What are the criteria for assessing high quality professional development programs and activities?
There are clearly stated professional development objectives for teachers (e.g., the objective of our professional development is to increase teacher use of technology in order to enhance student learning.) There are clear expected teacher outcomes (e.g., “teachers will include the use of the Internet in their lesson plans.”) There are clear expected student outcomes (e.g., “students will use the Internet as a research tool.”) The professional development activities (strategies) are directly linked to the objectives (e.g., if an objective is that teachers use cooperative learning in the classroom, then at least one of the professional development activities should include cooperative learning experiences for the teachers). The processes in place for assessing the links between the professional development activities, expected teacher outcomes, and expected student outcomes are appropriate and varied. The collected data provide evidence that the professional development activities lead
