Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Professional Development topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Teaching and Learning Committee hears professional development results showing strong teacher approval, notes PLC–formative-assessment disconnect
Summary
District staff presented survey results from the Feb. 23 professional development day showing high teacher agreement that the PD supported collaboration and aligned to school goals, while some teachers reported a disconnect between formative assessment and PLC practice; staff plan follow-up at the March PD day.
Jake Nuzak presented the Germantown School District’s results from a Feb. 23 professional development (PD) day, saying the session emphasized formative assessment and teacher clarity and that short classroom observations informed the PD design. The committee heard that district staff used a walkthrough tool and real-time practice data from multiple buildings to shape the day’s activities.
Nuzak reported that 87% of teachers responded that the PD provided meaningful opportunities for collaboration, 96% said the PD was aligned to school goals (the packet earlier showed 97%), 83% said they can apply what they learned to improve professional learning community (PLC) practices, and 89% said the PD will lead to improved student learning outcomes. He noted the packet numbers changed slightly because the survey closed after the packet was prepared.
Nuzak described results from Next Path’s word heat map: about 7% of comments were categorized as negative while roughly 93% were neutral or positive. He said common teacher requests included more time to collaborate and clearer connections between formative assessment practices and PLC work. "We were using real-time data that we had gathered from our teachers prior to the PD day to impact the learning that teachers were doing on that day," Nuzak said.
A committee member commended the district for gathering and making the feedback public and for using it quickly to adjust practice: "This information is extremely valuable…we commend them for being open to gathering this feedback, making it public, but then also being nimble in the moment of what they need to do next," the committee member said. District staff told the committee they plan to emphasize the link between PLCs and formative assessment at the March PD to address teacher confusion about how the two fit together.
Committee members asked whether staff could mine comments associated specifically with "disagree" and "strongly disagree" responses and whether teacher grouping errors at Germantown High contributed to negative responses; Nuzak said he can isolate those comments to diagnose the causes. The committee did not take any formal action on the PD report; staff framed the findings as input to future PD planning and continuous improvement.
