily attendance trends.

Questions to ask in evaluating your staff development program are:
-- Does the staff development have a clear focus that can be articulated in a single sentence?
-- Have you spent time helping the faculty understand the focus of the staff development and its importance to the school community?
-- What do you want your faculty to know, understand and/or do differently?
-- Is there a plan to assess the staff development initiative and to sustain the growth and development of the teachers?
-- How will successful strategies be shared and how will the community provide feedback to the staff developers?

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