Dear Deep Creek School Family,
Professional Development is relevant in any field, but is especially
important for educators so that we can best meet the needs of our
students. We have recently begun
receiving information on the CIA Investigation or Summer Curriculum,
Instruction, and Assessment Professional Learning Conference that
is taking place on June 1st & 2nd. CCPS employees have an advantage as our
district is offering a large number of PD opportunities. There are full day events, Breakout Sessions,
and Action Labs for teachers and
paraprofessionals throughout the two days.
Bonus…you get paid to attend. A highlight is that our own Paul Rigatti
will be the Keynote Speaker on Friday.
The
following is an excerpt from an article in Teaching Tolerance Magazine. I found it to be very
timely as it connects professional development with academic success. Much of our upcoming PD focuses on subject
matter and student learning. Find a
session that inspires you and will boost the performance of your students. Check your email for all of the CIA
Investigation details. You can
also find a list of classes on each table in our Staff Lounge. Sign-up soon as spaces will fill
quickly.
I hope that you each have a fantastic 3 day weekend and that you Sharpen
the Saw with friends and family. For
those who celebrate, Happy Easter!
Marie
Teaching Teachers:
Professional Development To Improve Student Achievement
Professional Development: Leadership
Overview:
Good
teachers form the foundation of good schools, and improving teachers’ skills
and knowledge is one of the most important investments of time and money that
local, state, and national leaders make in education. Yet with the wide variety
of professional development options available, which methods have the most
impact on student learning?
Research on professional development is scattered
throughout subject areas, with its focus ranging from classroom processes and
structures to teachers’ personal traits. We have limited our review to learning
opportunities for teachers that are explicitly aimed at increasing student
achievement.
What Are Teachers Learning?
FOCUS ON TEACHING SKILLS
Research on the links
between teacher learning and student achievement is divided into two waves. The
first wave, beginning in the 1960s, focused primarily on “generic” teaching
skills, such as allocating class time, providing clear classroom
demonstrations, assessing student comprehension during lectures, maintaining
attention, and grouping students.
These studies showed small
to moderate positive effects on students’ basic skills, such as phonetic decoding
and arithmetic operations; in a few cases, reasoning skills also improved. For
example, in an experimental study of fourth-grade mathematics in urban schools
serving primarily low-income families, student achievement was greater when
teachers emphasized active whole-class instruction — giving information,
questioning students, and providing feedback — and more frequent reviews, among
other measures. Student achievement also was enhanced when teachers learned to
follow the presentation of new material with “guided practice” — asking
questions and supervising exercises.
FOCUS ON SUBJECT MATTER AND STUDENT LEARNING
In the 1990s, a second wave
of research delved deeper into student learning, focusing on students’
reasoning and problem solving potentials rather than only on basic skills. It
suggested that professional development can influence teachers’ classroom
practices significantly and lead to improved student achievement when it
focuses on (1) how students learn particular subject matter; (2) instructional
practices that are specifically related to the subject matter and how students
understand it; and (3) strengthening teachers’ knowledge of specific
subject-matter content. Close alignment of professional development with actual
classroom conditions also is key.
Student achievement was
consistently higher and growth in students’ basic and advanced reasoning and
problem-solving skills was greatest when their teachers’ professional
development focused on how students learn and how to gauge that learning effectively.
This suggests that professional development that is rooted in subject matter
and focused on student learning can have a significant impact on student
achievement.
LINKING PROFESSIONAL LEARNING TO TEACHERS’ REAL WORK
To be effective,
professional development must provide teachers with a way to directly apply
what they learn to their teaching. Research shows that professional development
leads to better instruction and improved student learning when it connects to
the curriculum materials that teachers use, the district and state academic
standards that guide their work, and the assessment and accountability measures
that evaluate their success.
Two recent studies that
support focusing professional development on curriculum have implications for
states striving to connect education policy to instruction. David Cohen and
Heather Hill found that teachers whose learning focused directly on the
curriculum they would be teaching were the ones who adopted the practices
taught in their professional development. These teachers embraced new
curriculum materials when they were supported by training and, in some cases,
workshops about the new state-required student assessment. The study also
showed that students of teachers who participated in this kind of curriculum-focused
professional development did well on assessments. Unfortunately, most teachers
received less effective forms of training.
How Much Professional Development Is Enough, and How Well Is It
Working?
Studies suggest that the
more time teachers spend on professional development, the more significantly
they change their practices and that participating in professional learning
communities optimizes the time spent on professional development. Therefore, it
is striking that one national survey found that in nine of 10 content areas,
most teachers said that they spent one day or less on professional development
during the previous year.
While adequate time for
professional development is essential, studies also show that by itself, more
time does not guarantee success. If the sessions do not focus on the
subject-matter content that research has shown to be effective, then the
duration will do little to change teachers’ practices and improve student
learning.
Conclusion
Our changing goals for
learning, coupled with shifts in curriculum emphasis and a deeper understanding
of teacher learning and student thinking, have led to new findings about the
impact of teacher professional development and how best to sharpen teachers’
skills and knowledge.
What matters most is what
teachers learn. Professional development should improve teachers’ knowledge of
the subject matter that they are teaching, and it should enhance their
understanding of student thinking in that subject matter. Aligning substantive
training with the curriculum and teachers’ actual work experiences also is
vital.
The time teachers spend in
professional development makes a difference as well, but only when the
activities focus on high-quality subject-matter content. Extended opportunities
to better understand student learning, curriculum materials and instruction,
and subject-matter content can boost the performance of both teachers and
students.
Weekly
Reminders:
Monday - Grade 4 FSA
- ELA
Tuesday - Grade 4 FSA – ELA; Roster Verification Due; Team
Meetings in Leadership Lounge -CLF
Wednesday - Grade 5 FSA - ELA
Thursday – FLM Committees @ 7:35; Grade 5 FSA - ELA
Friday – Program Planner Meeting @ 7:15
Thank you all for what you do each and every day! We hope you have a wonderful holiday season filled with love and joy (and REST)! 
