| What is PDLA? |
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| PDLA Participants |
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PDLA Overview
Quality professional development by design
Now in its seventh year, PDLA produces change agents who lead their schools, districts, counties, and adult education programs on the journey to quality professional development that results in better student learning. Graduates of the three-year PDLA program understand what it takes to effect positive change for educators and students. They gain the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to transform a hodgepodge of fragmented, unrelated acts of staff development and professional growth into a coherent system of professional learning.
PDLA Purpose and Goals
The aim of PDLA is to:
- develop the leadership capacity of teams to design, garner requisite resources, implement and evaluate coherent systems of results-driven professional development that are aligned with school and district goals
- demonstrate the power of a collaborative culture to foster deep learning for adults and their students
- expand the number of Arizona educators who value the professional learning experiences provided by their schools and districts
PDLA Goals
- Build leadership and organizational capacity
- Deepen collaboration
- Upgrade the quality of PD that teachers experience
- Improve instructional practice
- Improve student learning
- Build, scale up, and sustain improved PD
PDLA Foundations
PDLA Description
In this 3-year curriculum, small teams of educators from the same school or district learn together how to design, implement and evaluate a high quality, effective professional development (PD) plan focused on improving schools and raising student achievement. Each year of the training series consists of four, 2-day sessions and a 3-day Summit in June which serves as a culminating event for the year's work.
- Year 1 focuses on PD program design basics using the NSDC staff development standards, and PD models with an emphasis on data-based decision making and planning a pilot project.
- Year 2 focuses on implementation of the pilot projects, establishing systems of accountability and evaluation, and planning the expansion of the pilots.
- In Year 3 the teams continue to advance their learning about systemic change, focus on leading continuous improvement efforts, and evaluate implications of their plan
Who should be involved?
PDLA participation is team-based. Teams must be empowered to make decisions and act on them within the confines of local governing board policymaking.
Team members should focus on PDLA as their major professional development experience during this three-year learning-applying cycle. The integrity of PDLA requires on-time attendance and active participation in all scheduled sessions by every team member.
Membership on the team should be consistent from year to year. Teams must consist of at least five members and a maximum of eight. To account for potential team membership attrition, team leaders should consider appointing an initial team of 7-8 participants who understand the commitment they're being asked to make.
School teams should include:
- The principal if he/she has veto power over team decisions
- 1-2 district-level administrators who have decision-making authority or influence over professional development
- Teachers and paraprofessionals who are respected by and influential with their peers and who reflect the structure of the school (e.g., regular, special area, special education in elementary; departments, special education in middle school and high school)
District/LEA teams should include:
- District-level administrators who have decision-making authority over professional development
- School-based instructional coaches
and/or
- A principal and teacher leadership team from one school
County teams should include:
- Professional development director and specialists
- A principal and teacher leadership team from one school
or
- ESA advisory committee members
What to expect year by year
Year 1 (4 Friday-Saturday learning - action sessions, between-session application of learning, 4 team leader networking/training sessions, & 4-day June convening of all teams)
- Product: Professional Development Profile and action plan (Think of the Profile as a Multi-faceted Reflective Image [MRI] of your organization's Professional Development health.)
- Activities & Responsibilities:
- Gather, analyze, and act on data from multiple sources related to professional development's impact on teaching practice, student learning, public confidence
- Engage colleagues and stakeholders in the professional development well-being "check-up"
- Learn how to function as leaders of collaborative professional development planning
- Promote a collaborative, professional learning environment for the team and the organization
- Establish a SMART goal for one significant improvement in professional learning for the next year that is supported by stakeholders and based on the Profile
- Complete the planning cycle by creating an action plan to implement the improvement during the following year
Year 2 (4 Friday-Saturday learning - action sessions, between-session application of learning, 4 team leader networking/training sessions, & 4-day June convening of all teams)
- Product: Professional Development Portfolio that includes a comprehensive plan and concrete action steps for making significant, data-driven improvements to professional development that are supported with the requisite resources, designed to achieve targeted student learning goals, and based on evaluating this year's single improvement effort
- Activities & Responsibilities:
- Continue to promote a collaborative, professional learning environment for the team and the organization
- Document improvement activities and monitor progress
- Modify plan to achieve SMART goal based on progress monitoring
- Analyze and plan how to mitigate forces that undermine focused, coherent professional learning
- Develop and test theories of change and their underlying assumptions
- Create and use Innovation Configurations to clarify what specific improvements look like when implemented at different levels of fidelity
- Compare findings from annual data gathering with previous year's analyses
- Establish up to three SMART goals for professional learning based on school improvement goals
- Complete the planning cycle a second time by creating a comprehensive professional development plan with concrete action steps for implementing all of its aspects
Year 3 (4 Friday-Saturday learning - action sessions, between-session application of learning, 4 team leader networking/training sessions, & 4-day June convening of all teams)
- Product: Professional Development Performance Assessment that includes an evaluation of professional learning improvement plans being implemented and a revised plan for the following year
- Activities & Responsibilities:
- Continue to promote a collaborative, professional learning environment for the team and the organization
- Document improvement activities and monitor progress
- Modify plans to achieve SMART goals based on progress monitoring
- Conduct evaluations of organizational support for the professional development changes and of teacher use of targeted practices
- Learn to use additional processes to sustain professional development improvements
- Complete the planning cycle a third time by revising a comprehensive professional development plan and concrete action plans for implementing all of its aspects
- Provide evidence of support for changes being made in professional development
- Plan how the effect of professional development on student learning will be evaluated
Click here to download the PDLA Schedule
PDLA Learning-Action Series 2007-2008
Investment Costs
$1100 per person for all four learning-action sessions and the Summit plus $400 per Team Leader (This is an annual fee, not per session). $800.00 per person for all four learning-action sessions plus $300.00 per person for June Summit plus $400.00 per Team Leader*
*Team Leader fees will be waived if the Registration Form is accompanied by a letter from the highest-ranking administrator in your agency affirming that the employer will provide the equivalent of four half-days to the entire PDLA team for on-site work sessions.
Fees include continental breakfast, refreshment breaks, lunch, and materials.
Sources of Funds
Federal funds allocated to LEAs and schools for Title I, Title I School Improvement, and Title II, as well as M & O funds, may be used to pay for your team's participation in PDLA.
Payment
Registrations must be accompanied by full annual payment for all participants in the form of a check or purchase order. If you wish to have leader fees ($400) waived, the form must be accompanied by a letter per the instructions above.
Make checks payable to: Arizona Department of Education/PDLA.
Send to:
Candace Burch
Arizona Department of Education
1535 W. Jefferson, Bin 45
Phoenix, AZ 85007 |
Phone: 602-364-2192
FAX: 602-542-1141 |
Refunds
All requests for refunds must be made in writing and received one week prior to the start of the series. No refunds after sessions begin.
Special Needs/Dietary Accommodations
Please advise us on the registration form if any of your team members need any special accommodations or call Candace Burch at 602-364-2192.
Download the Team Registration Form
Submit by August 27, 2007
Staff
| Co Directors: |
Donna Campbell
donna.campbell@azed.gov
602-364-1391
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Miriam Podrazik
mpodraz@ade.az.gov
602-364-4005
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Candy Burch
candy.burch@azed.gov
602-364-2192
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Laura Dudzik
laura.dudzik@azed.gov
603-364-1851
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Karen Olson
karen.olson@azed.gov
602-542-4150
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Faculty
Kathy Tucker is the founder of Insights for Learning, an educational consultancy dedicated to leadership of school improvement efforts to increase student learning through strategically designed and applied curriculum, instruction, assessment, research, evaluation and professional development. In collaboration with the Arizona Department of Education, she serves as a leader and program developer of the highly successful Professional Development Leadership Academy. She authored the Arizona Professional Development Planning Guide, and is co-designer with Judy Robertson of the Capacity Building Coaching education improvement team support system. She consults with schools, districts and programs throughout Arizona, focusing on building capacity for improving student achievement with a special interest in the needs of rural and Native American schools and districts. She has served in various positions as a grades K-12 teacher, gifted education specialist, curriculum director, professional development director and administrator.
Patricia Roy is an independent educational consultant working out of Arizona. From 1998-2002, she served as the Founding Director of the Delaware Professional Development Center in Dover, DE. The Delaware PDC focused on school improvement for student achievement and effective professional development. Pat has also served as the Director of the Center for School Change at Delaware State University in connection with an SSI grant from the National Science Foundation. She has also been a cooperative learning trainer, a district coordinator of staff development in Arizona, and an administrator in a regional educational consortium in Minneapolis. She has been a member of the Board of Trustees of the National Staff Development Council and also served as Board President in 1993. Most recently, she worked with Shirley Hord to develop Innovation Configuration maps for the NSDC Standards for Staff Development. Pat works with all three levels of PDLA teams addressing professional development standards, change process, and evaluation.
Contact Information
Arizona Department of Education
1535 West Jefferson Street, Bin 45
Phoenix, Arizona 85007
Candace Burch
candy.burch@azed.gov
TEL: 602.364.2192
FAX: 602.542.1141
