SLLA Promoting Staff Professional Growth 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A principal wants to create a culture of continuous professional learning. Which approach best fosters collective teacher efficacy?
- Requiring teachers to complete independent online modules
- Establishing collaborative inquiry cycles focused on student learning data (Correct answer)
- Scheduling one-time professional development workshops per semester
- Assigning teachers to read research articles and submit summaries
Correct answer: Establishing collaborative inquiry cycles focused on student learning data
Collaborative inquiry cycles build collective efficacy by grounding teacher learning in shared student data and joint problem-solving.
Question 2: Which type of professional learning is most strongly associated with changes in teacher instructional practice according to research?
- Single-day conferences on new instructional strategies
- Job-embedded, sustained professional development with coaching support (Correct answer)
- Tuition reimbursement programs for graduate coursework
- Annual performance reviews with administrator feedback
Correct answer: Job-embedded, sustained professional development with coaching support
Research consistently shows that job-embedded, sustained learning with coaching is most effective at changing classroom practice.
Question 3: A school leader notices that a veteran teacher's instructional methods have become stagnant. What is the BEST first step?
- Place the teacher on a formal improvement plan
- Have a private, strengths-based conversation to identify the teacher's professional goals (Correct answer)
- Assign the teacher to mentor a newer colleague
- Reduce the teacher's responsibilities to alleviate burnout
Correct answer: Have a private, strengths-based conversation to identify the teacher's professional goals
Beginning with a strengths-based conversation to uncover the teacher's own goals respects their expertise and builds intrinsic motivation for growth.
Question 4: A new principal wants to differentiate professional development for staff. What should guide which staff members receive which type of support?
- Years of experience and seniority level
- Assessment of individual instructional needs and professional goals (Correct answer)
- Subject area and grade level assignment
- Results of most recent state standardized test scores
Correct answer: Assessment of individual instructional needs and professional goals
Differentiating PD based on individual instructional needs and goals ensures that learning is relevant and targeted for each staff member.
Question 5: Which leadership action BEST demonstrates a principal's commitment to building a learning organization?
- Attending district-mandated professional development alongside staff
- Publicly sharing their own professional growth goals and learning with staff (Correct answer)
- Funding all teacher requests for external conference attendance
- Delegating all professional development planning to the instructional coach
Correct answer: Publicly sharing their own professional growth goals and learning with staff
Leaders who model vulnerability by sharing their own learning goals signal that professional growth is valued and expected at all levels.
Question 6: An instructional coach asks a principal how to best structure coaching conversations with resistant teachers. What guidance should the principal provide?
- Focus conversations on evaluative feedback tied to observation scores
- Use a non-evaluative, goal-setting approach that centers teacher-identified areas for growth (Correct answer)
- Limit coaching to new teachers in their first three years
- Begin by sharing specific student achievement data as a way to create urgency
Correct answer: Use a non-evaluative, goal-setting approach that centers teacher-identified areas for growth
Non-evaluative coaching that centers teacher-identified goals builds trust and internal motivation, making it more likely to produce genuine change.
Question 7: A principal is designing a peer observation program. What structure is MOST likely to result in meaningful professional growth for participants?
- Formal observations where teachers submit written reports to the principal
- Structured protocols with pre-observation conferences, focused look-fors, and post-observation debrief conversations (Correct answer)
- Open-door classroom visits without any required follow-up
- Administrators observing teachers and sharing results anonymously with peers
Correct answer: Structured protocols with pre-observation conferences, focused look-fors, and post-observation debrief conversations
Structured peer observation protocols with pre- and post-conference conversations create focused, reflective professional learning experiences.
SLLA Promoting Staff Professional Growth 2
A principal wants to create a culture of continuous professional learning.
Which approach best fosters collective teacher efficacy?