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Report on the Teacher Needs Survey - Pre-K through 12th-grade teachers want more preparation in classroom management and instructional skills, according to this nationwide survey. According to the more than 2,300 responses received, teachers want help with classroom management in areas including student safety in classrooms and dealing with students' negative or disruptive behaviors. Teachers also want help with instructional skills, such as promoting critical thinking and motivating students to learn. Novice teachers, in particular, expressed a strong need for assistance. New teachers, those most likely to leave the profession, are seeking instructional strategies to serve the wide range of achievement levels students bring to the same classroom. Survey respondents indicated a preference for receiving professional development in the form of online courses or small in-district workshops, rather than larger regional workshops. (American Psychological Association, August 2006)
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Professional Communities and Instructional Improvement Practices: A study of small high schools in Chicago - This report examines the instructional improvement practices of teacher professional communities in seven Chicago High School Redesign Initiative schools. The authors note that teachers most commonly talked about instruction in informal one-on-one exchanges rather than through group activities to improve their members' collective instructional capacity and change core instructional practices. The researchers likewise report that the daily demands of teaching left teachers with little time to address instructional issues in a systematic or sustained manner within teacher teams, though one school with clear instructional priorities and strong leadership was able to facilitate ongoing discussions on building core instructional practices. The study provides questions school leaders and policymakers should ask in implementing professional development programs for teachers. (W. David Stevens, with Joseph Kahne, Consortium on Chicago School Research, January 2006)...
Professional Development Analysis - Professional development for teachers can have a positive impact on student achievement if it: (1) is sustained over time; (2) focuses on specific content areas or instructional strategies; (3) supports the collective learning of most – if not all – teachers in a school; (4) aligns with school and teacher goals; and (5) provides opportunities for teachers to practice and apply new knowledge. However, this report finds that in general, teacher professional development does not reflect these characteristics, which results in mixed results in improving student achievement. The report provides recommendations for those planning professional development. (Ravay Snow-Renner and Patricia A. Lauer, McREL, 2005)
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Teaching Teachers: Professional Development to Improve Student Achievement - This brief reviews research on learning opportunities for teachers that are explicitly aimed at increasing student achievement. Recommendations for policymakers: (1) make sure that professional development focuses on the subject matter teachers will be teaching; (2) align teachers’ learning opportunities with their real work experiences, using actual curriculum materials and assessments; (3) provide adequate time for professional development and ensure that the extended opportunities to learn emphasize observing and analyzing students’ understanding of the subject matter; (4) ensure that school districts have reliable systems for evaluating the impact of professional development on teachers’ practices and student learning. (American Educational Research Association, Summer 2005)...
Characteristics of Public School Teachers' Professional Development Activities: 1999-2000 - This brief examines the prevalence of five features of teacher professional development: (1) a focus on teachers' subject-matter content or the teaching methods they employ; (2) duration in terms of the number of hours of training and the number of weeks or months over which training is provided; (3) an activity format that is integrated into the daily work of teachers rather than removed from the context of direct public school teaching, as in traditional workshops; (4) collective participation of teachers' peers in matters of instruction; and (5) alignment with local standards and other initiatives to change instructional practices, as well as teachers' own professional goals. Findings are disaggregated by a number of characteristics, including years of teaching experience and grade level taught. (Marion Scotchmer, Daniel J. McGrath and Ellinor Coder, National Center for Education Statistics, August 2005)...
Preparing and Training Professionals: Comparing Education to Six Other Fields - This report compares professional development – both pre-service preparation and in-service training – in education to six other professions: law, accounting, architecture, nursing, firefighting and law enforcement. The report analyzes critical elements of professional development: (1) approval of preparation programs; (2) clinical training; (3) national entry exam; (4) practice prior to licensure; (5) standards for in-service training; (6) induction programs; (7) peer support and learning; (8) managers; (9) financing; and (10) financial incentives. (Katherine S. Neville, Rachel H. Sherman and Carol E. Cohen, The Finance Project, 2005)...
Inside the Black Box: School District Spending on Professional Development in Education - Virtually all teachers participate in, and many school districts spend siginifcant time and money on, teacher professional development. This study examines professional development spending in five large urban districts as a first step to get inside the "black box" of professional development. The authors list their findings starting on page 11, which include six lessons learned from the five districts, and the conclusion on page 14. (Karen Hawley Miles, Allen Odden, Mark Fermanich and Sarah Archibald, The Finance Project, 2005)...
National Board Certification Successfully Identifies Effective Teachers - This two-page brief summarizes the findings of a study on the effectiveness of National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) certification in identifying teachers who raise student achievement. Findings include: National Board Certified Teachers (1) are more effective at raising student achievement than teachers who pursue, but fail to obtain NBPTS certification; (2) are more effective at raising student achievement – outside of the year in which they apply – than teachers who do not pursue NBPTS certification; and (3) have a greater impact with younger and low-income students. Questions on the cost effectiveness of NBPTS certification have yet to be resolved. The full report also is available online. (Dan Goldhaber and Emily Anthony, Center on Reinventing Public Education, March 2004)...
Online Professional Development: Why SREB States Should Use It - This publication looks at why states have not used online professional development more extensively and what states should do to use it effectively to meet their important teacher training needs. The author found the reasons given for not using online learning are lack of understanding of how the Web can be utilized, too many other demands on staff time and cost. (William R. Thomas, Southern Regional Education Board, October 2004)
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Can Teacher Quality Be Effectively Assessed? - The authors describe the results of the first large-scale study, based on a unique data set from North Carolina, assessing the relationship between the certification of teachers by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) and elementary-level student achievement. Their findings indicate NBPTS is successfully identifying the more effective teachers among applicants, and NBPTS-certified teachers, prior to becoming certified, were more effective than their noncertified counterparts at increasing student achievement. The statistical significance and magnitude of the “NBPTS effect,” however, differs significantly by grade level and student type. A two-page research brief also is available. (Dan Goldhaber and Emily Anthony, Center on Reinventing Public Education, April 2004)...
NBPTS Certification: Who Applies and What Factors Are Associated with Success? - This report examines data on North Carolina teachers who applied for certification by the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) to determine the characteristics of those who applied for, and those who earned, certification. Applicants tended to be young, women, African American and score higher on standardized tests. Successful candidates tended to be women, score higher on standardized tests and have obtained a master's degree. African Americans accounted for 13% of the applicant pool but only 4% of successful applicants. Schools with more prior successful candidates also were more likely to have teachers apply for certification. Low-income, low-performing and predominately minority districts were less likely to have NBPTS certified teachers. (Dan Goldhaber, David Perry and Emily Anthony, Urban Institute, May 2003) ...
Making Our Own Road: The Emergence of School-Based Staff Developers in America's Public Schools - This report provides a sound introduction to the increasingly common practice nationwide of retaining on-site staff developers in schools. Based on interviews and observations at local schools as well as a review of the literature on the practice, the author offers insight into the unique duties and challenges of the school-based staff developer, as well as "hopeful signs" of the positive changes these educators can bring about in student and teacher learning. Richard also establishes what needs to be in place for a school to adopt an effective school-based staff development program, and shares Web links and other resources for further research on the issue. (Alan Richard, Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, May 2003) ...
 State Partnerships for Quality Teacher Preparation  PDF - This issue paper examines how the effective use of data, competency-based teacher education standards and current relationships between districts and teacher education programs can lead to powerful partnerships that drive both the continuous improvement of schools and teacher education programs. The paper, which was developed with the support of the National Center for Teacher Transformation, is a result of a meeting of education leaders from throughout the nation that explored how to build effective state partnerships for quality teacher preparation. (Bruce Vandal and Barbara Thompson, Education Commission of the States, May 2009)...
Race to the Top: Promising Approaches to Achieving Teacher-Related Goals (Goal 3)  MS Word PDF - (Jennifer Dounay, Education Commission of the States, March 2009)...
Professional Learning in the Learning Profession—A Status Report on Teacher Development in the U.S. and Abroad: Technical Report - Comparisons of American teachers’ participation in professional development with that of teachers in the international community demonstrate that the United States is substantially behind other OECD nations in providing the kinds of powerful professional learning opportunities that are more likely to build their capacity and have significant Impacts on student learning. (National Staff Development Council and the School Redesign Network, February 2009)...
Improving the Skills and Knowledge of the High School Teachers We Already Have PDF - While numerous state efforts seek to recruit, train and retain more teachers, fewer initiatives focus on developing teachers, particlarly high school teachers, once they enter the classroom. This policy brief examines seven high-leverage components to strengthen teacher professional development at the high school level and provides state policy suggestions for each. (Jennifer Dounay and Kathy Christie, Education Commission of the States, October 2008)...
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Professional Development
