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PREL2005 Educational Laboratory program, award number ED01CO0014. The content does not necessarily AFocus on Professional Development Writers: Fran Lehr, MA PRELexpresses sincere thanks to the Early Reading Advisory Panel, chaired by Dr. Michael Kamil, for review- AFocus on Professional .prel.org/programs/rel/rel.asp 11 years. This year, as in years past, many read. This year, as in years past, many explain and demonstrate the programÕs components. As success. As a result, she frequently runs out of time and h o t o : L e e N o t o However, she never skips having the students spend time reading silently, and she takes time every day to listen to has decided to focus its professional development efforts on the trictÕs instruction in line with the findings of the National Reading Panel. Ms. Levitt is worried, however, that many of the experi- development program. How, she wonders, can she and the pro- gram organizers help make the experience work to change the Ms. LevittÕs situation will be familiar to many who plan profes- sional day-long in-service sessions and hit-or-miss workshopsÑ tent of effective instruction and skillful in delivering that content ment have increased substantially. The No Child Left Behind Act accountability and teacher quality with the goal of raising student ꔀRecent developments, such as class size reduction and need for, and difficulty in obtaining, qualified teachers ꔀFederal legislation mandates that states prepare and ꔀThe need is increasing for teachers who can provide Teaching in At-Risk Schools, 2005). ꔀAt least 30% of new teachers leave the profession with- instruction is of special importance. At issue is how to prepare professional development Teaching Reading Teaching reading is a job for an expert. Contrary to the popu- lar theory that learning to read is natural and easy, learning dren, it requires effort and incremental skill development. Moreover, teaching reading requires considerable knowledge and supervised practice. (Moats, 1999, p. 11) What We Mean by Professional Development Professional development other being . Although these terms are some- Teacher education Professional development multiyear programs. They may involve groups of teachers within a ated programs of professional development to sell to individual schools or to school districts. Regardless of their form or who pro- vides them, the stated goal of most programs of professional Recent Reports on Teacher Education that examine issues related to teacher education: Preparing Teachers for a Changing World: What Teachers Should Learn and Be Able To Do of a commission sponsored by the National Academy of Studying Teacher Education: Report of the AERA Panel on Research and Teacher Education h o t o : R a y W o n g More precisely, as 200220052005 that the answers are yes. Thus, the resulting initiatives are based Since ColemanÕs work, numerous studies have addressed such h o t o : L i a n e S i n g school year. teachers, what exactly do they mean? Teacher? reauthorization of the ꔀHolds a college degree and is licensed to teach on the ꔀHas passed a test of subject area knowledge and teaching Taken alone, these basic criteria would hardly seem to define effective teachers. The research evidence for the value of a teacher픀s college degrees in terms of student achievement is mixed (e.g., Goldhaber & Brewer, 2000; Rowan, Correnti, & Miller, (e.g., Darling-Hammond, 2000; Walsh, 2001). And, as Whitehurst in Title II of the act. Various forms of professional development From this language, 20022002 about the ESEAdefinition of Òhighly qualifiedÓ teachers, includ- Teachers vary in their quality. (Otherwise, why distinguish 2.Teacher quality is affected by the following: ꔀExperience (Otherwise, why include professional ꔀCognitive and verbal ability (Otherwise, why require a It seems logical to assume that teachersÕsubject area knowledge would relate to student achievement. Although some evidence related student achievement to teachersÕsubject area knowledge the inconsistent findings: the difference might be related to the Years of Teaching Experience In general, studies of the effects of teacher experience on student students. According to the National Center for Education fewer years of teaching experience, compared with 11% of teach- ers in low-poverty schools (Mayer, Mullens, & Moore, 2000). Cognitive and Verbal Ability Along line of studies has shown strong evidence of the relation- ship to student achievement of teachersÕgeneral knowledgeÑtheir cognitive and verbal ability (e.g., Ehrenberg & Brewer, 1994; ꔀEngage students in active learningÑdebating; discussing; ꔀMake their expectations for high-quality work very clear Anders, Hoffman, & Duffy, 2000; Darling-Hammond, 2000, This evidence is sufficient to support what KameÔenui calls a effective teaching is important to student achievement, then pro- deeply. fessional development programs effective in achieving however, that the literature does reveal a broad consensus as to the dards areas of the National Staf20012001 ꔀAsupportive context, with strong leadership ꔀStrong content grounded in research ꔀAn effective process of administration Staff Development Staff development that improves the learning of all students: ꔀRequires resources to support adult learning and col- ꔀDeepens educatorsÕcontent knowledge, provides them ꔀProvides educators with knowledge and skills to involve families and other stakeholders appropriately. Staff development that improves the learning of all students: Adapted from National Staf20012001 ocess gram effectiveness. Areview of recent literature that addresses professional develop- ment for teachers of early reading (e.g., Duffy, 2004; International Reading Association, 2004; Moats, 1999; Moats, Cunningham, Wurtzel, Silbert, & Furry, 2002, 2002; Strickland & Kamil, 2004) reveals a general agreement about the context of effective profes- ꔀEffective programs are focused on a well-articulated pur- pose that is clear to all participants. That is, all partici- ꔀIn an effective professional development program, every- English language specialists. This ensures that a good pro- school/district. All participants know the purpose of the teaching. The programs are tailored to address both broad systemic objectives and the difficulties encountered by ꔀEffective programs provide training focused on the actual they will use. They are connected to questions of content Effective programs are consistent in message. This means The content of effective professional development is derived from Educational Research Association [AERA], 2005; KameÔenui, 2005; Whitehurst, 2002). Indeed, in a recent study, teachers est effect on their knowledge and skills and led to changes in h o t o : J e n n i f e r P a d u a ꔀThe content reflects what is known from theory and scien- eracyÑinformation that is foundational to effective early- ꔀThe content provides information about the following five research-verified components of effective reading instruc- Phonemic Awareness Instruction develop the ability to notice, think about, and work with the individual sounds in spoken words 텔eaches students the relation- ÑImproves studentsÕability to read a Vocabulary Instruction the words, both spoken and written, that they must know to communicate ef fectively and to understand what they read Comprehension Instruction ꔀRather than just telling teachers about these five compo- nents of instruction, effective professional development demonstrate effective instructional practices for use with ꔀThe content provides teachers with information about spe- the five components. The content also gives teachers individual differencesÑtheir strengths and their weakness- ꔀFinally, the content of effective professional development reading is more likely to be effective when it focuses on the gram teachers are using. To address the need for program- , these publishers are also offor a feefor a fee are currently offering program-specific training for school dis- teaching. Teachers may find it difficult to learn and to use instruc- tional strategies that differ in important ways from the strategies Typically, adults learn in the following four stages: ꔀUnderstand the concept or strategy, or build an ꔀPractice, with guidance and support ꔀApply independently ꔀEvaluate and adjust, refine, or relearn ꔀThose conducting effective programs are well-prepared h o t o : R a y W o n g Offer a series of one-shot workshops on the Òfad of the momentÓ or the Òguru of the day⻓ ꔀSeparate bilingual from mainstream teachers. Offer no follow-up or learning communities for teacher ꔀIgnore individual teachersÕneeds and levels of expert- ꔀOffer minimal support to teachers (no facilitators, Finally, it must be stressed that effective professional development programs require a commitmentÑand effective useÑof money. 20022002fective programs are expensive. They staffing arrangements that allow some teachers to work full- or observe each other and analyze studentsÕresponses to new types of instruction. T20022002 Professional Development in Early professional development is, at best, a difficult undertak- Alogical extension of a program of professional development is a reading specialist, staff developer, mentor teacher, or peer and skill over time (International Reading Association, 2004; Walpole & McKenna, 2004). In brief, coaching moves profession- programs of instruction and new instructional procedures. They ꔀWorking with teachers to select and evaluate curriculum With research showing that sustained professional development Coaching sessions are most effective when the coach creates an ꔀAdemonstration by the coach. ꔀObservation of the classroom teacher as he or she teaches. ꔀOpportunities for the teacher to analyze and discuss spe- ꔀOpportunities for the teacher to refine his or her teaching throughout the United States. The Alabama Reading Initiative and versions of large-scale implementation of coaching programs. ÑThe State of AlabamaÕs Reading Initiative provides one model of how to develop an effective pro- teacher training during the summer. During this time, they learn CCLCCLAmajor characteristic of this model is active collaboration www.reading.org/publications/reading_today/ .ncrel.org/litweb/coaching/ W20042004 s handbook: Aguide to research-based Y Teacher Learning Communities TLCs emerged in the 1980s and reflect both social learning theo- ries and findings from school organization research indicating that h o t o : J a c k i e B u r n i s k e what additional support they require to address a particular Scores of TLCs exist in the U.S. Two TLC examples that focus on organized in 1996 and directed by Susan Florio-Ruane and Taffy As part of their professional development, the TLC teachers col- own teaching. The analyses of these data showed that the partici- pantsÕstruggling readers showed both increased engagement in reading and at least 1 year픀s growth in reading over a school year Ka Lama TeacherEducation Initiative Hawaiian. This TLC emphasizes the themes of literacy, multicul- The National Staff Development Council website con- tains extensive information for creating effective teacher learning communities. You can access this .nsdc.org/library/communities.cfm Teachers Reading Difficulties in Young Children (Snow, Burns, & Griffin, Unfortunately, some of these colleges may also lack faculty who Dickinson & Brady, 2005). To address the need for high-quality professional development for supervisors. The intent of the initiative is to provide teachers with Looks Like In LEEP, teams of Head Start teachers and supervisors participate ꔀEarly language and literacy development Emergent writing sations. Teachers are encouraged to reflect on their own classroom curricula (Dickinson, 2005; Dickinson & Brady, 2005). What T-LEEPLooks Like Evaluations of LEEPshowed that preschool teachers improved Development Center, 2003). However, the initiative faced several challenges. In particular, important onsite support for teachers by ers needed to travel. Further, the amount of material that could be -LEEP Project STARS: An Example of LEEP From 2001 through 2003, the developers of LEEPworked with to implement the LEEPprofessional development model for teams to Achieve Reading Success), participants received college credit theory was linked with practice. As part of the program, teachers focused on learning more about the content of effective language effective supervisory strategies. rooms of STARS participants have significantly higher scores on a Professional Development for Teachers of With the numbers of students who are ELLs increasing rapidly in English texts is more and more pressing. Two professional devel- The SIOPmodel (Echevarria, Vogt, & Short, 2004) was developed to provide teachers of culturally diverse/ELLstudents with a well- more accessible for ELLstudents, while also promoting their The SIOPmodel for professional development is based on current with ELLs. 20052005model can strategies, standards, flexible grouping, differentiated instruction, Reading FirstÑcan reside. It brings coherence to a schoolÕs What SIOPLooks Like Participants in SIOPprograms work collaboratively with other An Example of the SIOPModel model was implemented in the Lela Alston Elementary School in Phoenix, Arizona, as a way to improve the literacy and reading levels of the schoolÕs large number of limited Placed at Risk (CRESPAR) at Johns Hopkins University, ExC- ELLis a 10-step, research-based professional development pro- social studies that focuses on vocabulary, fluency, writing and the strategic processing of texts. Specifically, the project focuses on dentsÕgrammatical What ExC-ELLLooks Like Within the project, participants have opportunities to become profi- Through ExC-ELLsessions, teachers learn to look at their daily pens as they observe each other픀s classroom activities. The pairs then bring the scripts to a TLC session for discussion, using them The Ex-CELLprofessional development model is being tested in Waterbury, Connecticut. At each site, participants include lan- curriculum specialists; principals and central office administrators; hoto: Susan Andrews ꔀFirst, make sure that professional development focuses ꔀSecond, align teachersÕlearning opportunities with their ꔀThird, provide adequate time for professional develop- emphasize observing and analyzing studentsÕunder- standing of the subject matter. ꔀFourth, ensure that school districts have reliable sys- ment on teachersÕpractices and student learning. Adapted from AERA20052005 American Educational Research 2005, Summer2005, Summer Teaching teach- rs: Professional development to improve student achievement. points: Essential information for education policy, 3. Washington, DC: Author. Anders, P., Hoffmann, J., & Duffy20002000Teaching teachers to teach read- ing: Paradigm shifts, persistent problems, and challenges. In M. Kamil, P. Mosenthal, PEds.Eds. Handbook of reading research (Vol. 3, pp. 721Ð744). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 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