Professional development has long been established as a necessity for the growth of school personnel (Darling-Hammond, 2004; Glickman et al., 2004; Guskey, 2003; Seyfarth, 2008). The term, however, has many meanings and many forms, most of which have not been able to make the changes or the claims that creators espouse. This article will first explore the common two dimensions of professional development, focus and time, which the literature contends make professional development effective; and then an additional dimension, purpose, will be added that helps create a new tool for school personnel to use in the creation of effective professional development. These three dimensions, when used in effective combinations for professional development activities, create a new planning tool for use by school personnel. FULL MANUSCRIPT AVAILABLE AT: http://cnx.org/content/m35748/latest/
