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Professional Development Schools Overview & Partners Context The Ralph C. Wilson Jr. School of Education (SoE) at St. John Fisher College is establishing Professional Development Schools (PDS) in partnership with P-12 schools to improve professional practice and enhance student learning. What Are Professional Development Schools? Professional development schools are innovative institutions formed through partnerships between professional education programs and P-12 schools. PDSs are real schools, often in challenging settings, which have been redesigned and restructured to support their complex missions. PDSs support professional and student learning through the use of an inquiry-oriented approach to teaching. What is their mission? The mission of PDSs is to prepare new teachers and other educators, support professional development, support inquiry directed at the improvement of professional practice, and improve student learning. Characteristics of PD Schools PDSs have distinct characteristics. They are:
Partnership Goals Professional development partners work together over time, building relationships and commitment to their shared goals.
Why Are Professional Development Schools Important? Students today are expected to know more, have better skills, and show deeper understanding of content; they are expected to be able to demonstrate what they know and are able to do. Major approaches to meeting this challenge have been though standards-based reform and school restructuring at the P-12 level, along with attention to teacher quality through numerous reforms in professional preparation. PDSs are important because they bring together these two streams of reform. They support the necessary alignment and they go beyond it. Educators in both schools and universities point to the gap between research and practice, and to the poor articulation between professional preparation and the real world of school reform. P-12 and university educators seek to develop the linkages that allow universities and schools to benefit from the relationship that is created between them. Students, candidates, and faculty benefit as a result of:
Standards for PDSs Standards for PDSs were developed for several reasons. They include:
How are the Standards Structured? There are five standards that address the characteristics of PDSs:
PDS partners implement these characteristics in unique ways. The PDS standards are strongly connected and in many instances they overlap. Consequently, they should be viewed together as a whole. Each standard consists of several elements. Each element is mentioned in the standard and then explained in narrative form. (See Section 1 Standards for Professional Development Schools, Standards and Elements) Key Concepts Embedded in the Standards Ten key concepts are reflected in the content and structure of the standards. They include: 1. Time Before the Beginning PDS partnerships must be developed on a foundation of shared interest, mutual commitment and trust. Partners either need to have this pre-existing relationship or spend time in their initial stages building it before they can enter into the very difficult and high stakes works of a PDS partnership. 2. Integration of Professional and Student Learning Through Inquiry Through field-testing NCATR learned how inquiry is the process through which professional and student learning are integrated. PDS partners and candidates engage in inquiry to:
3. Placing Students at the Center of PDS Work PDS partners and candidates focus on identifying and meeting students’ diverse learning needs by drawing on academic and practitioner knowledge. The P-12 students provide the focus for candidates learning and faculty development in a PDS. The curriculum for candidates or for professional development is generated from the needs of students in the PDS. 4. Learning in the Context of Practice PDSs embrace the concept that certain kinds of learning occur best in the context of real world practice. Professional development schools are grounded in this concept and designed to support this kind of learning. 5. Boundary Spanning University and school partners share responsibility for candidate preparation, faculty development, and student learning. Partners take active roles as teachers and learning in each other’s partnering institutions; cohorts of candidates assume appropriate responsibilities in schools. 6. Blending of Resources Partners must use their resources differently in order to achieve their goals – blending, reallocating, restructuring, and integrating their funds, time, personnel and knowledge. 7. Principal Partners and Institutional Partners PDS partnerships exist on more than one level. There are principal partners (higher education and P-12 faculty) in a PDS who agree to work together, but institutional partners (school district, teachers union or professional association and university) support their work. 8. The Expanded Learning Community The learning community of the PDS partnership extends beyond the principal and institutional partners and includes other educators, parents, and the community. 9. The PDS as a Standards-Bearing Institution PDSs have a unique role in the preparation and development of professional and in school reform. They are dedicated to the support of good teaching and learning and are committed to implementing standards for professionals, curriculum content standards, student learning standards and institutional standards for schools and universities. 10. Leveraging Change PDS partnerships can lead to changes in policies and practices within the partnering institutions. They can generate new knowledge that is relevant to both the university and schools. They can have an impact on local, state and national policy. Developmental Guidelines The standards may be used by PDS partnerships at varying stages of development. Four stages of development are identified. The standards apply to all stages of development; what varies is the degree of commitment, level of expertise, the degree of institutionalization and support, and their impact the PDS partnership has outside its partnering institutions. The criteria are as follows: Beginning Level – Beliefs, verbal commitments, plans, organization and initial work are consistent with the mission of PDS partnerships. Even at the earliest stage of development PDS partners are committed to the key concepts of PDSs and their earliest work addresses how to take initial steps in that direction. Developing Level – Partners are pursuing the mission of the PDS partnership and there is partial institutional support. At the developing stage, partners are engaged in PDS work in many ways. However, their supporting institutions have not yet made changes in their policies and practices that would provide evidence of institutionalization. At Standard – The mission of the PDS partnership is integrated into the partnering institutions. PDS work is expected and supported, and it reflects what is known about best practices. At this stage partners work together effectively resulting in positive outcomes for all learners. Partnering institutions have made changes in policies and practices that reflect what has been learned through PDS work, and that support PDS participants in meaningful ways. Leading Level – Advanced PDS work is sustaining and generative, leading to systematic changes in policy and practice in partner institutions, as well as influencing policy at the district, state and national levels. At this stage of development, the PDS partnership has reached its potential for leveraging change outside its boundaries and its supporting institutions, and has an impact in the broader educational community. Advantages for Partner Schools
School Partners
PDS Principals
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