Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Professional Improvement Plan (PIP)/Professional Development Plan (PDP)

The Professional Development Plan (PDP) (originally called the Professional Improvement Plan/ PIP) is the document in which an educator, in collaboration with an administrator, outlines how he/she will participate in professional growth. The document should reflect how that growth will be ongoing and positive. The PDP offers an opportunity to self-asses one’s needs and interests and identify appropriate professional goals for the upcoming school year. The Professional Development Plan is also where the educator can document completed professional development hours.
An effective PDP should be designed to improve a teacher’s ability to improve student achievement. The plan should be comprehensive and focus on an educator’s continual learning. The PDP should be aligned with school goals, district goals, and the New Jersey Professional Development Standards. Included in the PDP should be opportunities for the teacher to engage in district-provided professional learning situations, school based team experiences, and individual learning opportunities outside the school environment. The PDP should be relevant and meaningful for the educator. It is a working document and can be revisited and revised as needed.
The standards included in the PDP are the New Jersey Professional Development Standards and they are closely aligned with the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards. There are twelve standards included in the New Jersey Professional Development Standards. Enhancing knowledge of subject content (#1), encouraging educators to develop a variety of classroom based assessment skills (#4), provides for integrating new learning into the curriculum and the classroom (#5) and empowers educators to work effectively with parent and community partners (#12) are a few of the standards included. Each standard is broken down further into more detailed descriptions. Educators are not required to include all of the standards in their PDP, but rather focus on those that are most appropriate and adequately reflect the school and district goals. The Professional Development standards support the idea that educators are life-long learners and professional development needs to be ongoing.
In addition to the NJ Professional Development Standards, the New Jersey State Board of Education adopted professional standards for teachers and school leaders in December 2003. These standards identify those qualities that professional educators should possess and that best support learning. They are also closely tied to the Core Curriculum Content Standards. Each standard reflects a specific aspect of effective practice and within each standard there are a series of indicators broken down into three sections including knowledge, disposition and performance statements.
The New Jersey Professional Teaching Standards Board (NJPTSB) was responsible for developing the standards for educators. They worked in conjunction with national groups including the Interstate New Teacher Assessment Support Consortium (INTASC) and the Council of Chief State School Officers. Additional input was gathered from New Jersey educators. The standards reflect the various skills and knowledge a teacher should possess as well as an emphasis on reading and math. In addition, they help districts meet the requirements of No Child Left Behind. The standards include:
· Subject matter knowledge
· Human growth and development
· Diverse Learners
· Instructional planning strategies
· Assessment
· Learning environment
· Special needs
· Communication
· Collaboration & partnerships
· Professional development

Recent revisions have been made to the special needs standard and an eleventh standard has been added. This standard is entitled professional responsibility.
The Professional Development Plan, which was originally called the Professional Improvement Plan, was renamed in January 2008. This was a change in name only. However, districts are currently in the process of revising Professional Development Plan forms to be ready for use in the 2010-2011 school year. There is a PDP template currently available through the State Department of Education, which is being used to guide districts in the development of their own PDP forms. At this time each district is free to develop their own as long as it is in compliance with N.J.A.C. 6A: 32. Also under revision is the procedure for selecting professional development offered within a district. The intent of the newly developed format and procedures is to ensure that student learning is directly related to professional learning for teachers and education services personnel, as described in a letter to school district administrators from Willa Spice, Deputy Commissioner of Division of Educational Standards and Programs (10/13/09).
The Professional Development Plan is at times a controversial subject within many districts. For example, some educator may view the PDP as a waste of time. Others might be concerned that it could be used as a negative evaluative tool. However, the purpose of the document is to attempt to build direct connections between what teachers learn and how students achieve success. Regardless of whether or not all are in agreement that the PDP is a helpful tool, it is difficult to argue with the idea on which it is based. The PDP encourages ongoing learning for the professional and how best to connect that to the student. Professional development enhances teaching, which in turn enhances student learning. Therefore, both teachers and students should benefit from the Professional Development Plan.

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