S

teps to Developing a Personal Professional Development Plan

You wouldnt dream of walking into a classroom without any idea what you want to accomplish. Why
treat your own learning any differently? A plan with explicit goals provides structure for your learning.
Use the following steps and the planning template to develop your personal professional development plan.

Step 1: Find out if your district has a

planning format and/or requirements
that you should follow
Some states and districts have specific
professional development plan
requirements. Before you use the planning
template or guidelines below, find out
what your specific requirements are.
Step 2: Review the components of good
professional development
It addresses individual needs to
improve practice, but it balances those
needs with the needs of the students,
school, and district.
It focuses on improving student
learning as the overall goal of
professional development, and it
connects the educator's individual
goals to demonstrated student needs.
It reflects school, district, and/or state
educational initiatives.
It includes reflection as a part of the
individual's learning and growth.

Step 4: Use a template to develop your

plan

the outcomes and appropriate

adjustment?

You will find one possible template on

the reverse side of this guide. Others are
available online at the references cited
below. Before you use one of these
templates, find out if your school or
district requires something different.

Have you included methods of

assessment?

Step 5: Decide on the activities or

strategies you will include in your plan
to accomplish your goals
As you select activities, bear in mind that
your plan should not be built around
attending one-hour inservices with little
or no follow-up. According to research,
your professional development should
be: focused on student learning, jobembedded, continuous and on-going, and
include evaluation.
In addition, research indicates that
working with others will enhance your
learning and promote lasting improvement
and change in your school.

Have you identified evidence that you

will gather?
Step 7: Reflect early and often
Dont wait until youre finished with the
activities included in your plan to reflect
on how you are doing. Consider keeping
a log or journal, finding another teacher
to act as a reflective partner, or
participating in an online discussion
group.
Step 8: Create a portfolio of your
accomplishments
Whether a portfolio is required by your
school or not, you will personally benefit
from collecting evidence of the activities
that youve undertaken. Your portfolio
should be organized, clearly connected
to your plan, include your best materials,
and include a reflective piece that
articulates your learning.

It includes documentation of the

outcomes of the professional
development activities.

A few of the many activities or strategies

that you might consider:

It utilizes the Standards for Staff

Development as a guide for developing
and implementing personal learning
goals.

Examine student work

A reflective journal, log, or diary

Conduct action research

Samples of student work

Find a coach or be a coach

Data and data analysis

Do professional reading

Samples of lesson plans or other work

you have created

Step 3: Ask yourself these questions

to clarify your goals and begin planning

Get involved in lesson study

Keep a log or journal

What do I want all my students to

know or do as a result of my teaching?

Get involved with a professional

organization

How will I judge the quality of my

students' work?

Learn to use new technology

How does my practice impact student

achievement?
Based on data, what do I know about
my students' needs?
How do my schools' goals and
improvement plan impact my goals?
How can I improve or strengthen my
practice?
How can I work with others to
address my goals?
How will I know I have accomplished
my goals?
What will I do when my students don't
demonstrate mastery?
How can I embed the professional
development strategies I choose into
my classroom day?

Your portfolio could include the following:

Certificates of attendance
Published articles
Power Point presentations
Videotapes

Step 6: Evaluate your plan

Even if you do not have to submit your
plan to a committee or administrator, ask
yourself the following questions:
Do the goals and the plan reflect your
needs as well as your students', the
building's, and the district's?
Does your plan reflect new learning
and growth, not just time and effort?
Are your goals clear?
Have you used data to determine your
goals?
Does your plan reflect how student
achievement will be enhanced?
Do you include collaborative activities
in your plan?
Does your plan include reflection on

Photographs
This planning tool is based on By Your
Own Design, a web site and CD-ROM
developed by the Eisenhower National
Clearinghouse for Mathematics and
Science Education (ENC) and the
National Staff Development Council
(NSDC). You will find a wealth of
resources, additional planning tools, and
all the materials included on the CDROM at (www.enc.org/pdguide). To order
copies of the CD-ROM, visit the NSDC
bookstore at (www.nsdc.org).

Individual Professional Development Plan

Goal: __________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Objective: (use one sheet per objective)_____________________________________________________________________________________
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Relevance:___________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Steps/Strategies
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4. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Time Frame for each Step
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2. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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3. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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4. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Evaluation for each Step
1. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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2. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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3. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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4. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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Documentation for each Step
1. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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2. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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3. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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4. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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