teps to Developing a Personal Professional Development PlanYou wouldn’t dream of walking into a classroom without any idea what you want to accomplish. Whytreat 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.

the outcomes and appropriateadjustment?

• Have you included methods ofassessment?

• Have you identified evidence that youwill gather?

Step 7: Reflect early and often

Don’t wait until you’re finished with theactivities included in your plan to reflecton how you are doing. Consider keepinga log or journal, finding another teacherto act as a reflective partner, orparticipating in an online discussiongroup.

Step 8: Create a portfolio of youraccomplishments

Whether a portfolio is required by yourschool or not, you will personally benefitfrom collecting evidence of the activitiesthat you’ve undertaken. Your portfolioshould be organized, clearly connectedto your plan, include your best materials,and include a reflective piece thatarticulates your learning.

Your portfolio could include the following:

• A reflective journal, log, or diary

• Samples of student work

• Data and data analysis

• Samples of lesson plans or other workyou have created

• Certificates of attendance

• Published articles

• Power Point presentations

• Videotapes

• Photographs

This planning tool is based on By YourOwn Design, a web site and CD-ROMdeveloped by the Eisenhower NationalClearinghouse for Mathematics andScience Education (ENC) and theNational Staff Development Council(NSDC). You will find a wealth ofresources, additional planning tools, andall the materials included on the CD-ROM at (www.enc.org/pdguide). To ordercopies of the CD-ROM, visit the NSDCbookstore at (www.nsdc.org).

Step 1: Find out if your district has aplanning format and/or requirementsthat you should follow

Some states and districts have specificprofessional development planrequirements. Before you use the planningtemplate or guidelines below, find outwhat your specific requirements are.

Step 2: Review the components of goodprofessional development

• It addresses individual needs toimprove practice, but it balances thoseneeds with the needs of the students,school, and district.

• It focuses on improving studentlearning as the overall goal ofprofessional development, and itconnects the educator's individualgoals to demonstrated student needs.

• It reflects school, district, and/or stateeducational initiatives.

• It includes reflection as a part of theindividual's learning and growth.

• It includes documentation of theoutcomes of the professionaldevelopment activities.

• It utilizes the Standards for StaffDevelopment as a guide for developingand implementing personal learninggoals.

Step 3: Ask yourself these questionsto clarify your goals and begin planning

• What do I want all my students toknow or do as a result of my teaching?

• How will I judge the quality of mystudents' work?

• How does my practice impact studentachievement?

• Based on data, what do I know aboutmy students' needs?

• How do my schools' goals andimprovement plan impact my goals?

• How can I improve or strengthen mypractice?

• How can I work with others toaddress my goals?

• How will I know I have accomplishedmy goals?

• What will I do when my students don'tdemonstrate mastery?

• How can I embed the professionaldevelopment strategies I choose intomy classroom day?

Step 4: Use a template to develop yourplan

You will find one possible template onthe reverse side of this guide. Others areavailable online at the references citedbelow. Before you use one of thesetemplates, find out if your school ordistrict requires something different.

Step 5: Decide on the activities orstrategies you will include in your planto accomplish your goals

As you select activities, bear in mind thatyour plan should not be built aroundattending one-hour inservices with littleor no follow-up. According to research,your professional development shouldbe: focused on student learning, job-embedded, continuous and on-going, andinclude evaluation.

In addition, research indicates thatworking with others will enhance yourlearning and promote lasting improvementand change in your school.

A few of the many activities or strategiesthat you might consider:

• Get involved in lesson study

• Examine student work

• Conduct action research

• Find a coach or be a coach

• Do professional reading

• Keep a log or journal

• Get involved with a professionalorganization

• Learn to use new technology

Step 6: Evaluate your plan

Even if you do not have to submit yourplan to a committee or administrator, askyourself the following questions:

• Do the goals and the plan reflect yourneeds as well as your students', thebuilding's, and the district's?

• Does your plan reflect new learningand growth, not just time and effort?

• Are your goals clear?

• Have you used data to determine yourgoals?

• Does your plan reflect how studentachievement will be enhanced?

• Do you include collaborative activitiesin your plan?

• Does your plan include reflection on

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