TEACHERS AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

WHEREAS, a major incentive for people to enter teaching is the continued pursuit of knowledge; and

WHEREAS, the information explosion has resulted in the negation of some prior knowledge and extensive advances in new knowledge; and

WHEREAS, new research on effective teaching practices (both generic and subject-matter specific) and effective schools provides the beginnings of an evolving knowledge base and reveals the complexity of teaching; and

WHEREAS, the profession has yet to codify this knowledge base, as well as the clinical experience of effective teachers; and

WHEREAS, inservice teacher training generally is limited to three days or less throughout the school year and routinely violates known principles of staff development; and

WHEREAS, significant teacher involvement in the design and implementation of ongoing professional development activities that meet certain criteria has resulted in a sense of ownership in new ideas, validation of effective techniques, changes in practice, greater job satisfaction, and increased morale and collegiality; and

WHEREAS, the best proposals for reform and the best opportunities for success are offered by those proposals that involve all future participants in all stages of planning, implementation, and evaluation.  These participants include teachers in the elementary, secondary, and higher education level:

RESOLVED, that ongoing professional development activities for teachers be expanded and integrated into the normal school day; and

RESOLVED, that teachers at the building level have time as individuals and in groups to seek new knowledge about instruction and their subject matter on a regular basis and to reflect on how this knowledge might improve student learning; and

RESOLVED, that teachers at the building level should have the right to plan their own professional growth activities and contract with providers of their choice; and

RESOLVED, that voluntary district wide staff development programs should be based upon the real needs of building level faculty and be planned and directed by a board comprised of a majority of teachers; and

RESOLVED, that the experience gained in teacher centers operating successfully over the last 10 years be applied to the governance and operation of staff development programs; and

RESOLVED, that staff development programs include opportunities for observation, coaching, demonstration teaching, participation in professional meetings, and independent research; and

RESOLVED, that AFT continue to develop teacher training programs, such as the Educational Research and Dissemination Program and the Critical Thinking Project, to assure that teachers have access to the professional knowledge base as it develops and the opportunity to critique its validity and decide its best application; and

RESOLVED, that AFT locals seek collaborative partnerships with school superintendents, school boards, and universities to promote incorporation of effective teacher-developed training programs into the system's staff development activities; and

RESOLVED, that in order to guarantee their success, the American Federation of Teachers urge all those responsible for reforms to include teachers from all segments of the educational process, including elementary, secondary, and higher education levels. The participants from the higher education sector should include those individuals directly involved in teacher education.