[PSTUM-list] Re: Professional Development Formats

Just a quick note from Shandy in response to Derek's email. There is a plethora of research out there on professional development of in-service K-14 teachers. I'm going to quote from a paper I recently wrote with Jeff Farmer and Andrew Neumann [with a few additional comments in square brackets]: What is still being clarified is what constitutes “effective” professional development and just how prevalent “effective” professional development program offerings are. In their study of the professional development offered to K-12 teacher-participants through the federally-funded Eisenhower Program, Desimone, Porter, Garet, Yoon, and Birman (2002) found that four out of five professional development experiences were traditional, transmission-based workshops (without active learning) of 15 or fewer contact hours, and that most spanned less than a week. Among the key features of effective professional development programs identified in the research literature are several structures and strategies in conflict with this reported common practice (Loucks-Horsley & Matsumoto, 1999). Three organizational components have been identified as particularly effective: (a) using reform methods (e.g., a mathematics program that is based on the PSSM [see NCTM entry in references below]), (b) distributing activities across an extended period of weeks or months and (c) including groups of teachers participating collectively from a department or local area. Moreover, three significant methodological aspects of an effective professional development experience have been identified: (d) a focus on improving the pedagogical content knowledge of teachers [this is more than whether or not they can "do the math," it's about whether or not they can anticipate student needs and communicate mathematical ideas in ways accessible to students (e.g., applying Stein and Smith's (1998) Math Tasks Framework to collegiate mathematics teaching)], (e) regular and meaningful analysis of teaching and learning and (f) fostering connectedness and inclusiveness among participants (Birman, Desimone, Porter, and Garet, 2000). References Birman, B. F., Desimone, L., Porter, A. C., and Garet, M. S. (May, 2000). Designing professional development that works. Educational Leadership, 28-33. Desimone, L., Porter, A. C., Garet, M. S.,Yoon, K., and Birman, B. F. (2002) Effects of professional development on teachers’ instruction: Results from a three-year longitudinal study. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 24(2), 81-112. Farmer, J., Hauk, S., and Neumann, A. M. (2005). Negotiating reform: Implementing Process Standards in culturally responsive professional development. To appear in the High School Journal, See http://hopper.unco.edu/faculty/personal/hauk/research.html for a link to the manuscript. Loucks-Horsley, S. and Matsumoto, C. (1999). Research on professional development for teachers of mathematics and science: The state of the scene. School Science & Mathematics, 99(5), 258-271. NCTM: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (2000). Principles and standards for school mathematics (PSSM). Reston, VA: Author. Stein, M. S. and Smith M. K. (1998). Selecting and creating mathematical tasks: From research to practice. Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School 3, 344-350.