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The National Staff Development Council has developed the following standards to guide and inform educators as they plan staff development initiatives. The standards are organized into three categories: context, process, and content. Following the list of standards are some ideas on how to use these standards at your school site.
Context Standards - Context standards address the organization, system, or culture in which the new learnings will be implemented. Some contexts are more supportive to improvement than others.
Effective high school, middle level and elementary school staff development:
requires and fosters a norm of continuous improvement.
requires strong leadership in order to obtain continuing support and to motivate all staff, school board members, parents and the community to be advocates for continuous improvement.
is aligned with the school's and the district's strategic plan and is funded by a line item in the budget.
provides adequate time during the work day for staff members to learn and work together to accomplish the school's mission and goals.
is an innovation in itself that requires study of the change process.
Process Standards - Process refers to the "how" of staff development; it describes the means for the acquisition of new knowledge and skills. Some examples of process standards include: group development, follow-up and support, and evaluation.
Effective high school, middle level and elementary school staff development:
provides knowledge, skills, and attitudes regarding organization development and systems thinking.
is based on knowledge about human learning and development.
provides for the three phases of the change process: initiation, implementation, and institutionalization.
bases priorities on a careful analysis of disaggregated student data regarding goals for student learning.
uses content that has proven value in increasing student learning and development.
provides a framework for integrating innovations and relating those innovations to the mission of the organization.
requires an evaluation process that is ongoing, includes multiple sources of information, and focus on all levels of the organization.
uses a variety of staff development approaches to accomplish the goals o of improving instruction and student success.
provides the follow up necessary to ensure improvement.
requires staff members to learn and apply collaborative skills to conduct meetings, make shared decisions, solve problems and work collegiality.
requires knowledge and use of the stages of group development to build effective, productive, collegial teams.
Content Standards - Content refers to the actual skills and knowledge effective educators need to possess or acquire through staff development. Some examples of content include: research-based instructional strategies, adolescent development, high expectations, and curriculum.
Effective high school, middle level and elementary school staff development:
increases administrators' and teachers' understanding of how to provide school environments and instruction are responsive to the developmental needs of students.
facilitates the development and implementation of school and classroom-based management which maximize student learning.
addresses diversity by providing awareness and training related to the knowledge, skills, and behaviors needed to ensure that an equitable and quality education is provided to all students.
enables educators to provide challenging, developmentally-appropriate curricula that engage students in integrative ways of thinking and learning.
prepares teachers to use research-based teaching strategies appropriate to their instructional objectives and their students.
prepares educators to demonstrate high expectations for student learning.
facilitates staff collaboration with and support of families for improving student performance.
prepares teachers to use various types of performance assessment in their classrooms.
Effective high school and middle level staff development:
prepares educators to combine academic student learning goals with service to the community.
increases administrators' and teachers' ability to provide guidance and advisement to adolescents.
Effective middle level staff development:
increases staff knowledge and practice of interdisciplinary team organization and instruction.
How can we use the standards at our school?
While context, process, and content are all of interest to schools, it is likely that content and process will be of particular importance.
Use the standards as the content focus for study groups. Gather recommendations for improvement based on the recommendations of the groups.
Refer to the discussion questions to determine strategies for improving the current school improvement plan.
Require that recommendations for improvement made by local school councils refer to the standards.
Determine the priority standards for the school or department and create an action plan to implement the priorities.
Ask individual teams and departments to complete the self-assessment tool and use the results in the preparation of the school's improvement plan.
Prepare a set of key questions to ask whenever staff development is proposed in the school.
Present the standards at parent education meetings. Share a few standards per month with the PTA/PTO board.
Provide incentives for teachers to implement particular standards.
Use the standards in your state or regional accreditation process.
Share your successes in implementing the standards with other schools.
Use as resource material as part of a "win-win" approach to collective bargaining.
Source: Standards for Staff Development, National Staff Development Council, 1995.