An ASCD Study Guide for Taking Charge of Professional Development: A Practical Model for Your School

Most of the questions contained in this study guide are ones you can think about on your own, but you might consider pairing with a colleague or forming a study group with others who have read (or are reading) Taking Charge of Professional Development: A Practical Model for Your School.

Introduction: The Way Schools Can Be

1. How is Fusion unique to other school improvement efforts you have experienced? How is the same? Explore the good and bad experiences to help discuss how to make this professional development experience work better for your school or district.
2. List some examples of how this professional development program, commonly referred to as Fusion, defines "choice." How might the concept of teacher autonomy influence your school?
3. Do you think it is important to maintain a balance between time, motivational system, and teacher leadership? Why? Are there other elements critical to a professional development experience in your school or district? Are these elements addressed through Fusion or can they be addressed by adapting the model?

Chapter 1: Inspiration to Change

1. To start a discussion about professional development, use a the Venn diagram to compare and contrast Mr. Rodriguez's approach to professional development at the beginning of the chapter with his method at the end of the chapter.
2. How are Mr. Rodriguez's scenarios similar to experiences you have had with professional development?
3. Use a table similar to the one below to generate a list of best practices you'd like to see offered in the Menu of Alternatives in your school or district. Discuss the lists with your colleagues. After brainstorming, consider the stipend and point values that seem appropriate.
   
   

   	Brief Description	Suggested Stipend	Suggested Point Value
   Strategies
   Management
   Technology
   Assessment
   Approaches
   Programs
   Curriculum

   
   
4. Give examples of how associating financial incentives with the mastery of best practices is different than traditional merit pay. Justify how this practice could benefit novice and experienced teachers.
5. One goal of Fusion is to encourage teachers to experiment with best practices. Rewarding teachers with a small stipend when they complete Level 1 is designed to accomplish this goal. Level 2 encourages teachers to practice what they have learned by offering them an opportunity to earn points that can be used for a permanent increase in pay. Explain and discuss why both levels are necessary to encourage teachers to integrate professional development into daily routines. Predict what might happen if either of these levels of mastery is eliminated from Fusion.

Chapter 2: Professional Development

1. What has been your experience with committee meetings, faculty meetings, and grade-level meetings? Have they been productive? Why or why not?
2. What has been your experience with peer observation? Do you feel comfortable teaching in the presence of other teachers? Why do you think peer observation was a negative experience in the first scenario?
3. Has teacher mentoring been a positive experience for you? Do you think only novice teachers need mentors, or do tenured teachers need mentoring as well? How do you mentor tenured teachers?
4. Use a Venn diagram to compare and contrast Mrs. O'Dell's approach to promoting collegiality and peer observation at the beginning of the chapter with her methods at the end of the chapter.
5. Describe in detail the steps within Fusion that make peer observation and collaboration a positive learning experience for teachers. Are there additional steps that would be needed at your school?

Chapter 3: Instructional Leadership

1. Does evaluation at your school promote teacher growth? Or does it simply reiterate what administrators and teachers have known all along? Explain.
2. Describe situations when adapting supervisory behaviors can promote teacher growth.
3. What does "instructional leadership" mean to you? Should administrators be expected to complete all leadership responsibilities? Or should they share these responsibilities with others? Why?
4. What has been your experience with teacher leadership? What are the pros and cons of expecting teacher leaders to fulfill administrative responsibilities such as conducting formal evaluations, disciplining teachers, and attending meetings? Explain how these practices might influence interpersonal relationships between mentor teachers and the rest of the faculty.
5. Think about the differences between the role of teacher facilitator with the role of a traditional peer coach (or any other coaching or mentoring role your school may have in place).
6. Identify the advantages and disadvantages of selecting mentor teachers based on their area of expertise rather than choosing one "master teacher" to mentor others.
7. How does Fusion capitalize on teachers' strengths without overwhelming them with new responsibilities or removing them from their classrooms?

Chapter 4: Use of Resources

1. Do the teachers in your school have enough planning time to prepare materials and assess student work? Explain. How can that be adjusted?
2. Are the teachers in your school provided with sufficient time to learn best practices, develop curriculum, analyze student learning, and reflect on the effectiveness of their teaching practices? Or are they required to use planning or personal time to engage in these activities? Why?
3. Explain how Fusion can increase the productivity of time allocated for the use of professional development.
4. Share examples of how the position of roaming substitute could benefit your school.
5. Identify resources that could be used to get Fusion started at your school or district. Devise a plan for obtaining these resources and justify how they will be used in a manner that benefits students.

Chapter 5: Curriculum and Assessment

1. Do students in your district have the same opportunity to learn, or is the curriculum based on teacher intuition? Does an emphasis on test-taking skills overshadow other curricula? Give examples of the long-term effects this could have on students.
2. Do teachers in your district accept personal responsibility for student progress? How consistent is academic rigor from classroom to classroom? How do you know?
3. How can educators provide students with an exciting, enriching, and enjoyable education while mastering essential reading, writing, and math skills?
4. How can formative assessment be used as a tool to increase academic rigor and to provide timely feedback to teachers and students?
5. Explain why it is important to associate goal setting with assessment. How does this practice improve motivation?
6. What are the advantages and disadvantages of storing formative assessments in student binders?

Chapter 6: Systematic Intervention

1. How consistent is the intervention process at Mrs. Kasahara's school? Are teachers provided with the support they need to assist every student and then held accountable for doing so? Is professional development used as a preventative measure? Explain.
2. Do all students at your school receive the assistance they need, when they need it? Or must they first qualify for special services? Why?
3. Are students with special needs at your school mainstreamed? Or are they isolated from their peers? What are the benefits of inclusion? What are the benefits of pull out? Justify the alternative you rely on at your school.
4. What does your school do to differentiate instruction for advanced students? Do they receive the same attention as struggling students? Why?
5. List some advantages and disadvantages of using grades vs. formative assessment results to instigate the intervention process. Which alternative do you think should be used at your school?
6. In what ways could the principles of Fusion help teachers meet the needs of all learners?

Chapter 7: Differentiated Instruction

1. To what degree are students at your school engaged in learning? Why?
2. Do outdated textbooks dominate your curriculum? Do teachers rely solely on lecture to deliver instruction? Explain.
3. What is a tiered curriculum? How might a tiered curriculum benefit teachers and students?
4. How could the criteria for developing curriculum raise the quality of instruction at your school? Devise a plan that encourages teachers to incorporate strategies they have learned through Fusion into quality units of instruction.

Chapter 8: Change Through Fusion

1. Use a table similar to the one below to identify similarities and differences between the three phases of the school improvement process. Explain how changing the order of these phases could influence the successfulness of school improvement initiatives.
   
   

   Phase	How Fusion Approaches This Task	Anticipated Outcomes
   Phase 1: Build Positive Relationships
   Phase 2: Increase Academic Rigor
   Phase 3: Increase Academic Relevance

   
   
2. Identify some challenges educators at your school face. What can you do to demonstrate an awareness of these challenges? What is your plan to alleviate some of these problems?
3. Briefly consider and describe the three leadership styles. Which style do you tend to use? How do you know? How might this influence the implementation of Fusion?
4. What does the concept of balancing choice with accountability mean to you? How does Fusion apply a system of checks and balances that help leaders balance choice and accountability?
5. Describe some steps schools can take to implement Fusion. What is your school's plan of action? How will you involve all stakeholders? What are some potential problems that might prevent the implementation of Fusion? How will you address these problems?

Epilogue: The Versatility of Fusion

1. The principles of Fusion can be applied under many circumstances. For example, Fusion can be used at the administrative level and it can be used in professions other than education. Suppose your school wants to offer a parenting class to the community. Devise a plan that would enable you to use the principles of Fusion to motivate parents to attend this class and to apply the skills taught.

Taking Charge of Professional Development: A Practical Model for Your School was written by Joseph H. Semadeni. This 172-page, 6″ × 9″ book (Stock #109029; ISBN-13: 978-1-4166-0885-1) is available from ASCD for $18.95 (ASCD member) or $23.95 (nonmember). Copyright © 2009 by ASCD. To order a copy, call ASCD at 1-800-933-2723 (in Virginia 1-703-578-9600) and press 2 for the Service Center. Or buy the book from ASCD's Online Store.