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Not all content is created equal

Effective staff development uses content that has proven value in increasing student learning and development.

By Stephanie Hirsh
RESULTS - April 1998

When making staff development decisions, not all content is created equal. Decisions regarding what adults will learn and be able to do as a result of staff development merit considerable attention.

To justify the time, energy, and money invested, staff development should be research-based and/or proven in practice, relevant to the site, make sense to the user, and compatible with current or intended practices.

As with any effective planning process, up-front commitments to "doing things right" is critical to staff development. To show long-term results, most staff development decisions must be implemented over a three- to five-year period. Hence, the need to ensure the best decision at the start.

One of NSDC's key "process" standards for staff development focuses on selecting staff development content. This standard outlines a process for choosing content that addresses identified adult and student needs. It recommends:

    1. Analyzing available data on student needs;

    2. Clarifying gaps between desired goals and current status;

    3. Determining possible causes for the gaps;

    4. Specifying evidence that would indicate the problem is solved;

    5. Examining staff development content that would effectively address the causes; and

    6. Selecting content with the greatest potential for addressing the causes and closing the gaps.

Because so many people now recognize the crucial role of appropriate content in successful staff development, educators are asking these questions between Steps 5 and 6:

  • What research supports the staff development being considered?
  • In what kinds of districts and/or schools has the staff development been applied?
  • What results were achieved in districts and/or schools where the staff development was applied?
  • What resources (financial, human, time) are required to effectively implement it?
  • Does the district and/or school have these resources?

These five questions help screen staff development initiatives.

NSDC hopes to help educators when they arrive at this point through its Results-Based Staff Development for the Middle Grades Study. By 1999, NSDC plans to publish a Consumer's Guide to Staff Development. So when a staff development planning committee arrives at Step 5, they will have a place to search for multiple staff development options for addressing their needs.

The data collection process has been thorough. Joellen Killion, project director, has identified more than 700 staff development initiatives. But few have the student data to qualify them to appear in the Consumer's Guide. Killion's template for collecting and reporting information on the initiatives may be useful to others making staff development decisions. See this article on the NSDC web site for details on this.

Consider these steps the next time you start selecting content for your staff development:

  1. Ask the five questions listed above.
  2. Contact a few experts: consider a regional service center or U.S. Department of Education laboratory to help you select content appropriate to your needs.
  3. Consider a pilot project vs. whole-scale implementation if the research isn't solidly behind your recommendation but there is enough information to support a "test."

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