The Best Professional Development

Various models of professional development exist, including coaching and mentoring, face-to-face
training, train-the-trainer, and web-based training (Poplin, 2003). Regardless of method employed,
educational professional development should be used to enhance the teaching and learning process.
This is accomplished when standards are being addressed. For its vision of teaching for improved
student achievement, the Council of Chief State School Officers (2011), with input from multiple
national education organizations, developed 10 model core teaching standards, which could be used
when deciding what professional development to offer. Those are grouped as follows:

The Learning and Learning: Learner development, learning differences, and the learning environment;

Content Knowledge: Content knowledge, and application of content;

Instructional Practice: Assessment, planning for instruction, and instructional strategies;

Professional Responsibility: Professional learning and ethical practice, and leadership and collaboration.
(CCSSO, 2011, p. 1)

However, consider that teachers are often overwhelmed by so-called professional development sessions
from which they conclude did not give them the concrete ideas they had hoped for to take back to their
classrooms. Indeed, a major finding according to the Center for Public Education (2013), an initiative of
the National School Boards Association, is that:

Most professional development today is ineffective. It neither changes teacher practice nor improves
student learning. However, research suggests that effective professional development abides by the
following principles:

The duration of professional development must be significant and ongoing to allow time for teachers to
learn a new strategy and grapple with the implementation problem.

There must be support for a teacher during the implementation stage that addresses the specific
challenges of changing classroom practice.

Teachers initial exposure to a concept should not be passive, but rather should engage teachers
through varied approaches so they can participate actively in making sense of a new practice.

Modeling has been found to be a highly effective way to introduce a new concept and help teachers
understand a new practice.

The content presented to teachers shouldnt be generic, but instead grounded in the teachers discipline
(for middle school and high school teachers) or grade-level (for elementary school teachers). (pp. 3-4)
Likewise, sometimes a school might consider so many initiatives designed to improve student
achievement with the result that few get the sufficient attention and focus needed to end up having an
impact. Douglas Reeves (2010) earlier had noted that there are "four imperatives for effective
professional learning that are related to student results: teaching, curriculum, assessment, and
leadership. It is nearly impossible to overstate the value of focus" (p. 4). Of central importance is that
"research suggests that the most salient variable in improving student achievement is not the brand
name of the program but the degree of implementation of the program. In brief, it is practices and
people, not programs, that make the difference for student achievement" (p. 3).

Further, professional development is more effective in changing teachers' practice when it is organized
around the collective participation of teachers (e.g., from the same school, department, or grade levels),
focused on content knowledge and active learning activities (teachers are allowed to apply what they
are learning), and coherent (aligned with teachers' professional knowledge or community, as well as
with state or district standards and assessments). Sustained and intensive professional development is
more likely to have an impact, as reported by teachers, than is shorter professional development,
according to the ASCD (2003, July 22), which reported on the three-year professional development study
of math and science teachers by Garet, Desimone, Porter, Yoon, and Birman (2001).

The focus of professional development should not be limited to content, teaching methods, and learning
outcomes. According to Intrator and Kunzman (2006), teachers leave the profession when their deeper
needs are not met. "Teachers yearn for professional development experiences that not only advance
their skills and knowledge base but also simultaneously probe their sense of purpose and invite
deliberation about what matters most in good teaching" (p. 39). Programs, such as Courage to Teach,
help promote that inner reflection by focusing on personal and professional beliefs and how those
beliefs affect teaching. The program, which involves a series of three-day retreats, was begun by Parker
Palmer in 1994 with a group of Michigan teachers. The Courage to Teach program is at the Center for
Courage and Renewal.

The bottom line to identifying the "best" math professional development approaches leading to student
achievement is that research is still needed if you are looking for a definitive answer to the question:
"What does the causal research say are effective math professional development interventions for K12
teachers aimed at improving student achievement?" Gersten, Taylor, Keys, Rolfhus, and Newman-
Gonchar (2014) attempted to answer this question via a comprehensive literature review of 643 studies
of professional development interventions related to math in grades K12 in the United States. Thirty-
two of the studies used a research design for assessing the effectiveness of math professional
development approaches, and five of those met What Works Clearinghouse evidence standards. Of the
five, only two found statistically significant positive effects on student math proficiency. Professional
development approaches used in those two (p. 2) were:
Intensive math content courses accompanied by follow-up workshops (study by Sample McMeeking,
Orsi, & Cobb, 2012).

Lesson study focused on linear (measurement) model of fractions (study by Perry & Lewis, 2011).

Thus, Gersten et al. (2014) concluded:

...there is very limited causal evidence to guide districts and schools in selecting a math professional
development approach or to support developers claims about their approaches. The limited research
on effectiveness means that schools and districts cannot use evidence of effectiveness alone to narrow
their choice. Instead, they must use their best judgment until more causal evidence becomes available.
(p. 1)
Why should you consider online learning and technology for your professional development?

When educators learn via technology use, they can better appreciate students' perspectives on what
makes technology effective for learning and the frustrations (and how to overcome them) and joy that
might be experienced in the process. According to the National Staff Development Council (2001, p. 7),
when properly implemented:

Technology as a vehicle for staff development:

alters the learning environment;

provides new structures and media for reflecting, communicating, and acting;

facilitates modeling and visualization;

allows for construction and discovery of knowledge;

expands access to information, networks, people, and ideas;

increases the flexibility of time and places for learning; and

provides significant resources.

There are multiple reasons for using technology. Teacher quality, effectiveness, and, in some cases,
employment will be strongly tied to results of Common Core assessments for learners, as tests will be
online. Pre-schoolers and up are using apps on mobile devices. Hence, there's an expectation that using
technology will carry over into all aspects of formal schooling: curriculum, instruction, and assessment.
However, planners of professional development activities should be aware of the components of
effective professional development for technology use. According to the North Central Regional
Education Laboratory (2000):
"Professional development for technology use should contain essential components that research has
found to be important. These components include the following: a connection to student learning,
hands-on technology use, variety of learning experiences, curriculum-specific applications, new roles for
teachers, collegial learning, active participation of teachers, ongoing process, sufficient time, technical
assistance and support, administrative support, adequate resources, continuous funding, and built-in
evaluation." (Components section)