“A 2016 survey found that though district and school leaders are committed to professional learning, teachers lack decision-making authority over their own professional development and are not receiving adequate time for job-embedded professional development.
- Nationwide Survey (Oxford, OH: Learning Forward, 2017)
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What Is Job-Embedded
Professional Development?
Job-embedded professional development (JEPD) refers to teacher learning that is grounded in day-to-day teaching practice and is designed to enhance teachers’ content-specific instructional practices with the intent of improving student learning (Darling-Hammond & McLaughlin, 1995; Hirsh, 2009). It is primarily school or classroom-based and is integrated into the workday, consisting of teachers assessing and finding solutions for authentic and immediate problems of practice as part of a cycle of continuous improvement (Hawley & Valli, 1999; National Staff Development Council, 2010).
JEPD is a shared, ongoing process that is locally rooted and makes a direct connection between learning and application in daily practice, thereby requiring active teacher involvement in cooperative, inquiry-based work (Hawley & Valli, 1999). High-quality JEPD also is aligned with state standards for student academic achievement and any related local educational agency and school improvement goals (Hirsh, 2009).
“In 2017, at least 21 bills were enacted in 14 states to provide teachers with opportunities for targeted professional development.
- Education Commission of the States.”
Teacher Jolores & JEPD
Teacher Jolores is committed to fostering learning communities where teachers can grow and thrive! She facilitates JEPD in literacy for Special Education and Intervention Teachers. Focusing on Action Research, teachers identify a Problem of Practice, and in a reflective process, they engage in inquiry and weekly discussion as components of “research.”
An additional component to JEPD is the sharing of specific instructional strategies and methods with teachers that Jolores implements in the LEAP and Jumpstart reading program.
In a collaborative online setting, teachers share evidenced-based instructional practices that become solutions to everyday, real problems experienced in schools.