Designing and Evaluating Effective Professional Learning

 Professional learning leaders today are expected to show that what they do makes a difference. Stakeholders at all levels want to know if investments in professional learning truly result in improvement in the practices of educators and, ultimately, in the performance of students. This presentation explores factors that contribute to the effectiveness of professional learning and outlines the various levels professional learning evaluation. The appropriate application of these levels is described, along with procedures for establishing reliable indicators of success during professional learning planning. Participants will learn how to design and implement more effective professional learning activities, how to gather quantitative and qualitative evidence on effects, and how to present that evidence in meaningful ways.

Guskey, T. R., Roy, P., & Von Frank, V. (2014). Reaching the Highest Standard in Professional Learning: Data. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press & Learning Forward.

Guskey, T. R. (2000). Evaluating Professional Development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Guskey, T. R., & Huberman, M. (Eds.) (1995). Professional Development in Education: New Paradigms and Practices. New York: Teachers College Press.

Biography

Dr. Guskey is Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Kentucky, and well known for his work in professional learning and educational change. In 2009 he was awarded Learning Forward’s Contributions to the Field Award - the organization’s highest honor. He is the only person to have twice won the Learning Forward Book of the Year Award and three times the Article of the Year Award. Dr. Guskey served on the Policy Research Team of the National Commission on Teaching & America’s Future, on the Task Force to develop the National Standards for Professional Learning, and has been named a Fellow in the American Educational Research Association. He is the author/editor of 20 books and over 250 articles and papers, and has been featured on National Public Radio’s “Morning Edition” and “Talk of the Nation.” In his work with educators around the world, he helps bring clarity and resolution to some of education’s most challenging problems.

Selected publications are available here.