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PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Joslyn Brown instructs participants during the Preparing Your Classroom session. AEA Professional Development Day Teachers Teaching Teachers On October 29, 2011, the Arizona Education Association (AEA) hosted the AEA Priority Learning Professional Development Day at Central High School in Phoenix. AEA's Quality Teaching and Learning Program has created the Priority Learning Network made up of National Board Certified AEA members who are trained to deliver specif- ic professional development sessions that have shown to assist in improving student achieve- ment and school performance. Over 135 people attended the event which offered trainings for teachers and those who work with students in the classroom on topics including classroom management, bullying pre- vention, lesson planning, professional learning communities, and teacher evaluation strategies. AEA President Andrew F. Morrill opened the day commending participants for their dedica- tion to their profession. "You being here today is reflective of your inner commitment. In the one world you know you can impact and that is the world inside your classroom, the world in your immediate control. And what is really particularly powerful about this to me is that in this world of confusion, you still make the com- mitment to control what it is within your reach of control. And that is your gifts, your skills, your magic, your science, your art of teaching. That's what brought you here today." Keynote speaker Dr. Audrey Amrein- Beardsley spoke about teacher evaluation mod- els. The associate professor at ASU's Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College presented information about the drawbacks of value-added measures like the Education Value-Added Assessment System (EVAAS) adopted by the Houston Independent School District. "Teachers are in- accurately evaluated by value-added measures like EVAAS." She also provided information on the Colorado Growth Model, which has been adopted by Arizona. Participants learned more about teacher Continued on next page AEA Advocate ❘ Winter 2011/12 19 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT