Professional Development Tools

Students have a better chance of achieving the state's rigorous standards when they are taught by skilled teachers who are supported by a system that prizes instructional excellence. Every student in Washington deserves that opportunity.

Research supports professional development that:

• Deepens teachers' knowledge of content and how to teach it to students
• Helps teachers understand how students learn specific content
• Provides opportunities for active, hands-on learning
• Enables teachers to acquire new knowledge, apply it to practice and reflect on the results with colleagues 
• Is part of a school reform effort that links curriculum, assessment and standards to professional learning
• Is collaborative and collegial
• Is intensive and sustained over time

Linda Darling-Hammond and Nikole Richardson
"Teacher Learning: What Matters?", Ed Leadership Feb 2009

CSTP supports the pursuit of teaching excellence by individuals such as those who seek certification by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and by colleagues working together to improve instruction using proven strategies such as Professional Learning Communities, Lesson Study, and Critical Friends Groups.