Documents/Forms

Connecticut Standards for Professional Learning (adopted May 6, 2015)

The Connecticut Standards for Professional Learning were designed to support excellence in teaching and learning through high-quality professional learning for educators. More than three decades of research in the professional learning field served as the foundation of the Connecticut Standards for Professional Learning. The research-base includes the Standards for Professional Learning originally developed in 1995. Learning Forward convened a broadly representative stakeholder group to develop these standards to reflect successful practices and define high-quality professional learning.

The eight Connecticut Standards for Professional Learning are important to the design, implementation and sustainability of a professional learning system. They define the characteristics of a high-quality system of professional learning and can be used by Professional Development and Evaluation Committees (PDECs), district and/or school administrators, educators and stakeholders to ensure high-quality professional learning.

Professional Learning Standard:

Cultural Competence: Professional learning that enhances both educator practice and outcomes for each and every student facilitates educators’ self-examination of their awareness, knowledge, skills, and actions that pertain to culture and how they can develop culturally-responsive strategies to enrich the educational experiences for all students.

Learning Communities: Professional learning that enhances both educator practice and outcomes for each and every student occurs within learning communities committed to continuous growth, collective responsibility, family and community engagement and alignment of district and school vision and goals.

Leadership: Professional learning that enhances both educator practice and outcomes for each and every student requires and develops leadership capacity at all levels to advocate for and create systems for professional learning.

Resources: Professional learning that enhances both educator practice and outcomes for each and every student requires purposeful planning for the identification, coordination, monitoring, evaluation, and equitable use and allocation of resources to support educator learning.

Data: Professional learning that enhances both educator practice and outcomes for each and every student requires the use of both quantitative and qualitative student, educator and system data to plan, implement, monitor and assess professional learning.

Learning Designs: Professional learning that enhances both educator practice and outcomes for each and every student integrates research on effective adult learning and uses flexible learning designs to achieve intended outcomes.

Implementation: Professional learning that enhances both educator practice and outcomes for each and every student applies change research and uses tools to identify and support the developmental stages of change and ensures the fidelity of implementation.

Outcomes: Professional learning that enhances both educator practice and outcomes for each and every student is aligned with district/school goals, relevant Connecticut standards, and other agreed-upon standards for educator practice and student growth.