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 1^st & 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