The Office of Professional Learning coordinates training and professional learning opportunities designed to enhance the knowledge, skills, and competencies of employees of the Rochester City School District.

Embedded Professional Learning: 

Job-embedded professional development (JEPL) refers to educator learning that is grounded in day-to-day teaching practice and is designed to enhance teachers’ content-specific instructional practices with the intent of improving student learning (Darling-Hammond & McLaughlin, 1995; Hirsh, 2009). It is primarily school or classroom based and is integrated into the workday, consisting of teachers assessing and finding solutions for authentic and immediate problems of practice as part of a cycle of continuous improvement (Hawley & Valli, 1999; National Staff Development Council, 2010). It is a shared, ongoing process that is locally rooted and makes a direct connection between learning and application in daily practice, thereby requiring active teacher involvement in cooperative, inquiry-based work (Hawley & Valli, 1999).

These are just a few examples of Job Embedded Professional Learning opportunities we believe in.  The Protocols can be accessed on our SharePoint site.

·         Classroom Visitations/Guided Observation Protocol:       

Provides an opportunity for teachers to share effective practices and reflect on the use of high yield strategies in order to improve student learning in classrooms. A guided observation of teaching is a genuine way for teachers to support each other.

·         Lesson Planning Protocol:      

Provides lesson planning guidelines to support differentiated instruction. 

“Knowledgeable, successful teachers commit to making a difference in students’ lives through      planning.”  (Differentiated Instructional Management. By Carolyn Chapman and Rita King)

·         Looking at Lesson Plans Tuning Protocol:

Provides structure for effective feedback and support, participants improve instruction and student learning, teachers gain a more comprehensive understanding of what makes a lesson meaningful through the process of reflecting on their work while receiving collegial feedback. This process creates a culture focused on and supportive of continuous learning, for both students and teachers.

 ·         Looking at Student Work Protocol: 

Provides the process in which teachers, specialists, and administrators examine and analyze student work with the goal of improving student learning. The use of this protocol assists in creating a safe, caring environment where teachers can collaborate and cooperatively determine strategies for best addressing students’ needs.

·         Learning Walk Protocol:

 Engagement in a Learning Walk extends the learning about a program or a specific area of focus.  Feedback from the process provides an avenue for collaborative professional learning.  This non evaluative tool assists administrators, teachers and other staff members while taking a pulse on student learning.  Feedback from the process provides an avenue for collaborative professional learning.