Professional development includes activities that:

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improve and increase teachers' knowledge of academic subjects they teach and enable teachers to become highly qualified.

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are an integral part of broad school wide and district-wide educational improvement plans.

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improve classroom management skills.

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are high quality, sustained, intensive and classroom-focused in order to have a positive and lasting impact on classroom instruction and the teacher's performance in the classroom and are not one day or short-term workshops or conferences.

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are aligned with and directly related to state academic content standards, student academic achievement standards and assessments and the curricula and programs tied to the standards.

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are designed to give teachers of limited English proficient children, and other teachers and instructional staff, the knowledge and skills to provide instruction and appropriate language and academic support services to those children, including the appropriate use of curricula and assessments.

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to the extent appropriate, provide training for teachers and principals in the use of technology so that technology and technology applications are effectively used in the classroom to improve teaching and learning in the curricula and core.

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academic subjects in which the teachers teach.

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provide instruction in methods of teaching children with special needs.

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include instruction in the use of data and assessments to inform and instruct classroom practice.

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include instruction in ways that teachers, principals, pupil services personnel and school administrators may work more effectively with parents.

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provide follow-up training to teachers who have participated in activities that are designed to ensure that the knowledge and skills learned by the teachers are implemented in the classroom.

Examples of professional development include:

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Professional development focused on academic content standards;

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Professional development related to state assessments in the content area or academic content standards;

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Data analysis;

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Curriculum mapping, curriculum alignment and curriculum auditing;

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Differentiating instruction;

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Professional development related to special needs students, 

i.e. disabilities; gifted; limited English proficient;

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Professional development, appropriate to teaching assignment, related to working with parents.

Examples of professional development activities that can not be included:

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One-day workshops that include no planned follow up sustained over a period of time;

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Activities that cannot be directly linked to attainment of knowledge and pedagogy related to the teaching assignment.