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Professional Development: How It Can Enhance Student Outcomes in Neglected and Delinquent Programs About NDTAC Neglected-Delinquent TA Center (NDTAC) Contract between U.S. Department of Education and the American Institutes for Research John McLaughlin Federal Coordinator, Title I, Part D Neglected, Delinquent, or At Risk Program NDTAC’s Mission: Develop a uniform evaluation model Provide technical assistance Serve as a facilitator between different organizations, agencies, and interest groups Join our listserv at http://www.neglected-delinquent.org/nd/forms/listserv1.asp 2 What is Professional Development? Skills and knowledge for both personal and career development Learning opportunities in a particular field of practice Facilitated learning Formal and informal 3 A Blueprint for Reform: The Reauthorization of the ESEA Teachers should be given adequate time and support to develop themselves and their lessons. Funding relevant professional development Providing professional development proven to give teachers knowledge and skills Designing professional development to improve classroom practices More information about A Blueprint for Reform can be found at http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/blueprint/index.html. 4 Professional Development For Title I, Part D, Programs Dr. Ted Price Assistant Professor, Educational Leadership, West Virginia University Dr. Fran Warsing Superintendent, Office of Institutional Education Programs, West Virginia Department of Education Rick Martin Director of Curriculum, Learning, Accountability, and Student Services Orange County Department of Education, California Elements of Effective Professional Development Sufficient resources Strategic plan ◦ Values, Beliefs,Vision High quality Peterson, Kent (March 2011). "Characteristics and Features of Quality Professional Development Programs." ELead. Web. http://www.e-lead.org/principles/characteristics.asp Professional Development Activities Types • Internal trainings by outside experts or qualified, trained staff • External conferences and trainings • Mentoring and coaching programs Topics • • • • Data Technology training English Language Learners Parent Engagement Information obtained from Dwayne Harapnuik, director of faculty enrichment at Abilene Christian University Reviewing the Research: National Staff Development Council Report Purpose • Provides overall picture of the nation’s professional development • Reviews the research literature on staff training • Presents data collected from a nationally representative survey of teachers Wei, R. C., Darling-Hammond, L., Andree, A., Richardson, N., Orphanos, S. (2009). Professional learning in the learning profession: A status report on teacher development in the United States and abroad. Dallas, TX. National Staff Development Council. Reviewing the Research: National Staff Development Council Report Findings Duration ◦ Programs of 30 to 100 hours, over six months to a year positively influenced student achievement ◦ Programs with fewer than 14 hours of time over six months to a year had little effect on student achievement Content-Focused ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ Curriculum connected to teachers’ classroom practice Focus on deepening teacher content knowledge Relation to how students learn particular concept Coherent experiences Fosters collaboration ◦ Collective participation Reviewing the Research: Lessons From Abroad Other Industrialized Countries United States • Teachers spend about 60 percent of their working time engaged in instruction • Teachers spend relatively more time sharing ways of improving • Practices align with the research just discussed to greater extent • Teachers spend about 80 percent of their working time engaged in instruction • Professional learning typically takes place in isolated settings • PD is predominantly an individual enterprise • Focus is on serving individuals rather than focusing on what students need Wei, R. C., Darling-Hammond, L., Andree, A., Richardson, N., Orphanos, S. (2009). Professional learning in the learning profession: A status report on teacher development in the United States and abroad. Dallas, TX. National Staff Development Council. Reviewing the Research: Teacher Professional Learning in the United States: Case Studies of State Policies and Strategies Teacher Reports Less than 10% reported that PD had little or no impact About 40% reported that PD confirmed what they were already doing Only about 50% of the teachers receiving PD in a given area reported that it led to a change Teachers were more likely to note the impact of PD when the duration was longer Teachers in highest-poverty schools were more likely to report that PD in their content area was ongoing than teachers in lowest-poverty schools Jaquith, A., Mindich, D., Wei, R.C., Darling-Hammond, L. (2010). Teacher professional learning in the United States: Case studies of state policies and strategies. Oxford, OH: Learning Forward. Common Strategies for Leveraging Quality Professional Development 1. Developing standards to guide accountability 2. Monitoring quality 3. Requiring induction and mentoring programs 4. Leveraging collegial strategies for professional learning 5. Partnering with professional organizations 6. Creating networks of intermediary organizations 7. Addressing federal mandates and accountability requirements in constructive ways Peterson, Kent (March 2011). "Characteristics and Features of Quality Professional Development Programs." E-Lead. Web. http://www.e-lead.org/principles/characteristics.asp Guided by Policy: ESEA and Professional Development High quality and classroom-focused Sustained and intensive Positive impact on classroom instruction Impact on teacher performance Improve teachers’ knowledge of subject area Provide training on use of data and assessments to inform instruction More information can be found at Education Commission of the States: http://www.ecs.org/ Reviewing the Research: The Dilemmas of Professional Development Barriers and Challenges Most of the staff development that is conducted with K12 teachers: Derives from short-term transition model Pays no attention to what is already going on in a particular classroom Offers little opportunity for participants to become involved in the conversation Provides no follow-up Richardson, Virginia (2003). "The Dilemmas of Professional Development." Phi Delta Kappan. 84(5) 401-106. Coaching Teachers: What You Need to Know Definition: Coaching is providing specialized support for a designated period of time. It is an interactive process built upon collaborative activities and collegiality focused upon improving student learning. • A four-year, nationwide research project affirmed what many of us who have been coached—or who are coaches—know: instructional coaching works • Or rather, it can work if the conditions are right Foltos, Les (2010). Peer Coaching: Changing Classroom Practice and Enhancing Student Achievement . Utah Special Education, 32(3), 29-31. Coaching Teachers: So what is coaching? Coaching is about listening Effective coaches aren’t over-directive "Without trust there can be no coaching" Coaching can be transformative Aguilar, Elena (March 2011). "Coaching Teachers: What You Need to Know." Education Week. 16 Feb. 2011. Web. http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2011/02/15/tln_coaching.html Coaching Teachers: Personal Lessons Learned Coaching is really, really hard. Coaches need training and ongoing professional development. Benefits to coaching: ◦ Creates more collaboration and sense of community ◦ Provides opportunities to practice new strategies more often and with greater skill ◦ Retains and increases new skills ◦ Demonstrates clearer understanding of the purpose and use of the learned strategy Conclusions and Highlights 1. Only half of teachers who received PD reported actual change in their teaching practice 2. Teachers engaging for longer duration were more likely to report change in their teaching practice 3. Teachers in the highest-poverty schools appear to be receiving more ongoing, multi-year PD experiences than teachers in lowest-poverty schools 4. Content-focused PD and collaborative efforts contribute to greater impact on teaching practices Professional Development: Implementation at the West Virginia Department of Education Dr. Fran Warsing Superintendent, Office of Institutional Education Programs West Virginia Department of Education Title I, Part D, Population Who are our students? Incarcerated Youth – approximately 475 students – 2 facilities Group Home youth – approximately 535 students – 4 facilities Targeted Student Needs Needs upon Entry ◦ 35% of students enter below grade level in math and reading ◦ Most students enter deficient in high school credits ◦ Students had little access to technology prior to entry Needs upon Exit ◦ Transition back to school - Students return to public school, post secondary education ◦ Transition to employment – Students are highly mobile and lacking in the ability to thrive in society Title I Services and Professional Development Served high poverty students – Ruby Payne training for all teachers Addressed low level students’ needs – Read 180 training, Learning Focused Strategies (LFS) training Provided 21st Century Skills – Globaloria, white board and personal responder training Established learning communities at all schools Observed Outcomes Use of Learning Focused Strategies (LFS) has improved instruction and teachers have requested more training in this area Collaborative efforts of teachers working in learning communities has a positive impact on their teaching practices Better teaching practices result in fewer disciplinary problems in classrooms, allowing more teaching and learning to take place Professional Development: Implementation at the Orange County Department of Education, California Rick Martin Director of Curriculum, Learning, Accountability, and Student Services, Division of Alternative Education Orange County Department of Education, California Title I, Part D, Population Who are our students? Incarcerated youth – approximately 500 students Group Home youth – approximately 115 students Court school youth – approximately 150 youth Targeted Student Needs Needs upon Entry ◦ English learners – over 61% of the student population ◦ Deficient in credits ◦ Lack of basic skills for academic success Needs upon Exit ◦ Transition services – high mobility of students Title I Services Provided Individual tutoring for students – remediation/basic skills & California High School Exit Exam preparation Transition services – student guidance services, contact next school placement, transcript review Paraeducator support – classroom support services, instructional aid in the classroom Career coaches – career surveys, Regional Occupation Program contacts, resume building, job searches Family Community Liaison – increase parent participation, parent communication, link with families at enrollment Professional Development Training Literacy Summit California High School Exit Exam student data review Test prep strategies Guided Language Acquisition Design (GLAD) training Revolution Prep training – tutorial software Mathmagic – math activities targeting basic skills Observed Outcomes Increase of 10% of students who test at a proficiency level on the high school exit exam for both Math and English Language Arts Greater collaboration among staff and increased awareness of services offered Implementation of staff development strategies is more clearly observable Summary: Elements of an Effective Professional Development Program and Plan 1. Common and clearly articulated vision for PD that permeates policy and practice 2. Effective monitoring of PD quality 3. Mentoring and induction requirements that are linked to and create a foundation for ongoing professional learning 4. An infrastructure of organizations that facilitates professional development 5. Stability of resources