Professional Development

Professional Development

Professional Development Updates
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Professional Development Updates Archive

The Department is dedicated to helping educators improve their practice through participation in High Quality Professional Development (HQPD). High Quality Professional Development is a set of coherent learning experiences that is systematic, purposeful, and structured over a sustained period of time with the goal of improving teacher practice and student outcomes.

Satisfying the requirements for PDPs in ESL/SEI and special education

In June of 2012 the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education revised the regulations and now all educators renewing a primary license must earn at least 15 PDPs in ESL/SEI and 15 PDPs in effective schooling for students with disabilities and instruction of students with diverse learning styles. In order to assist educators in satisfying these renewal requirements, the Department has identified courses and activities that can be used for license renewal, for example:

Graphic of Massachusetts High Quality Professional Development Standards, with link to full standards. 1. HQPD has clear goals and objectives relevant to desired student outcomes. 2. HQPD aligns with state, district, school, and/or educator goals or priorities. 3. HQPD is designed based on the analysis of data relevant to the identified goals, objectives, and audience. 4. HQPD is assessed to ensure that it is meeting the targeted goals and objectives. 5. HQPD promotes collaboration among educators to encourage sharing of ideas and working together to achieve the identified goals and objectives. 6. HQPD advances an educator's ability to apply learnings from the professional development to his/her particular content and/or context. 7. HQPD models good pedagogical practice and applies knowledge of adult learning theory to engage educators. 8. HQPD makes use of relevant resources to ensure that the identified goals and objectives are met. 9. HQPD is taught or facilitated by a professional who is knowledgeable about the identified objectives. 10. HQPD sessions connect and build upon each other to provide a coherent and useful learning experience for educators.

Last Updated: April 2, 2025

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