Title II, Part A, Improving Teacher Quality - Professional Development Requirements

High-Quality Professional Development Activities Using Title II, Part A Funds Must Meet The Following Criteria:

The following criteria can be used to identify high-quality professional development:

• Actively engages teachers over time
• Is directly linked to improved student learning so that all students may meet the Montana Standards at the proficient level
• Is directly linked to district and building school improvement plans
• Is developed with extensive participation of teachers, parents, principals, and other administrators
• Provides time and other resources for learning, practice, and follow-up
• Is supported by district and building leadership
• Provides teachers with the opportunity to give the district feedback on the effectiveness of participation in this professional development activity

Some types of activities that might be considered high-quality professional development if they meet the above requirements are:

• Study groups
• Grade-level collaboration and work
• Content-area collaboration and work
• Specialization-area collaboration and work
• Action research and sharing of findings
• Modeling
• Peer coaching
• Vertical teaming

Topics for high-quality professional development may include:

• Core content knowledge related to standards and classroom instruction (Core academic subjects are English, reading or language arts, mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, arts, history, and geography. [Title IX, Section. 9101 (11)]
• Instructional strategies related to content being taught in the classroom
• Improving classroom management skills
• A combination of content knowledge and content-specific teaching skills
• Research-based instructional strategies
• Strategies to assist teachers in providing instruction to students with limited English proficiency to improve their language and academic skills
• Instruction in methods of teaching students with special needs
• Instruction in the use of data to inform classroom practice
• Instruction in how to involve families and other stakeholders in improving the learning of all students
• Strategies for integrating technology into core content instruction

An activity must meet all seven of the first criteria and at least one in each of the other two sets of criteria to be considered high quality professional development. One-day workshops and short-term conferences or workshops are not considered high-quality professional development, unless they are part of an ongoing program or plan and may not be funded with federal funds. Finally, professional development activities should be regularly evaluated for impact on teacher effectiveness and improved student learning.

Sources:
Title IX, Part A, number(34)
Montana Accreditation Manual, Section 10.55.714