PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN

ABC Elementary School 2016 - 2017

ABC Elementary School will be starting the second year of implementing
College and Career Ready Standards for Mathematics (CCRSM) during school
year 2016 2017. Professional Development during the current school year
has focused on the instructional shifts, coherence and critical areas of focus
in mathematics education. As we move forward, it is critical that all
stakeholders use and understand a common vocabulary and concepts to be
taught.
As educators, we often utilize teaching methods in our own classroom that
we observed as students ourselves or learned during teacher preparation
courses in college. We have to continue to learn ourselves and build a toolkit
to help all students build new learning connections.
The focus of this professional development will be a yearlong plan for
kindergarten teams to utilize math centers or stations as a strategy to
provide differentiated math instruction in the CCRSM framework. Last
spring, I conducted a survey with kindergarten teachers on determining an
instructional focus for students to improve their ability to reason and
communicate mathematically by solving story problems. One of the
questions focused on the frequency of using math centers/stations as an
instructional strategy. Here is a table with their responses.

Number of Math Centers/Stations completed in a week

6 or more

# of
Teacher
Responses
1

4-5

1-3
None

6
2

Kindergarten classrooms typically utilize centers throughout the day; the

focus of these centers is usually literacy or free choice type activities. The
respondents in the survey also indicated that math instruction was more
often whole group than small group or pairs.
The CCR math standards incorporate rigor through content, processes and
the depth of understanding that is expected. Two key concepts of CCRSM
are focus and coherence. For kindergarten there are two critical areas of
instructional focus; representing and comparing whole numbers and

describing shapes and space. Coherence comes into the picture because
concepts in first grade build on the concepts taught in kindergarten.
Formative assessments are built into CCRSM program by giving at least 2
curriculum embedded performance assessments (CEPA) per unit. The CEPAs
are used to measure student performance on tasks:
Coding:
I=Student needs instruction and cannot achieve this objective.
P=Student needs more practice on this objective, but is beginning to
understand.
A=Student is ready to apply this objective to various situations.
This information will assist teachers in differentiating the math instruction
with flexible grouping and tiered math center activities.
The preceding information helps to set the stage for the professional
development plan outlined below.
Goals: Over the course of the school year, the teacher learners will:
Identify the key understandings in each CCRSM unit introduced in the
two critical math instructional areas for kindergarten
o Representing and comparing whole numbers
o Describing shapes and space
Identify critical terminology and math processes in each CCRSM unit
Develop strategies for differentiating math instruction
o Number Talks
o Math centers
o Whole group, Small Group, Pairs
Develop a math center framework for their PLC
o Review CCRSM activities to be incorporated into math centers
o Review CCRSM formative assessments - Curriculum Embedded
Performance Assessments (CEPAs) for differentiation ideas
Develop organizational strategies for managing math centers
Learners: 15 Kindergarten teachers and 3 Special Education teachers who
support kindergarten students.
Prior to attending the initial session, teachers will form professional
learning communities (PLC) as a source for support, sharing and
brainstorming as they focus on student learning. With 15 teachers, we
would have 3 or 4 PLCs for the kindergarten grade level. The Special
Education teachers may form their own PLC or join another
kindergarten community. These will be yearlong PLCs. The goal is for
each team to have a common planning time during the school day
available for collaboration.
As the PLCs form, the hope would be that at least one of the members
has students completing 4 6 math centers a week

Location: Main office conference room

This room has a smartboard, laptops available for teachers and
designed for a small group to encourage active participation
Length: 2.5-hour session once a month
Teams will have input if they prefer morning or afternoon sessions.
Half day substitute coverage will be provided.
Each session will focus on developing math centers to support key
understandings and math processes in the upcoming CCRSM unit
Trainers: Math specialists or classroom teachers utilizing math
centers/stations

Subject Matter Experts (SME) on math centers/stations may come from

within our own school or other schools within the district. Very
important to have a person with first-hand experience to share with our
PLCs.

Anticipated Concerns:

Time to implement developing centers, differentiated level of

activities
o In addition to a 2-hour professional development opportunity
once a month, PLCs will have the choice of a one-hour
collaboration block once a week, delayed start of school
Time of day to meet - morning/afternoon and planning for a sub
o by giving each group a choice this should alleviate the stress of
being out of the classroom
Organization room arrangement for centers, materials,
Management establishing math center guidelines, student rotations,
accountability
Materials quantity and variety of materials available
o Assistance with the three items above will come within their PLC,
other SMEs within our school or other schools, online resources,
professional development sessions