Page 30 - The Architecture of Professional Development

Collabora ve ac on research represents another style of professional development architecture. Its
design features send important messages about teaching and professional development. Among
these are that teachers, with appropriate guidance, support, and resources, can enhance their
knowledge, skills and prac ce through inquiry and cri cal reflec on on their prac ce and its outcomes.
A second key message is that the answers to school improvement and improved instruc onal prac ces
are not “somewhere out there” but they lie within teachers’ individual and collec ve capacity.
Teachers create environments that foster inquiry and reflec on; promote collegiality and dialogue,
and support changes in prac ce with adequate resources and structures.

The architecture of professional development stands at the intersec on of teacher learning, work, and
school improvement. Its essen al components‐‐ func on, structure, and beauty‐‐ are expressed in a
variety of architectural styles—some classical, some exo c, s ll others vernacular. Each style of
professional development architecture represents different structures that convey important
messages, some explicit others hidden. The structural and symbolic dimensions of this architecture
are indeed fer le ground for research on professional development.

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