Problems with Professional Development - Dissertation Example

? Problems with Professional Development It is not difficult to devise and define the advantages of professional development; it is easy to compose laundry lists of advantages to both teachers and students; and indeed many other industries also mandate varying forms of continued education for employees. Careful thought must be given to how much instructions which teachers receive when, and how often. Of what duration should the instruction be? Are lengthy seminars away from school the best option, or can better results be achieved by limited curriculum within the school, between normal classes? Many of these questions must be resolved on the individual level within the schools and their districts; but challenges and conditions affecting the efficacy of ongoing development has been given considerable attention in the available literature. It is easy to agree on the need; how should districts address obstacles that would impede the success of such programs? An inevitable consideration is time, of course. It would be ideal if all teachers had ample opportunities to learn from one another, and to absorb the current research in a vacuum; but considerable juggling of schedules is necessary; as the ongoing practice of direct student interaction is neglected only at the district's peril. With a limited number of school days per year, with needed allocations for snow days and unforeseen interferences with academic scheduling; a teacher's available time is a resource that determines district funding and must be husbanded by the administration. A study by Raywid has sought to examine time allocation by school districts in terms of professional development assignments. Numerous approaches have been devised for time-management that would free-up hours or days needed for improvement of the educational process as a whole. One proposal would be either extending the school year, adding additional days, or just hours to build a block of time permitting ongoing improvement for the staff. The entire day could be planned for an extended length during four days of the week, with one day being designated for a shortened time-frame. A shortened Friday might prove a popular choice in this instance; but specific district needs will of course be paramount in choosing a day most convenient. Without adding time, a budget could be allocated, for some districts to use greater numbers of teaching assistants, qualified volunteers, or teaching interns to cover classes; providing students with the same number of days they are entitled to under State and Federal Law, while granting time needed for continuous development amongst the teaching staff. The use of qualified teaching volunteers could serve as a means to increase community support. Former, retired teachers could be retained in a limited capacity to allow the same number of school hours, but giving current teachers a chance to pursue professional goals. Drawing upon the talent pool of the community at large could be a useful means to strengthen ties, and encourage interest and participation in events such as PTA meetings; or ancillary school-related functions. Certain previously-planned staff meeting and informational sessions could also be re-tasked to allow for instruction in teaching methods, and studies of knowledge absorption in students. Teachers may be given 'PTO', some form of paid time off, or a substitute bank of time that has been previously allocated, and could be 'tapped' by individual teachers on an 'as needed' basis. (Raywid, 1993) More ideas are needed, as Professional development has not been universally perceived as integral to enhancing teacher effectiveness and adaptability. (Watts & Castle, 1993) The above mentioned recommendations for time allocation may be unusual in most districts; where district administration, as well as parents, and State education officials tend to be leery of anything that distracts teachers from direct student interaction. (NECTL, 1994) It is rare to create scheduling with professional skill development in mind. Guilt, on the part of teachers may even be a factor. (Cambone, 1995; Raywid, 1993) This issue of time constraints for the school-year is not a new issue, as this quote from a former U.S. Commissioner of Education will illustrate. Commissioner William T. Harris complained over the loss of school-days for urban districts: “[T]he constant tendency [has been] toward a reduction of time. First, the Saturday morning session was discontinued; then the summer vacations were lengthened; the morning sessions were shortened; the afternoon sessions were curtailed; new holidays were introduced; provisions were made for a single session on stormy days, and for closing the schools to allow teachers...to attend teachers' institutes... The boy of today must attend school 11.1 years in order to receive as much instruction, quantitatively, as the boy of fifty years ago received in 8 years... It is scarcely necessary to look further than this for the explanation for the greater amount of work accomplished...in the German and French than in the American schools...” (NECTL, 1994) This quote was written in 1894. There will always be someone of the opinion that the available days in the year are insufficient. But the very assumption that time itself must equal quality is unfounded. The time allowed in a standard, six-hour day within the 180-day year could be considered a faulty assumption in American education. By relying on time as the metric for school organization and curriculum, we have created an overly simplistic premise for the enterprise of learning. Essentially, we are propping up five premises trained educators know to be untrue. 1.) An assumption that all students come to school ready to learn in the same way, on the same schedule, and circadian rhythms in unison with one another. 2.) The second is an assumption that academic time can be used for nonacademic purposes with no adverse consequence to learning. 3.) Next is the notion that a prior year's schedule is sufficient today, because it worked in the past, without regard to any changes made to society as a whole. 4.) In addition, it is assumed that schools and districts can be improved or adjust just by giving the order, without allocating time to reorganize. 5.) Fifth, there are those that continually expect superiority simply by stating a desire for schools to improve; when the system itself has proven insufficient for many students. (NECTL, 1994) Time itself, may not be the answer. The question lies in how the time is used. There is evidence that when more time is applied to professional development; the more classroom practices change, and the more cooperation and participation by all staff members involved, the greater the optimization of the lessons learned. (Borko & Putnam, 1995) , (Parsad et al. 2001) The available literature studies indicates that by itself, more time is not a guarantor of greater achievement. The sessions must focus, not simply on actual content in the abstract, but on learning process of pupils themselves, in a practical way. (Carpenter et al. 1989) When a development program has been shown to be effective, then after a certain minimal allotment of time, further duration will have little impact on either teachers’ pedagogy or student learning. Most states and school districts do not quantify the amount of money they are spending on professional development for teachers, or whether they are truly benefiting from their expenditures without a systematically investigation of the efficiency of the additional training. An effective evaluation includes an investigation of practical actual classroom practices, what effect the training exerts on teacher behavior, and its consequences for student achievement. Like the development of skill-sets useful to teachers, this evaluation of the programs themselves should be an ongoing process of improvement. Attention is needed from the earliest stages of program planning and out beyond the program's resolution. Extending the school year is likely to prove the most contentious option; child care arrangements, or possibly family vacations plans could be disrupted by such extensions; and in some cases adding extra days might introduce district funding complications under some circumstances. These could be exacerbated by local economic pressure; businesses that may depend upon the labor of high-school age teens may have to readjust their plans. Business catering to children may be impacted by adding additional days to the school year. These economic pressures, combined with parental skepticism could prove formidable to any plan that simply increases the total amount of days. An intermediate step to allay these concerns would likely be the restructuring of available time using strategies described above. And possibly, the aforementioned suggestion of strengthening community ties through acquiring volunteers could also contribute to 'goodwill' in the community. That would allow for a sort of 'capital' that might permit schedule variations the community might otherwise object to; should bonds within the community grow strong enough to achieve the necessary support. Ultimately, finding ways to implement teacher development strategies in a way that proves least disruptive for students, teacher, and the local area will provide benefits for the community that might raise such protests in the first place. (Ismat, 1996) Literature Reviews A culture of ongoing improvement in teacher quality is a vital component in ensuring young children's preparedness to begin their school careers; as well as improving upon socioeconomic or cultural achievement gaps. It is not enough to simply attempt to hire the 'best' teachers. The difference between theory and practicality can rarely be fully simulated in an academic setting; even one geared towards the preparation of educators. Furthermore, as social and economic realities continue to evolve due to the dynamic landscape of globalist realities, new developments borne of research, and new challenges will require modification of strategies even among the best of teachers. In order to continue to meet the demands of the 21st century, as well as the shifting landscape of federal and state regulations; educational requirements often change; and adaptation is necessary both for the district; and the individual teacher. These ongoing challenges compel district decision-makers and administrators towards a policy for the development of coordinated teacher quality-improvement training programs. This policy should not exist simply as needed for perceived short-comings; but rather the district should incorporate in its standards continuous improvement for all educators, wherever possible. Even hiring the best teachers currently available is not sufficient; because in order to become the best available, ongoing improvement is a necessity. Research described below will outline how simply hiring good teachers and leaving them as they are is self-defeating; because with other districts, and other countries seeking every means to attain excellence; simply hiring the best will not result in the best. It is the responsibility of all professional educators to see that all students – not just the natural high-achievers, gain the intellectual stimulation to meet or exceed our most ambitious curriculum standards. And to that end, professional development cannot be neglected. While the teacher assists students with the knowledge needed to take advantage of future opportunities; the administration must ensure that a similar opportunity exist for teachers, but it is easy for such concerns to fall by the wayside. The concept may be rarely addressed in effective ways that positively impacts the classroom. (Boatright, 2008). Not only should this imperative be to prepare teachers for the classroom, but also promote ongoing mastery of new techniques and pedagogical strategies. For genuine effectiveness, professional development must supply teachers with a means to directly apply what they learn to the realities of classroom instruction. Research indicates that professional development produces superior learning when it is clearly linked to the curriculum materials employed by teachers, as pertaining to the district and state academic performance standards. Attention must also be paid, naturally to the state performance standards as a rubric of success. These state assessments fulfill the crucial need to develop means by which to analyze early childhood education competencies and systematically connect them with professional development ranking systems to achieve pupil improvement through teacher education. (Howe & Pianta, 2011) Howe proposes a list of objectives as essential to the success of on-the-job training and professional development of educators: 1.) A managed structure for planned professional development funding and content, with the intent of improving educators beyond the basic licensing requirements. 2.) Active involvement by the staff themselves in their own improvement. 3.) Link the latest research in childhood educational competencies with the professional development structural plan. 4.) Evaluation of development programs to meet and integrate state requirements. (Howes et al. 2011) There is much research that can shed light on the benefits of focusing professional development strategies on curriculum. This data can serve as a useful guide for districts and state-wide education departments towards a link between education policy and actual instruction. Teacher improvement programs are given the best possible odds of success when they become tailored to the actual realities of the classroom; in a way that is more practical than abstract.; as will be demonstrated by current research. While administrators can invent policies propounding the benefits of ongoing teacher development; A second study by Cohen and Hill found that actual compliance to the recommendations among teachers is greater when the instruction focused directly on the curriculum they would be teaching. Curriculum-relevant training and workshops were eagerly embraced by educators. Assessments of the teachers themselves also benefited. (Cohen & Hill, 2001) Research on the benefits between student learning and ongoing professional improvement by educators has taken the form of what might be termed two distinct 'waves'. The first wave in the 1960's addressed basic, or generic general competency skills associated with teachers; Such as class time allocation, class demonstrations, methods to assess pupil comprehension and attention mid-lecture, and activities involving student small work-groups, as well as active instruction that solicited questions and feedback from the entire class. These objectives produced modest benefits for basic reasoning, arithmetic and phonetic decoding. (Wittrock, 1986) Guided practice, in which students are tasked with an assignment punctuated with relevant questions and intellectual nudging from the teacher also proved effective. (Good & Grouws, 1979) The next wave occurred in the 1990's. (Resnick et al.2005) This research initiative entailed a more in-depth study of student reasoning and problem-solving skills on an internal, intellectual basis; rather than the external behaviors of basic skills. (Kennedy, 1997) The second wave precipitated the bulk of the interest in professional development for teachers themselves. Teachers should be taught about the intellectual dynamics of student learning and how pupils internalize curriculum. Two particular studies explore the benefits of specialized, practical teacher instruction pertaining to an improvement in the understanding of student intellectual dynamics. A study by Kennedy discovered that tailoring the nature of development to specific realities of classroom conditions is essential, as well as enhancing teachers' actual knowledge of specific content. (Kennedy, 1997) Michael Garet and associates conducted a national survey of a representative sample of teachers in the late 1990s. These educators were participants in the Eisenhower Professional Development Program, with an emphasis on mathematics and science. The study concluded that teachers were more likely to alter their pedagogy and attain greater subject knowledge and improved teaching skills with a connection between their professional development training and their actual classroom experiences as pertaining to required assessment standards. (Garet et al. 2001) Several related studies can be found among teachers working at the level of first-grade, in terms of mathematics and reading. Reading studies on two groups of kindergarten and first-grade teachers studied the benefits of professional development for pupils. The first group received professional development training to improve their comprehension of phonetics, with a second group receiving no additional instruction. The reading performance of students was evaluated over the course of the school-year. Teachers receiving the additional development altered their pedagogy to allow more time to specifically teach the core fundamentals of the language arts, with commensurate improvement of student scores on spelling and reading comprehension. (McCutchen et al. 2002) While it may seem like a foregone conclusion that almost any training is preferable to no training, other studies have been performed that indicate the importance of the type of instruction provided to teachers. Not all education is equal; and student performance can be affected by the difference between general abstractions, and focused knowledge adapted to the goals of teaching. An example of this is highlighted in a study by Thomas Carpenter and associates. They randomly assigned first-grade teachers either in an all-month workshop to familiarize them with current research on students comprehension of basic arithmetic word problems, (addition and subtraction) or a professional development program that addressed mathematical problem-solving strategies in the abstract, without emphasis on specific mechanisms of student learning. Teachers assigned to the student learning workshop more often engaged students in problems of greater complexity, and payed more attention to the mental processes used by pupils to solve them. (Carpenter et al. 1989) Also, students were encouraged to engage in lateral thinking for novel problem-solving approaches. The approach by teachers in the second workshop tended towards an emphasis on basic fact recall, speed with which answers were achieved, with a tendency towards solo rather than group work. The former approach was found to yield preferably results. Another example by Paul Cobb describes similar findings. The Cobb study gave prospective teachers opportunities to evaluate new proposed curriculum and mathematics problems within a larger context of student learning. Consistently, the Carpenter study demonstrated a higher level of student achievement when teachers are given the specialized training of professional development; towards the objective of learning how students learn, and how to evaluate them. The Cobb study found that pupils assigned to these teachers had superior computational and conceptual comprehension skills. (Cobb et al. 1991),(Carpenter et al. 1989) References Boatright, Beth. PhD. Gallucci, Chrysan, PhD. Swanson, Judy. Van Lare, Michelle. Yoon, Irene. 2008. Coaching for Instructional Improvement: The Center for Educational Leadership (CEL) a journal for research, leadership, and practice. volume 2, # 1. Spring 2008 Borko, H., Putnam, R.T. (1995). “Expanding a Teacher’s Knowledge Base: A Cognitive Psychological Perspective on Professional Development.” In T.R. Guskey and M. Huberman (Eds.) Professional Development in Education: New Paradigms and Practices, pp. 35–66. New York: Teachers College Press. Cambone, J. (1995). Time for teachers in school restructuring. Teachers College Record, 96(3): 512-43. EJ505811 Carpenter, T.P., et al. (1989). “Using Knowledge of Children’s Mathematics Thinking in Classroom Teaching: An Experimental Study.” American Educational Research Journal, Vol. 26, pp. 499–531. Cobb, P., et al. (1991). “Assessment of a Problem-Centered Second-Grade Mathematics Project.” Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, Vol. 22, pp. 13–29. Cohen, D.K., Hill, H.C. (2001). Learning Policy: When State Education Reform Works. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Garet, M.S., et al. (2001). “What Makes Professional Development Effective? Results from a National Sample of Teachers.” American Educational Research Journal, Vol. 38, No. 4 (winter), pp. 915–945. Good, T.L., Grouws, D. (1979). “The Missouri Mathematics Effectiveness Project: An Experimental Study in Fourth-Grade Classrooms.” Journal of Educational Psychology, Vol. 71, pp. 335–362. Howes, Carollee Ph.D. Pianta, Robert C. Ph.D. 2011. Foundations for Teaching Excellence: Connecting Early Childhood Quality Rating, Professional Development, and Competency Systems in States. © Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., Inc. ISBN-978-1-5985-7122-6 Ismat, Abdal-Haqq. 1996. Making Time for Teacher Professional Development. ERIC Digest. ERIC Clearinghouse on Teaching and Teacher Education Washington DC. Kennedy, M. (1997). Defining Optimal Knowledge for Teaching Science and Mathematics (Research Monograph 10). Madison, WI: National Institute for Science Education, University of Wisconsin. McCutchen, D., et al. (2002). “Beginning Literacy: Links among Teacher Knowledge, Teacher Practice, and Student Learning.” Journal of Learning Disabilities, Vol. 35, No. 1, 69–86. M.L. Wittrock (Ed.) (1986). “Teacher Behavior and Student Achievement.” Handbook of Research on Teaching, 3rd ed., pp. 328–375. New York: MacMillan. National Education Commission on Time and Learning [NECTL]. (1994). Prisoners of time. Washington, DC: Author. ED366115 [Available on-line: gopher://gopher.ed.gov:70/00/ publications/full [underscore]text/PoTResearch/5; http://www.ed.gov/pubs/PrisonersOfTime/index.html] Parsad, B., et al. (2001). Teacher Preparation and Professional Development: 2000 (NCES 2001- 088), pp. 4–5. U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Raywid, M. A. (1993). Finding time for collaboration. Educational Leadership, 51(1): 30-34. EJ468684 Resnick, Lauren B. Zurawsky, Chris. Hill, Heather. Cohen, David. Borko, Hilda. Little, Judith W. Richardson, Virginia. Holland, Holly. Baker, Eva. Furhman, Susan. Gordon, Edmund. Shepard, Lorrie. Snow, Catherine. 2005. Teaching Teachers: Professional Development to Improve Student Achievement. Research Points, Essential Information for Education Policy. Published by the American Educational Research Association. Summer, 2005 Volume 3, Issue 1. Watts, G. D., & Castle, S. (1993). The time dilemma in school restructuring. Phi Delta Kappan 75(4): 306-10. EJ474291 Read More