Job-embedded professional development refers to learning that takes place during the course of one’s work, where daily access to necessary materials, knowledge, and assistance are readily available.

There are many different types of job-embedded professional development that can be undertaken to fulfill the 60 required hours of professional development.

Examples of job-embedded approaches are explicitly endorsed in the Arkansas Rules Governing Professional Development. Variations and combinations of these approaches can also be deployed within and across schools and districts as part of an overarching professional development plan.

Job-embedded activities such as professional learning communities and action research can also complement professional development that is being pursued through a university.

Tools for identifying and planning appropriate job-embedded professional development strategies can be found in Chapter 3 of A Tool Kit for Quality Professional Development in Arkansas (pp. 120-185).

Some examples of job-embedded professional development include:

Study Groups

A study group is a group of people interested in collegial study and action. In schools, study groups can meet to study and support one another as they design curriculum and instruction innovations, integrate a school’s practices and programs, study the latest research on teaching and learning, monitor the impact of new practices on student and adult learning, and /or analyze and target a school-wide need.

Study groups usually include six to eight people.

Key points about study groups:

• The groups can be homogeneous (such as grade-level teams analyzing student data and planning a course of action based on their analysis), or heterogeneous (such as cross-departmental groups studying the latest practices in curriculum design and planning an integrated unit).
• Groups can meet anywhere, but they need to establish a regular schedule of meetings convenient to all members.
• A trained leader is not necessary. It’s helpful, though to rotate leadership responsibility for the group meetings. The leader takes care of logistics for the meeting, arranges for materials needed and assigns responsibilities for the next meeting.

The size of study groups can vary greatly depending upon the topic being addressed. For instance an entire staff group may read a book such as Good to Great by Jim Collins for several months and have an ongoing conversation about the implications for instructional leadership.

A study group engages people in dialogue, helping them to make meaning of information and develop a shared understanding about topics such as values, pedagogy and learning. In some districts study groups form Professional Learning Communities.

Action Research

Action research is a process of asking important questions and looking for answers from data in a methodical way. The questions are meaningful; that is, the educator-researcher wants or needs to know the answers to the questions, and the questions are closely connected to real work.

Key points about action research:

• Action research is very practical and is grounded in the day-to-day work of the researcher.
• One way it is different from traditional or scientific research is that the researcher is not removed from what is being studied, but rather is a part of it.
• Teacher researchers might research student learning challenges or the effectiveness of new practices, for example. The research is modest, manageable and, again, directly related to daily adult and student work.
• Action research gives teachers the skills they need to work on problems specific to student learning needs.
• By using careful research procedures, teacher-researchers can resolve their own teaching challenges. They learn how to ask focusing questions, define terms, collect relevant data, analyze data and obtain meaningful results. The findings become immediately applicable to individual situations, even if the data suggest more exploratory research needs to be done; or suggest several possible options for action.

Peer Coaching

Peer coaching is a professional development strategy that enables educators to consult with one another, discuss and share teaching practices that increase student learning, observe one another's classrooms, promote collegiality, and support and help ensure quality teaching for all students.

Key components of peer coaching:

• In peer coaching, usually two educators (though sometimes three or more) come together, share in conversations, and reflect on and refine their practice.
• The coaching relationship is built on confidentiality and trust in a non threatening, secure environment in which educators learn and grow together; therefore, peer coaching is usually not part of an evaluative system.
• Peer coaches have been recognized for specific quality teaching and learning practices, or for specific student learning needs.
• Educators may end up peer coaching each other in different areas, or a peer coach may also lead a group of educators.

Professional Learning Communities

A professional learning community is a type of study group that usually focuses on a particular issue or problem in depth over a period of time.

Key components of professional learning communities:

• While study groups are usually formed between educators within the same school or district, professional learning communities can be formed across a region or beyond, face-to-face or online.
• They can be structured among educators either horizontally or vertically between grade levels, subjects or educator roles.
• Teams determine areas in which additional learning would be helpful and read articles, attend workshops or courses, and/or invite consultants to assist them in acquiring necessary knowledge or skills.
• Learning communities are strengthened when other support staff, administrators and school board members choose to participate, and when communication is facilitated between teams.

Administrator learning communities can be a valuable way to deepen participants' understanding of instructional leadership, identify practical ways to assist teachers in improving the quality of student work, critique one another's school improvement efforts and learn important skills such as data analysis and providing helpful feedback to educators.