Customized professional development and support are critical to educators' success in improving their practice and increasing student achievement. But what approaches to customizing professional development appear to be most effective? CTAC is exploring this question in partnership with school districts in multiple states through federal Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) initiatives.

Promising approaches to providing tailored professional development are emerging among CTAC's partner districts. One highly successful strategy is underway in Prince William County Schools (PWCS) in Virginia. Launched in 2010, PWCS's Teacher Incentive Performance Award program, or TIPA, focuses on 30 high-need schools involving 1,800 educators. TIPA uses a school-wide bonus approach--i.e., it annually identifies TIPA schools that demonstrate the greatest impact on student outcomes and awards bonuses to teachers in those schools.

The initiative employs three Professional Development Coordinators who provide job-embedded, professional development and support customized to the needs each school staff has identified. Routinely on site, the Professional Development Coordinators get to know the schools and their teachers. They provide standards-based professional development and follow up, working with individuals and groups, including grade-level/content teams and using a "Plan, Do, Study, Act" approach. For example, a Professional Development Coordinator may provide a grade-level group of teachers with a workshop, modeling a specific instructional strategy for teaching English learners. On subsequent days, she will observe teachers as they try the new strategy in their classrooms and offer real-time feedback and coaching.

This approach has won praise from TIPA educators for its immediacy and concrete usefulness. In CTAC evaluation interviews, teachers and principals note the contrast between the TIPA approach and traditional professional development that is too general or non-urgent. As one principal notes, the fine-grained, at-the-ready support is "exactly the kind of thing we all need." TIPA's "strength-based" professional development model of coaching, feedback, and reflection, says Deputy Superintendent Rae Darlington, has prompted "a shift from 'what did I do wrong' to 'how are my students learning.'"  

Having earned respect and trust, the coordinators are increasingly having systemic influence. They participate in each school's improvement planning process, providing data and valued insights about the school's professional learning needs and how, specifically, to address them. Equally important, says TIPA Project Director Natalie Bonshire, they function as a bridge between the sites and central office, "helping us better refine how we provide effective professional development district-wide."

If you would like to discuss a customized professional development approach in your district, or to learn more about the TIPA initiative, please contact us at (617) 423-1444 or [email protected].