Job-Embedded Professional Development : Support, Collaboration, and Learning in Schools

In today’s schools, teachers are frequently called on to adapt new curricula and instructional practices in their classrooms. Making sense of the complexities of teaching occurs primarily during the work day, and instead of relying on before or after school one-size-fits-all professional development activities, schools must support teachers in learning on the job. The latest book from renowned author Sally J. Zepeda is written for teachers, teacher leaders, and school and district leaders who want to support job-embedded learning, a powerful form of professional development characterized by active learning and reflection grounded in the context of a teachers’ work environment.

Job-Embedded Professional Development provides a framework for helping teachers stop, take a deep breath, and learn along the way as they engage in their daily work. Through the engaging job-embedded learning activities, processes, and cases from the field explored in this book, teachers will immediately be able to:

• Implement what they are learning in the context of their own classrooms;
• Work with supportive peers who can coach them along the way;
• Get feedback on what’s working and what needs to be tweaked;
• Learn as adult learners fully capable of making sound professional judgments;
• Engage in conversations that allow teachers to dig deeper into their practices;
• Focus intently on content knowledge and the linkages to instruction and assessment;
• Capitalize on learning in digital learning environments before, during, and after school;
• Gain confidence in themselves and others through learning together.

Sally J. Zepeda is a Professor in the Department of Lifelong Education, Administration, and Policy in the Program of Educational Administration and Policy, and she is a Fellow in the Institute for Interdisciplinary Research in Education and Human Development at the University of Georgia, where she teaches courses in instructional supervision, professional development, teacher evaluation, and school improvement.