High–quality professional development (the education of teachers, both before and during their careers) is a central component for improving education for students. Noted education scholar Thomas Guskey defines professional development as “systematic efforts to bring about change in the classroom practices of teachers, in their attitudes and beliefs, and in the learning outcomes of students.”( 116) Just as excellent civic learning is interactive and involves students in discussion and collaboration, the best professional development is not a matter of transmitting facts and concepts to prospective or actual teachers, but rather of encouraging them to learn through study, reflection, and experience.

Research substantiates that high–quality professional development is required for effective implementation of any policies and practices.( 117) Simply put, teacher professional development is an investment in student learning. Given our vision of high–quality civic learning, it is necessary to ensure that teachers are prepared to provide that sort of education to their students. Well–trained teachers are indispensible to making the six proven practices an integral part of every student's experience. As such, a high–quality professional development program in civics must focus on engaging teachers in these practices to help build a deeper understanding of the knowledge and skills they need to incorporate these practices in the classroom. Teachers must have a clear understanding of both the “what” and the “how” of civics in order to help students gain mastery of the content and skills necessary to be engaged citizens.( 118)

EVIDENCE OF THE IMPORTANCE OF CIVIC LEARNING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
The need could hardly be clearer: There are specific classroom practices identified with positive civic outcomes, and professional development has been shown to increase the chances teachers will use those practices effectively in their classrooms. 119 Given this connection, it should not be surprising that a teacher's professional development in civics is predictive of students' civic knowledge and
attitudes. 120 Reflecting on their own education and teacher preparation programs, 51 percent of public school civics teachers report that programs “fell short” in “preparing social studies teachers to teach in real–world classrooms.”( 121)

Currently teachers are sporadically using the six practices of effective civic learning in their classrooms. A study conducted in 2004 by the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) demonstrates the need for professional development in the specific areas of the promising practices. In surveying 80 teachers from across the nation, the study shows a large amount of variation in teachers' classroom practices with regard to instructional practices around civic skills, civic engagement, and awareness of civic issues and concepts.( 122) Training teachers in both content and skills, through pre–service, in–service, and other programming, is required to ensure that civics instruction is both consistent and high–quality. Only effective teacher professional development can cultivate effective civics teaching, guaranteeing that a solid grounding in civics is a reality for every child and not dependent on variables specific to a given teacher, school, or community.

COMPONENTS OF EFFECTIVE
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN CIVIC LEARNING
Professional development programs in civics should be grounded in what has been shown to impact teachers' knowledge, skills and practices. An analysis of research on current professional development practices( 123) demonstrates the necessary components required for professional development to be effective:

! Content–focused: Several studies demonstrate that teachers' skills and understandings are directly related to the degree that professional development experiences focus on subject–matter content. It has been found that when teachers have a deep knowledge of content, they are more comfortable and likely to engage students in discussions and inquiry.( 124 )

! Active: Research suggests effective professional development should engage participants with the content and practices in order to help them understand how to incorporate these components into their own instruction. “Active learning encourages teachers to become engaged in meaningful discussion, planning, and practice as part of the professional development activity.”( 125)

! Ongoing: Various studies suggest that effective professional development needs to include continuous follow–up and support that allow for more substantive engagement with subject matter, more opportunities for active learning, and development of coherent connections to teachers' daily work.( 126)

! Connected to Curriculum and Standards: Professional development should be aligned with national and state standards and connected to what the teachers do with students in the classroom. This requires professional development programs
to include time for teachers to think through the context of their communities and schools.( 127)

! Collaborative: Research has shown that giving teachers the opportunity to build collaborative relationships around common content, skills, and issues of implementation can highly impact the implementation of best practices in a classroom. “Professional development activities that include collective participation—that is, the participation of teachers from the same department, subject, or grade—are more likely to afford opportunities for active learning and are more likely to be coherent with teachers' other experiences.”( 128)

CONCLUSION
These aspects of professional development have been proven to improve teaching and should be adopted by civic learning professional development programs nationwide. Yet they do not occur in a vacuum, and programs should take into account the wide variety of contexts that shape teaching and learning, including state and district policies, curriculum, and community values.

Teaching the content and skills necessary to realize the civic mission of our schools requires professional development. To give all students the sort of education that prepares them for democratic citizenship, educators need to understand and be able to teach civic content and skills in–depth and with the flexibility to employ the proven practices in their classrooms. Sustained, high–
quality professional development, as defined in this section, is critical to ensuring that teachers are prepared to incorporate the promising practices on a consistent basis in all classrooms.