educational services staff
members who commit
to working together to
accomplish common goals
and who are engaged
in a continuous cycle of
professional improvement
focused on:
• Evaluating student learning
needs through ongoing
review of data on student
performance; and
• Defining a clear set of
educator learning goals
based on the rigorous
analysis of data on student
performance.
• Professional learning shall
incorporate coherent, sustained,
and evidence-based strategies
that improve educator
effectiveness and student
achievement, such as jobembedded
coaching or other
forms of assistance to support
educators’ transfer of new
knowledge and skills to their
work.
• Professional learning may
be supported by external
expert assistance or additional
experiences that:
• Address defined student and
educator learning goals.
• Advance primarily ongoing
school-based professional
learning; and
• Include, but are not limited
to, courses, workshops,
institutes, networks, and
conferences provided by forprofit
and nonprofit entities
outside the school such as
universities, educational
service agencies, technical
assistance providers,
networks of content
specialists, and other
education organizations and
associations.
52 – AR Handbook
NJEA “Definition” of
Professional Development
NJEA believes that collaborative
professional teams form the foundation
of effective professional learning.
Such teams should meet the
following best practices principles:
• Be organized and facilitated by
well-prepared teacher leaders,
educators, and other school staff.
• Occur primarily within the
school day several times per
week.
• Provide for reflection and
feedback on the effectiveness of
professional learning that leads
to ongoing improvements in
teaching and student learning.
• Engage in a continuous cycle of
improvement that:
• analyzes student, teacher,
and school learning needs
through a thorough review
of all school data.
• helps individual teachers
define a clear set of educator
learning goals based on the
rigorous analysis of data.
• achieves such educator
learning goals by
implementing coherent,
sustained, and evidencebased
learning strategies
that improve instructional
effectiveness and student
achievement.
• provides classroombased
collegial coaching,
mentoring, and other
forms of assistance with
meaningful feedback to
support the transfer of new
knowledge and skills to the
classroom.
• regularly assesses the
effectiveness of professional
development in achieving
identified learning goals
and improving teaching and
learning, while assisting all
students in meeting the N.J.
Core Curriculum Content
Standards.
• may be facilitated and
strengthened by external
assistance.
• Are supported by sufficient
resources to achieve the goals
and objectives established by
district and school planning
committees and individual
educators/staffers.
Adopted by the NJEA Delegate
Assembly on Sept. 19, 2015.
New Jersey Standards for
Professional Development
The administrative code also includes
very specific standards which
should govern the effectiveness of
the professional learning activities
included in district, school, and
individual educator plans.
Professional learning that increases
educator effectiveness and improves
results for all students shall be guided
by the following standards:
• Learning communities
– Occurs within learning
communities committed to
continuous improvement,
collective responsibility, and
goal alignment.
• Leadership – Requires skillful
leaders who develop capacity,
advocate, and create support
systems for professional
learning.
• Resources – Requires
prioritizing, monitoring, and
coordinating resources for
educator learning.
• Learning designs – Integrates
theories, research, and models
of human learning to achieve its
intended outcomes;