The purpose of a professional development plan is to provide for continuing improvement in teaching, in other student interactions, in the quality of scholarly activity and other service to the university and community. The purpose of evaluation is to provide faculty with new information which will contribute to their teaching abilities. The professional development plan is intended to be supportive of a faculty member's and their desire for continuing trained growth and academic excellence. This process contributes to various personnel activities and supports the interest of each faculty member to achieve continuing professional growth and to pursue the highest possible level of academic excellence. Project activities included reading and discussing pieces of fiction and history, developing an interdisciplinary humanities curriculum, and video-taping and viewing classroom instruction. It's helpful when knowledge is shared equally between colleagues within and across different departments; reduced teacher isolation; and the development of an intellectual community for teachers within high schools and universities. However, teachers at different points in their career trajectory were differentially affected by this project.
A good professional development plan is an important part of effective technology use, and only high-quality professional development plans can ensure the maximum benefits from the time and money spent. Educational technology requires educators not only to become familiar with the technology available in their schools but also to totally transform the teacher role. Professional development plans help teachers learn new roles and teaching strategies that will eventually improve their students' achievement. Professional growth occurs in areas such as effective teaching, scholarly or creative activity, and active involvement in the high school and university community and professional organizations. Faculty scholarship and current knowledge of the discipline, together with a desire to improve pedagogy, are instrumental to good teaching.
Formative evaluation is used to modify or improve a professional development plan. It is conducted throughout the plan to provide feedback and to determine changes to be made during the program to make it more valuable to participating educators. There are a number of ways to collect information for the formative evaluation. Educators can be asked to think about their own goals for personal and professional growth; then, at various times throughout the professional development plan, they can be asked to evaluate the program's value in meeting those goals. Finally, and most important, is the effect on student learning. Test scores are not the only source of information on this point. Some technology use is reflected in ways not readily seen on test scores, such as increased time spent on writing, better inquiry skills, or more collaboration among students. The ultimate value of a professional development plan is their ability to transform the learning environment. The purpose of evaluating professional development programs is to determine if that transformation is happening and to specify what changes need to be made to ensure that transformation does occur.