Professional Development Hours

Cooperating educators can earn professional development hours through ISBE for activities that result in their own professional growth while supervising one or more UIC teacher candidate(s) during field experience or student teaching. To begin this process, please complete the UIC professional growth log during your supervisory experience. One professional growth log should be completed for each semester that you work with one or more UIC teacher candidates(s). When describing the activities that result in your own professional growth, please make sure to indicate which teacher candidate you worked with during each activity.

The UIC Council on Teacher Education (CTE) processes these requests in January and June. Please submit the completed and signed Professional Growth Log and completed ISBE 77-21A Evaluation form to uic_cte@uic.edu by January 15 (for fall semester cooperating teachers) or June 15 (for spring semester cooperating teachers). Most importantly, please allow ample processing time to meet your ISBE deadlines. After checking that the professional development requirements have been met, the UIC CTE will issue you a completed ISBE 77- 21B Evidence of Completion form, which you can then submit to ISBE.

You have the opportunity to earn one hour of professional development for every one hour that you spend on activities that result in your own professional growth, with a maximum of 30 hours earned per UIC semester for hosting student teachers and a maximum of 15 hours earned per UIC semester for hosting field observers. Professional development credit is awarded in clock hours to the nearest quarter of an hour (23 IAC §25.855(h)).

Individuals and organizations that host professional development activities and are affiliated with UIC can work with the CTE to provide professional development credit to participating educators. Professional development credits are awarded on a 1:1 basis – 1 clock hour of attendance = 1 professional development hour. Professional development hours will not be awarded for health-related, mandated trainings.

Activities must align with one or more of the Learning Forward Standards for Professional Learning. This alignment is indicated in the Professional Development Activity online form in step 3. Without this alignment, professional development hours will not be issued.

In order for professional development clock hours to be awarded, the following steps must be completed:

1. Track attendance at the professional development activity using the CTE standardized attendance sheet as a guide. If this is an online, webinar, or other individualized activity, please contact CTE for information on how to track the number of hours educators actually spend working on an activity.
2. Collect an ISBE 77-21A Evaluation from each participant. Submit these forms to the CTE within one week after the event. These forms can be emailed to uic_cte@uic.edu. If this is a virtual activity, please contact CTE for information on how the 77-21A form can be completed online. Every participant must submit a 77-21A form for professional development hours to be awarded.
3. Within one week after the event, please complete the Professional Development Activity online form. This form requires the activity coordinator to describe the purpose of the activity and how it aligns to multiple types of standards. This form also requires the activity coordinator to upload the attendance sheet that was completed at the professional development activity.

After receiving the online form, the attendance sheet, and the individual evaluations, the CTE will complete an ISBE 77-21B Evidence of Completion form for each participating educator. These forms will be sent directly to each participant via email.