National Town Hall a great forum to advocate for professional learning
September 03 2009 by 
Stephanie Hirsh
On Tuesday, September 15, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will host a National Town Hall Meeting via Education News Parents Can Use, the DoE's monthly television and web broadcast series. The public is being asked to submit comments to the secretary via email or telephone as part of the broadcast.
In NSDC's recent comments to the Department of Education on Race to the Top funding criteria (read our comments here), we once again reiterated the importance of a singular and powerful definition of professional development. I want to encourage people who share our point of view to use the town hall meetin to speak out on the importance of effective professional development for all teachers. Teacher learning is essential to student learning, and the most powerful way to ensure all students benefit from great teaching every day is to implement NSDC's definition of professional learning.
?
You can submit comments in the following ways:
- Call in to the live broadcast at 1-888-493-9382 between 8-9 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday, Sept. 15.
- Email comments to Education.TV@ed.gov by 5 p.m. Eastern Wednesday, Sept. 9. In the subject line of your email, type September 15 Town Hall Meeting.
?
We ask that the federal government ensure that the reauthorization of ESEA includes a common definition of professional development that promotes collective responsibility for learning; ensures regularly scheduled time (the equivalent of 3-4 hours per week) for collaborative planning, learning, and problem solving; promotes team learning facilitated by well-prepared principals, teacher leaders, or instructional staff; and includes the implementation of a continuous cycle of improvement, with results measured by the impact on student learning.
If you are teacher, share why this approach is essential to ensure you are prepared and supported each day to meet the diverse needs of your students.
?
If you are a parent, explain why you want assurances that your teachers are given the support they need in order to ensure your students experience great teaching every day.
If you are a student, tell why you want to be sure your teachers are learning every day so they are up to date and able to bring their best to you each day.
??
Let us know through this blog about your intentions, your actions, and your outcomes. We'll give a free NSDC membership to anyone willing to step up and speak out on behalf of effective professional learning.
Stephanie Hirsh is NSDC's Executive Director.
Posted in Stephanie Hirsh | 
Sep 5, 2009 at 9:44 AM
I have been an educator since 1968, beginning my career as a teacher, then a consultant and finally as a teacher educator in higher education supervising beginning and experienced teachers in "the field". I have observed thousands of lessons over the course of my career. I have witnessed motivational speakers, workshops and hours of curriculum development for teachers. I have seen "band wagons," "cure-all packages" sold to teachers and administrators so that hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent but very little has changed in the way of student achievement even though "professional development"
was said to occur.
What I have seen that has made a difference is that of effective professional development accomplished in a thoughtful, deliberate and data-driven manner. This type of professional development is unfortunately a luxury for many of our nation's teachers and it needs to be the right of every educator.
The federal government needs to ensure this type of effective professional development in the "Race to the Top" fund and the reauthorization of ESEA. In order to accomplish this, the government needs to define effective professional development, so that all educators understand what that would look like when they were participating in it. The definition needs to include the:
* promotion of collective responsibility for student success (teachers can not do this in isolation)
* allocation of regularly scheduled time for teachers to engage in collaborative planning, learning, and problem solving
* inclusion of team learning facilitated by well-prepared principals, teacher leaders, or instructional staff; and
* requirement of a continuous cycle of improvement to evaluate and improve the impact of professional learning on student achievement
Until we get serious about effective professional development, the amount of money we "throw" at innovations will be wasted and the time teachers and administrators spend "doing" professional development will be for naught. Our country can not afford to waste any more money, time or resources on ineffective professional development.
Respectfully,
Lenore J. Cohen
Supervisor
Johns Hopkins University
Department of Teacher Preparation