School Type: Public	School Setting: Rural
Level: Elementary	School Design: Traditional
Content Presented By:
National Awards Program for Model Professional Development

Summary

The practice: Professional development should involve teachers in the identification of what they need to learn and in the development of the learning experiences in which they will be involved.

• Teachers observed that students preferred spatial and kinesthetic activities to verbal ones.
• Administered a standardized test that proved teachers' observations of students' preference for spatial learning
• PD specifically aimed at utilizing students' learning preferences identified by teachers and assessment tests
• Teachers developed lesson plans that combined standard curriculum with cultural preferences of the 98% Native American student population

Ganado Intermediate School is one of four rural northeastern Arizona schools within the Navajo Nation. It has successfully implemented Foundations of Learning, a curriculum based on the Navajo way of life and values. The curriculum, which incorporates the language and culture of the Navajo Nation, has led to increased academic success and family involvement in the school.

Teachers at Ganado Intermediate are actively involved in identifying student learning needs and their own professional development needs. Rather than utilizing a structure of representative governance, teachers at Ganado decided to involve all staff including teachers, teaching assistants, teacher helpers, and others in making decisions that affect their school. In addition to whole school collaboration, grade level teams meet frequently to analyze student work, discuss individual student progress, make decisions about appropriate early interventions to ensure student ongoing success, and recommend professional development to support teacher development.

Through frequent collaboration with their colleagues, Ganado teachers identify what knowledge and skills they need to develop within their professional development programs. For example, because so many of Ganado's students were limited English proficient, teachers wanted to learn how to develop students' writing, reading, and speaking skills. They worked collaboratively with a local university to design ESL courses that would be offered at their school. Today many teachers have earned ESL endorsements. Because teachers frequently have opportunities to identify their needs and the school and district have supported those needs, Ganado teacher have become voracious learners.

This site also exemplifies the following practice(s):

• Professional development should be continuous and on-going, involving follow-up and support for further learning, including support from sources external to the school that can provide necessary resources and new perspectives.  
• Professional development should be connected to a comprehensive change process focused on improving student learning.  

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