What Makes Professional Development Effective? Results From a National Sample of Teachers

doi:10.3102/00028312038004915

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What Makes Professional Development Effective? Results From a National Sample of Teachers

Journal Article•DOI•

What Makes Professional Development Effective? Results From a National Sample of Teachers

Michael S. Garet, Andrew C. Porter, Laura M. Desimone, Beatrice Birman, Kwang Suk Yoon - Show less +1 more

01 Jan 2001-American Educational Research Journal (SAGE Publications)-Vol. 38, Iss: 4, pp 915-945

TL;DR: The authors used a large-scale empirical comparison of effects of different characteristics of professional development on teachers' learning, and found that content knowledge, opportunities for active learning and coherence with other learning activities significantly affect teacher learning.

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Abstract: This study uses a national probability sample of 1,027 mathematics and science teachers to provide the first large-scale empirical comparison of effects of different characteristics of professional development on teachers’ learning. Results, based on ordinary least squares regression, indicate three core features of professional development activities that have significant, positive effects on teachers’ self-reported increases in knowledge and skills and changes in classroom practice: (a) focus on content knowledge; (b) opportunities for active learning; and (c) coherence with other learning activities. It is primarily through these core features that the following structural features significantly affect teacher learning: (a) the form of the activity (e.g., workshop vs. study group); (b) collective participation of teachers from the same school, grade, or subject; and (c) the duration of the activity.

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Journal Article•DOI•

Professional Development and Teacher Learning: Mapping the Terrain

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Hilda Borko¹•Institutions (1)

University of Colorado Boulder¹

01 Nov 2004-Educational Researcher

TL;DR: Teacher professional development is essential to efforts to improve our schools and as discussed by the authors provides an overview of what we have learned as a field, about effective professional development programs and their impact on teacher learning and suggests some important directions and strategies for extending our knowledge into new territory of questions not yet explored.

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Abstract: Teacher professional development is essential to efforts to improve our schools. This article maps the terrain of research on this important topic. It first provides an overview of what we have learned as a field, about effective professional development programs and their impact on teacher learning. It then suggests some important directions and strategies for extending our knowledge into new territory of questions not yet explored.

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3,861 citations

Journal Article•DOI•

Improving Impact Studies of Teachers’ Professional Development: Toward Better Conceptualizations and Measures

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Laura M. Desimone¹•Institutions (1)

University of Pennsylvania¹

01 Apr 2009-Educational Researcher

TL;DR: The authors argue that the use of a common conceptual framework would elevate the quality of professional development studies and subsequently the general understanding of how best to shape and implement teacher learning opportunities for the maximum benefit of both teachers and students.

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Abstract: The author suggests that we apply recent research knowledge to improve our conceptualization, measures, and methodology for studying the effects of teachers’ professional development on teachers and students. She makes the case that there is a research consensus to support the use of a set of core features and a common conceptual framework in professional development impact studies. She urges us to move away from automatic biases either for or against observation, interviews, or surveys in such studies. She argues that the use of a common conceptual framework would elevate the quality of professional development studies and subsequently the general understanding of how best to shape and implement teacher learning opportunities for the maximum benefit of both teachers and students.

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3,464 citations

Cites background or methods from "What Makes Professional Development..."

...This evidence comes from case-study data (e.g., Cohen, 1990), correlational analyses conducted with nationally representative teacher data (e.g., Garet et al., 2001; T. M. Smith et al., 2007), quasi-experiments (Banilower, Heck, & Weiss, 2005), longitudinal studies of teachers (e.g., Cohen & Hill,…...
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...Opportunities for teachers to engage in active learning are also related to the effectiveness of professional development (Garet et al., 2001; Loucks-Horsley et al., 1998)....
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...The effects of the structure of the learning opportunity on teacher change—for example, whether it was a workshop or study group—were fully explained by the features of the activity (Desimone, Porter, et al., 2002; Garet et al., 2001)....
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...…(2007) cite casestudy research to show that we have already identified what might contribute to high-quality professional development, but indicate that before the Garet et al. (2001) study, we had no empirical evidence of the relative value of specific features of professional development....
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Journal Article•DOI•

National Science Education Standards

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J. J. Lagowski

01 Apr 1995-Journal of Chemical Education

2,670 citations

Journal Article•DOI•

Teacher Pedagogical Beliefs: The Final Frontier in Our Quest for Technology Integration?.

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Peggy A. Ertmer¹•Institutions (1)

Purdue University¹

01 Dec 2005-Educational Technology Research and Development

TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a conceptual overview of teacher pedagogical beliefs as a vital first step to establish a similar link to teachers' classroom uses of technology, and describe important implications for teacher professional development and offer suggestions for future research.

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Abstract: Although the conditions for successful technology integration finally appear to be in place, including ready access to technology, increased training for teachers, and a favorable policy environment, high-level technology use is still surprisingly low. This suggests that additional barriers, specifically related to teachers’ pedagogical beliefs, may be at work. Previous researchers have noted the influence of teachers’ beliefs on classroom instruction specifically in math, reading, and science, yet little research has been done to establish a similar link to teachers’ classroom uses of technology. In this article, I argue for the importance of such research and present a conceptual overview of teacher pedagogical beliefs as a vital first step. After defining and describing the nature of teacher beliefs, including how they are likely to impact teachers’ classroom practice, I describe important implications for teacher professional development and offer suggestions for future research.

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2,227 citations

Cites background or methods from "What Makes Professional Development..."

...Furthermore, knowing how to facilitate and support these types of changes is much less familiar to staff developers who typically have been concerned with facilitating firstorder change ( Garet, Porter, Desimone, Birman, & Yoon, 2001 )....
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...This same sentiment has been expressed in recent professional development literature (e.g., Garet et al., 2001; Howard, McGee, Schwartz, & Purcell, 2000; Putnam & Borko, 2000), including that related to technology development (Niederhauser & Stoddart, 2001; Pedersen & Liu, 2003; Windschitl, 2002; Windschitl & Sahl, 2002)....
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...This same sentiment has been expressed in recent professional development literature (e.g., Garet et al., 2001; Howard, McGee, Schwartz, & Purcell, 2000; Putnam & Borko, 2000), including that related to technology development (Niederhauser & Stoddart, 2001; Pedersen & Liu, 2003; Windschitl, 2002;…...
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Professional learning in the learning profession: A status report on teacher development in the United States and abroad.

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Linda Darling-Hammond, Ruth Chung Wei, Alethea Andree, Nikole Richardson, Stelios Orphanos - Show less +1 more

01 Feb 2009

TL;DR: For example, the authors argues that teachers lack time and opportunities to view each other's classrooms, learn from mentors, and work collaboratively, and that the support and training they receive is insufficient.

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Abstract: No part of this may be reproduced in any form — except for brief quotation (not to exceed 1,000 words) in a review or professional work — without prior written permission from NSDC or the authors. D ecades of standards-based school reform have helped identify what students need to know and be able to do. In the words of former IBM CEO Louis V. Gerstner, Jr., these efforts were meant to " drive standards [and accountability] through the schoolhouse door. " But educators and policymakers are recognizing that it is time for Standards-Based Reform 2.0. We need to place a greater priority on strengthening the capacity of educators and building learning communities to deliver higher standards for every child. Enabling educational systems to achieve on a wide scale the kind of teaching that has a substantial impact on student learning requires much more intensive and effective professional learning than has traditionally been available. If we want all young people to possess the higher-order thinking skills they need to succeed in the 21st century, we need educators who possess higher-order teaching skills and deep content knowledge. There are many ways to improve the quality and performance of the nation's education workforce, and many are being tested. States and districts have restructured the staffs at thousands of failing schools. They are seeking to lure better talent into classrooms by recruiting career changers and liberal-arts graduates with rich content knowledge and a willingness to teach. They are revamping their personnel departments, launching new teacher academies, and working to exert greater control over who will teach and in which schools. But these efforts, essential as they are, influence only a small portion of educators. And no matter what states and districts do to bolster the education workforce, they will need to do more and better with the talent they have. This will require a more effective and systematic approach to supporting, developing, and mobilizing the more than three million educators who will teach in and lead our schools. Other fields, from medicine and management to the military, do a far better job of providing ongoing learning opportunities and support for their professionals. But as this report shows, in education, professional learning in its current state is poorly conceived and deeply flawed. Teachers lack time and opportunities to view each other's classrooms, learn from mentors, and work collaboratively. The support and training they receive is …

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1,957 citations

Cites background from "What Makes Professional Development..."

...71 Garet et al., 2001 72 On a survey item in the 2003-04 SASS Teacher Questionnaire in which teachers were asked to indicate their top priorities for further professional development, content-related professional development was listed most commonly (23 percent of teachers) as the top priority, followed by classroom management (18 percent), teaching students with special needs (15 percent), and using technology in the classroom (14 ......
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...Cohen & Hill, 2001; Garet et al., 2001; Desimone et al., 2002; Penuel, Fishman, Yamaguchi, & Gallagher, 2007; Saxe, Gearhart & Nasir, 2001; Supovitz, Mayer & Kahle, 2000 10 Garet et al., 2001 ...
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...Cohen & Hill, 2001; Garet et al., 2001; Desimone et al., 2002; Penuel, Fishman, Yamaguchi, & Gallagher, 2007; Saxe, Gearhart & Nasir, 2001; Supovitz, Mayer & Kahle, 2000 10 Garet et al., 2001...
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...5 Stein, Smith, and Silver, 1999 6 Knapp, 2003; Cohen & Hill, 2001; Desimone et al., 2002; Garet et al., 2001; McGill-Franzen et al., 1999; Supovitz, Mayer & Kahle, 2000, Weiss & Pasley, 2006...
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...15 Elmore & Burney, 1997; Cohen & Hill, 2001; Garet et al., 2001; Penuel, Fishman, Yamaguchi, & Gallagher, 2007; Supovitz, Mayer & Kahle, 2000 16 Supovitz, Mayer, & Kahle, 2000...
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Book•

How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school.

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John D. Bransford, Ann L. Brown, Rodney R. Cocking

01 Jan 1999

TL;DR: New developments in the science of learning as mentioned in this paper overview mind and brain how experts differ from novices how children learn learning and transfer the learning environment curriculum, instruction and commnity effective teaching.

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Abstract: New developments in the science of learning science of learning overview mind and brain how experts differ from novices how children learn learning and transfer the learning environment curriculum, instruction and commnity effective teaching - examples in history, mathematics and science teacher learning technology to support learning conclusions from new developments in the science of learning.

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CONOCIMIENTO Y ENSEÑANZA: FUNDAMENTOS DE LA NUEVA REFORMA 1 Knowledge and Teaching: Foundations of the New Reform

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Lee S. Shulman

01 Jan 2005

TL;DR: Lee S. Shulman as mentioned in this paper builds his foundation for teachi ng reform on an idea of teaching that emphasizes comprension and reasoning, transformation and reflection, and argues that this emphasis is justified by the resoluteness with which research and policy have so blatantly ignored those aspects of teaching in the past.

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Abstract: Lee S. Shulman builds his foundation for teachi ng reform on an idea of teaching that emphasizes comprension and reasoning, transformation and reflection. "This emphasis is justified" he writes, "by the resoluteness with which research and policy have so blatantly ignored those aspects of teaching in the past". To articulate and justify this conception, Shulman responds to four questions: What are the sources of the knowledge base for teaching? In what terms can these sources be conceptualized? What are the processes of pedagogical reasoning and action? And What are the implications for teaching policy and educational reform? The answers -informed by philosophy, psychology, and a growing body of casework based on young and experienced practitioners- go far beyond current reform assumptions and initiatives. The outcome for educational practitioners, scholars,

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13,211 citations

Journal Article•DOI•

Knowledge and Teaching: Foundations of the New Reform

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Lee S. Shulman

01 Apr 1987-Harvard Educational Review

TL;DR: Lee S. Shulman as mentioned in this paper builds his foundation for teaching reform on an idea of teaching that emphasizes comprehension and reasoning, transformation and reflection. "This emphasis is justified," he writes,...

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Abstract: Lee S. Shulman builds his foundation for teaching reform on an idea of teaching that emphasizes comprehension and reasoning, transformation and reflection. "This emphasis is justified," he writes, ...

...read moreread less

12,926 citations

"What Makes Professional Development..." refers background in this paper

...…general pedagogy or teaching practices, such as classroom management, lesson planning, or grouping methods; and some are intended to improve what Shulman (1987) has termed “pedagogical content knowledge”—teaching practices in specific content domains, such as teaching multidigit addition in…...
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...improve what Shulman (1987) has termed “pedagogical content knowl-...
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