Framework for Designing Effective Professional Development

Cook and Rasmussen (1994) designed the following model for identifying, understanding, planning, carrying out, and evaluating change:

• What is the change you wish to create and/or facilitate?

• In what ways does this change relate to on-going professional development and school improvement?

• How does your design challenge relate to this change?

• Who, within the varying contexts, might be affected by the change? In what ways?

• What are the belief systems and assumptions about the change? How does this relate to personal and shared vision?

• What questions and needs might they have regarding the change? What is their readiness for this change?

• How does this change link to other initiatives?

• Who are the potential advocates of this change? Who should be members of a design team?

• What do members of a design team (change agents and designers of professional development) need to know in order to build understanding?

• In what ways does greater understanding refine or refocus the change?

• How would you describe your role as a change agent?

• What challenges do you currently face?

• What would you like to know more about that would enable you to work more effectively in your role(s)?

  CREATING A PLAN FOR CHANGE

  

• What format(s) and approach(es) are used in your professional development design?

• Which formats and/or approaches might be helpful to explore in some detail? Which ones might enhance your plan, given the contexts affected by this change?

• How might the chosen formats and/or approaches by integrated and sequenced in an action plan?

• What are additional potential resources? How might other initiatives be used?

• What is your evaluation plan? Identify possible criteria for evaluating the overall design and process.

  CARRYING OUT THE CHANGE PLAN

  

• How might an action plan be used to help manage the implementation of this change?

• How might you use the action plan in formative evaluation (to verify understanding and check for reasonable results), across appropriate contexts?

• How would you describe the effectiveness of your design?

• How has this design process assisted in the development of an effective design?

• How might you use evaluation results to further inform and refine your design and process?

• How might formative evaluation results be shared/reported?

• How might you support the maintenance and continuity of this design?

References