They call these design principles “learner centered” for two reasons: first, because professional development should be driven by the needs of students and by what teachers need to know and be able to do to address specific learning needs of their students. Second, professional development should reflect what we know about how people learn. This means that the content and delivery of professional development should address learners’ beliefs and prior knowledge, motivation, capacity for strategic processing, individual differences, and situation or context.

Principle 1: Professional development should be based on collaborative analyses of the differences between (a) actual student performance and (b) goals and standards for student learning

Principle 2: Professional development should be primarily school based and built into the day-to-day work of teaching.

Principle 3: Professional development should involve teachers in the identification of what they need to learn and in the development of the learning experiences in which they will be involved.

Principle 4: The content should reflect the best research on the given topic (e.g., how to enhance the literacy of adolescents).

Principle 5: The content of professional development should focus on what students are to learn and how to address the different problems students may have in learning that material.

Principle 6: Professional development should provide experiential opportunities to gain an understanding of and reflect on the research and theory underlying the knowledge and skills being learned.

Principle 7: The way teacher learning is facilitated should mirror the instructional approaches they are expected to master and allow teachers to experience the consequences of newly learned capabilities.

Principle 8: Professional development should be continuous and ongoing, involving follow-up and support for further learning, including support from sources external to the school that can provide necessary resources and new perspectives.

Principle 9: Professional development should be connected to a comprehensive change process focused on specific goals for improving student learning.

Principle 10: Evaluation of professional development should incorporate multiple sources of information on (a) outcomes for students and (b) the instruction and other processes that are involved in implementing the lessons learned.

Dijangkakan deraf terakhir dokumentasi STRAPP BPSH (2010-2012) akan disiapkan dalam perbincangan ketiga pada hujung bulan Oktober 2009 ini.

Bengkel ini adalah yang pertama daripada beberapa siri bengkel yang dirancang, dihadiri oleh semua pengurusan atasan BPSH terdiri daripada Pengarah, Timbalan dan Ketua Sektor. Saya diberi amanah untuk memudahcarakan perbincangan dalam menghasilkan STRAPP BPSH.

Apa yang menarik dalam sesi penghasilan deraf awal STRAPP ialah konsep yang digunakan iaitu menghasilkan dokumen perancangan yang bercirikan Planning is Fun, Planning in Action, dan User-friendly . Dengan itu STRAPP BPSH dapat dijadikan sebagai Communication Tool, Measurement System dan Strategic Management System.

Secara sepintas lalu deraf awal  Strategy Map STRAPP BPSH di bawah dan sebahagian slaid yang saya gunakan (lihat My Slideshare Page) dapat memberikan gambaran tersebut.

Kajian ini boleh dikatakan sebagai satu “landmark study” tentang kompetensi pemimpin sekolah di Malaysia kerana setakat pengetahuan kami tidak pernah kajian sedemikian dilakukan.

Kajian tersebut telah mengenal pasti 26 kompetensi pemimpin sekolah yang dikelompokkan dalam enam domain. Daripada 26 kompetensi tersebut didapati sekurang-kurang sepuluh kompetensi adalah berimpak tinggi yang bermaksud kompetensi itu amat diperlukan oleh pemimpin sekolah dalam pembangunan profesional mereka. Antara kompetensi berimpak tinggi tersebut ialah “Penyelesaian Masalah”, “Membuat Keputusan”, “Mengurus Perubahan” dan “Pengurusan ICT”.

Untuk mendapatkan maklumat lanjut tentang kajian berkenaan, Monograf tersebut boleh dimuaturun daripada pautan berikut: http://ifile.it/9c2yosz.

Selepas membaca buku ini, beberapa perkara yang selama ini menjadi tanda tanya dalam pemikiran saya, telah dapat mendapat jawapan permulaan yang baik. Umpamanya, kenapa sukar memahami perkara yang abstrak dan sesudah memahaminya kenapa sukar pula untuk mengaplikasinya kepada situasi yang baru.

Dalam buku ini Willingham menghuraikan sembilan prinsip yang menjadi asas operasi minda. Prinsip-prinsip itu ialah:

1. People are naturally curious, but we are not naturally good thinkers; unless the cognitive conditions are right, we all avoid thinking.
2. Factual knowledge must precede skill.
3. Memory is the residue of thought.
4. We understand new things in the context of things we already know, and most of what we know is concrete.
5. It is virtually impossible to become proficient at a mental task without extended practice.
6. Cognition early in training is fundamentally different from cognition late in training.
7. Children are more alike than different in terms of how they think and learn.
8. Children do differ in intelligence, but intelligence can be changed through sustained hard work.
9. Teaching, like any complex cognitive skill, must be practiced to improved.

Rakan-rakan guru sekalian, sekali lagi saya mencadang, bacalah buku ini. Anda pasti mendapat manfaat dalam meningkatkan profesionalisme  keguruan anda!

Untuk maklumat lanjut tentang buku ini anda boleh melawat laman web pengarang di http://www.danielwillingham.com/.

1. The technical perspective: If the teacher isn’t able to do it, it can’t be done;
2. The cultural perspective: If the teacher doesn’t know how to do it or doesn’t ultimately feel confident doing it, it can’t be done;
3. The political perspective: If the teacher won’t do it, it can’t be done; and,
4. The postmodern perspective: If the teacher has too much to do, it won’t be done well.

Saya tertarik dengan contoh-contoh konkrit yang diberikan apabila beliau memberikan penekanan apa yang dimaksudkannya dengan Research & Development (R&D) terutama dalam konteks pendidikan. Menurut beliau misi R & D sepatutnya:

1. Create new knowledge.
2. Adapt global knowledge to the local context.
3. Transform knowledge into tools for learning and doing.
4. Develop knowledgeable learners.

Research and Development Cycle yang beliau sarankan [Problem -->Seek Info --> Share Info --> Create Tools --> Use Tools --> Evaluate --> Share Info --> Problem] sepatutnya dibudayakan dalam sektor pendidikan semua peringkat di Malaysia. Saya percaya melalui saluran ini kita dapat mempercepatkan peningkatan kualiti pendidikan.

Seperkara lagi yang agak mengejutkan saya ialah apabila dalam private discussion dengan Hallinger, beliau memberitahu saya yang dia masih lagi menyimpan transaksi emailnya sejak dua puluh tahun yang lalu!

Slideshare di bawah ialah persembahan powerpoint beliau dalam ceramah tersebut. Untuk mendapatkan kertaskerja beliau yang lain sila lawat website personal beliau - Leadingware yang terdapat dalam Blogroll  di sebelah kanan laman ini.

[slideshare id=918747&doc=r-and-d-ied-21-1232001859873925-3&w=425]

Di bawah adalah slaid powerpoint yang saya gunakan dalam sesi pertama program berkenaan.

[slideshare id=827571&doc=school-leadership-development-1228705466770144-9&w=425]

Helping Teachers Learn will become an essential part of an educational leader’s thinking, learning, and language. Drago-Severson is an excellent writer who masterfully weaves theory into practice. Her attention to and explanation of Bob Kegan’s Constructive-Developmental theory lends clarity, as well as insight into helping adults learn and grow in their professional lives.

As she states in her book, “Growth is an ingenious mix of supports and challenges.” Drago-Severson provides leaders with tools to create various supports and challenges in environments that can and should foster growth. I found that her four pillars, and the new model for learning-oriented school leadership were particularly useful in crafting a faculty professional development plan.

Concepts covered in Helping Teachers Learn include:

• A new model of learning-oriented leadership that can be tailored to particular settings or individuals
• Adult learning principles that inform teacher growth and development, and why they are essential to effective teacher development programs
• The Four Pillars: teaming, providing leadership roles, engaging in collegial inquiry, and mentoring
• Real-world examples of principals sharing leadership, building community, and managing change

Enhance your professional development model to better support teacher growth and development, as well as your own self-development as a principal. - [Customer Reviews from Amazon.com]

This is a must read for any educator who believes in adult growth and professional development.