Staff Development and Change Process: Cut from the Same Cloth
Most staff developers would agree that the goal of staff development is change in individuals' knowledge, understanding, behaviors, skills - and in values and beliefs. Too often, it appears this fundamental view of staff development is unheeded or forgotten. However, if change of some understanding, skill, or behavior is the desired outcome of staff development, it seems reasonable to explore the relationship.
In this paper, a well-researched model of staff development is described. Findings of a research study that explored the effectiveness of the model's components are included. Second, a change model derived from longitudinal school improvement studies is examined. Data on this model's categories of interventions are included as well. Finally, implications of a "match of the models" suggests thinking about staff development as the process of change and about strategies that enhance the success of the staff development/change effort.
STAFF DEVELOPMENT: FIVE COMPONENTS
A large majority of school, district, higher education, and state level practitioners agree that staff development offerings typically focus only on the first component of a staff development model articulated by Joyce and Showers (1980), omitting the remaining four. These five components are described below.
Joyce and Showers Model
The first of five components of this model is the presentation of theory or the description of a new skill or behavior deemed useful or desirable to the audience. This description is typically thirty minutes to one or two hours in length, and is provided in a one-way delivery mode to a passive audience. Imparting knowledge, as an outcome, can be accomplished in this single session.
The second component of the Joyce and Showers model is demonstration or modeling of the new strategy or skill. Like the first component, delivery is one-way and no audience action is required. The third component is...