Staff Development: Spray and Pray or Continuous Improvement

Recently I was introduced to the “Spray and Pray” method of professional development. Corrina’s article (below) from Teacher Magazine describes an alternative method that includes action research. Her use of the phrase, “cycle of improvement” leads me believe that she understands that professional development is continuous and not just an event.

One Size Doesn’t Fit All
By Corrina Knight

Have you ever tried on a “one size fits all” garment and thought to yourself, “Who does this fit? “ Have you ever noticed the same problem with staff-development strategy? How would professional development look if it were custom-tailored?

In my school, teachers work on learning teams within subject areas to set their own professional direction. We tailor our learning experiences to students’ needs and our professional interests. This has heightened our interest and commitment to growth.

When selecting an area of study, my team bases its decisions on ensuring student success. First, we identify the obstacles that keep us from meeting that goal. Those obstacles then become our list of professional development topics. From there, we narrow by consensus, interest, need, data, and experience.

Once we have a focus, we devise a cycle of improvement that includes:
1. Research and reading: What are others in our field doing?
2. Brainstorming: What can we do with our new knowledge?
3. Conducting a trial: How well does this work in our classrooms?
4. Evaluating: Have we been successful?
5. Tweaking: What would make this better?
6. Assimilating: How do we make this part of our routine?
7. Sharing findings: Whom can we tell about this?

For schools to break out of the “one size fits all” professional development model, teachers need three essentials: flexibility, freedom, and trust. Our team is given the flexibility to work productively, unencumbered by rigid external guidelines. Most importantly, we’re trusted to make the best instructional decisions for our kids.

Source: Randall Deich, NESS Program Facilitator