Definition - Professional Development

This KnowledgeBase archive includes content and external links that were accurate and relevant as of September 30, 2019.

The term "high-quality professional development" means professional development that meets the criteria contained in the definition of professional development in Title IX, Section 9101(34) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 2001.

1. The term professional development includes activities that improve and increase teachers' knowledge of the academic subjects the teachers teach and enable teachers to become highly qualified
2. are an integral part of broad schoolwide and districtwide educational improvement plans
3. give teachers, principals and administrators the knowledge and skills to provide students with the opportunity to meet challenging state academic content standards and student academic achievement standards
4. improve classroom management skills:
   • are high quality, sustained, intensive and classroom-focused in order to have a positive and lasting impact on classroom instruction and the teacher's performance in the classroom
   • are not one-day or short-term workshops or conferences
5. support the recruiting, hiring and training of highly qualified teachers, including teachers who became highly qualified through state and local alternative routes to certification
6. advance teacher understanding of effective instructional strategies that are:
   • based on scientifically based research (except that this subclause shall not apply to activities carried out under part D of title II)
   • strategies for improving student academic achievement or substantially increasing the knowledge and teaching skills of teachers
7. are aligned with and directly related to:
   • state academic content standards, student academic achievement standards and assessments
   • the curricula and programs tied to the standards described in subclause (I) except that this subclause shall not apply to activities described in clauses (ii) and (iii) of section 2123(3)(B)
8. are developed with extensive participation of teachers, principals, parents and administrators of schools to be served under this Act
9. are designed to give teachers of limited English proficient children, and other teachers and instructional staff, the knowledge and skills to provide instruction and appropriate language and academic support services to those children, including the appropriate use of curricula and assessments
10. to the extent appropriate, provide training for teachers and principals in the use of technology, so technology and technology applications are effectively used in the classroom to improve teaching and learning in the curricula and core academic subjects in which the teachers teach
11. as a whole, are regularly evaluated for their impact on increased teacher effectiveness and improved student academic achievement, with the findings of the evaluations used to improve the quality of professional development
12. provide instruction in methods of teaching children with special needs
13. include instruction in the use of data and assessments to inform and instruct classroom practice
14. include instruction in ways that teachers, principals, pupil services personnel and school administrators may work more effectively with parents
15. may include activities that:
    • involve the forming of partnerships with institutions of higher education to establish school-based teacher training programs that provide prospective teachers and beginning teachers with an opportunity to work under the guidance of experienced teachers and college faculty
    • create programs to enable paraprofessionals (assisting teachers employed by a local educational agency receiving assistance under part A of title I) to obtain the education necessary for those paraprofessionals to become certified and licensed teachers
    • provide follow-up training to teachers who have participated in activities described in subparagraph (A) or another clause of this subparagraph that are designed to ensure that the knowledge and skills learned by the teachers are implemented in the classroom

Source:

Title IX, Section 9101(34) of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.

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