National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality National Issue Forum
Executive Summary of the National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality National Issue Forum: "From Planning to Action: Effectively Using Your Professional Development Resources"
March 13–14, 2008
Ritz-Carlton, Pentagon City, Arlington, VA
Day 1
Joint Session Between the National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title II National Conference
Introducing the Doing What Works Website: A New Resource for Moving Research to Practice
The National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality Issue Forum began with a joint session that was planned in collaboration with the ESEA Title II Conference. Jennifer Ballen Richards, management and program analyst for the Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development, U.S. Department of Education, led the session by introducing the new Doing What Works website.
The Institute for Educational Sciences (IES) developed this online resource, available at http://www.dww.ed.gov/, out of a growing need to translate research-based practices into tangible professional development tools that teachers can use to improve classroom instruction. The What Works Clearinghouse researched and drafted evidence-based practices reports about several classroom instruction topics before posting effective strategies online. Currently, the website houses information on teaching reading to English language learners (ELL) and will soon include preschool language/literacy, encouraging girls in math and science, and a host of other topics.
All information is organized into three sections: learn what works, see how it works, and do what works. Downloadable data include interviews, presentations, and video recordings of real teachers, coaches, and principals engaging in effective classroom instruction practices. The IES received positive feedback from several pilot focus groups that assessed the benefits of the Doing What Works website. The U.S. Department of Education encourages schools, districts, and state leaders to visit http://www.dww.ed.gov/ and provide feedback. For more information on this online tool, please e-mail doingwhatworks@ed.gov.
Luncheon Keynote
Using Your Professional Development Resources to Build Local Capacity: A Look at the History and Future of Title IIA
This presentation, moderated by Sabrina Laine, Ph.D., from the National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality and Learning Point Associates, reviewed Title IIA of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act and discussed methods for using professional development resources to build local professional development capacity.
Rene Islas, from B&D Consulting, expressed that there is no clear definition of professional development and shared the following findings of NCLB's Title IIA since January 2002:
- States allocated 58 percent of Title IIA funds to class size reduction, which remains a predominant expenditure for Title IIA. Also, states spent 25 percent of Title II funds on professional development, and the remaining funds were distributed to reform issues such as certification and licensure and principal professional development.
- There were no differences in the types of Title IIA expenditures between high- and low-poverty schools.
Islas further stated that one third of professional development is not aligned to state, district, or school needs. He contends that NCLB is not targeting the needs of teacher quality; thus, the the law has not fulfilled its promise to teachers.
Seth Gerson, J.D., legislative assistant for the Office of Senator Jack Reed (RI), mentioned a report by the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future citing a $7.3 billion teacher turnover rate, with the greatest teacher attrition among high-poverty schools. Senator Reed is working to include SB 1979 into the reauthorization of NCLB. Reed wants to implement a professional learning community in each school to advance the professional development of teachers and ensure a high-quality teacher in every classroom.
Concurrent Sessions
Targeting Support and Professional Development for Gen Y Teachers
Gretchen Weber, from the National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality and Learning Point Associates, facilitated this session about enhancing teacher support and professional development to increase recruitment and retention of Gen Y teachers. In a collaborative survey between the National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality and Public Agenda, Sabrina Laine, Ph.D., from the National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality and Learning Point Associates, revealed the following Gen Y findings:
- Education is competing with other fields in attracting a new generation of graduating students.
- Gen Y teachers desire the freedom to innovate, support from effective leaders, and professional development.
- Professional development should be sustained, job-embedded, reflective, and focused on innovation and small group collaboration in order to be helpful for new teachers.
Currently, 30 percent of new education graduates do not start careers in teaching; 15 percent of new teachers leave the profession every year. Ed Wilgus, professional development manager for the Vancouver School District, shared that Vancouver Public Schools focuses on Human Resources Management (HRM) to improve recruitment and retention numbers of new teachers. HRM solutions strive to shape the organizational culture of education systems by advancing the day-to-day human resources functions.
Professional Development in Practice—Addressing the Needs of Special Student Populations
Bradley Scott, Ph.D., from The South Central Collaborative for Equity, Intercultural Development Research Association, facilitated this session with the overall goal of sharing professional development methods for improving the training of teachers who feel ill prepared to teach ELL and students with special needs. Presenters Heidi A. Ramirez, Ph.D., from Temple University, and Deborah L. Voltz, Ed.D., from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, provided two examples of how university-school partnerships addressed such issues.
Specifically, Temple University altered their teacher training program through university–school partnerships where cohorts travel through the preparation programs. The collaborative project increased teacher longevity by providing increased opportunities to practice with real students and to observe needed teacher competencies. Project SMILE, at the University of Alabama, created a professional development training program in which university staff worked with a specific school district to improve their knowledge of including students with disabilities in the general education classroom. This effort improved teachers' perception and knowledge of improving instruction for ELL and students with special needs.
Overall, the session determined that more work is needed in providing professional development to teachers with inadequate hands-on experience in serving the needs of special student populations. Both presenters emphasized the need for a reciprocal relationship between the university and school staff where trust and flexibility are practiced in the planning and implementation of such initiatives.
Professional Development Partnerships and Standards
Katherine Bassett, from the National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality and ETS, facilitated this session in which participants discussed the development, implementation, and assessment of professional development in schools. Hot topics involving the cultivation, implementation, and evaluation of professional development included the following:
- School districts' inability to facilitate staff agreement on professional development needs
- Lack of time for staff to implement and evaluate professional development activities
The group determined that professional development is oftentimes inconsistent because of scarce school focus. Stephanie Hirsch, Ph.D., from the National Staff Development Council (NSDC), stated that obtaining school staff buy-in and employing professional learning communities enhances professional development to include needs-based and job-embedded professional development plans. Marsha Levine, from the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), called for more uniformity to standards for teacher preparation, training, and professional development. Levine considered teacher preparation and development as an ongoing process.
The New Jersey Professional Development Model, outlined by Peggy Stewart, from the New Jersey Professional Standards Board, requires that all teachers accrue 100 hours of professional development every 5 years. The model aims to improve student achievement by making sure every teacher takes part in day-to-day professional development, yet there is no proof showing a connection between the two. The NSDC is drafting text to tie professional development to student learning. Currently, the NSDC offers innovation configurations to evaluate professional development efforts within schools.
Professional Development: Research and Policy into Action
Ellen Behrstock, from the National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality and Learning Point Associates, moderated this session, which focused on how to transition professional development research and policy into effective professional development practices. Presenters Rene Islas, from B&D Consulting, and Joyce Lieberman, Ed.D., from Learning Point Associates, discussed how professional development initiatives often are not aligned with standards or with the needs of the school in mind. As a result, implemented professional development can be fragmented and not fully supported, which may negatively affect student learning and teacher retention.
Islas and Lieberman suggested aligning professional development standards with school improvement plans to identify what professional development is needed. Specific examples included the following:
- Conduct a needs assessment to streamline larger goals and identify local experts in the field who can help (i.e., graduate students or professors in the field).
- Align professional development programs with the NSDC's Standards for Staff Development.
- Review professional development initiatives, based on systematic data collection, to evaluate what works and what should be changed as well as the effect they are having on schools, teachers, and students.
Gary Appel, from Great Lakes East Comprehensive Center and Learning Point Associates, concentrated on lesson study, which observes teaching instruction as a method of advancing professional learning. Appel asserted how lesson study investigates educator challenges within the classroom, fosters teacher know-how, and cultivates professional alliances—all essential aspects for enhancing professional development.
Dinner Keynote
Effective Professional Development Partnerships: Yale-New Haven Institute
This presentation, moderated by Paul L. Kimmelman, Ed.D, from the National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality and Learning Point Associates, focused on the use of district–university partnerships to address teacher quality and teacher professional development. Rogers M. Smith, Ph.D., from the University of Pennsylvania, explained how the Yale–New Haven Teachers Institute approach utilizes district–university partnerships to provide content-specific seminars to teachers via teaching institutes. University professors with content expertise lead the seminars, offered to teachers from several content areas and grade levels, with the goal of improving teacher quality and professional development. Teachers then adapt seminar themes to write and teach curriculum units designed to meet district standards. Sara E. Thomas, a New Haven School District teacher, explained how the Yale-New Haven Teachers Initiative helped her make important career connections with fellow colleagues while improving her arts curriculum.
In fact, most teachers in the program prefer the Teachers Institute approach over more traditional types of professional development offered by their schools and districts. The Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute was established in 1978 and currently operates the Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute and coordinates the League of Teachers Institutes that includes the Pittsburgh Teachers Institute, Houston Teachers Institute, and Teachers Institute of Philadelphia. Through the Yale National Initiative to strengthen teaching in public schools it is working to create exemplary new institutes in most states to demonstrate and spread its innovative approach to improving teacher quality. State education agencies interested in this kind of model can find more information at http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/ and can also read about the impact, lessons, and future prospects (Adobe® Reader® PDF 368 KB) for the model. Potential benefits to a state education agenda include creating stronger relationships between school districts and institutes of higher education, providing avenues of professional development that further teachers' content knowledge, and bolstering opportunities for teacher leadership.
Day 2
Breakfast Keynote
Lessons Learned: Effective Professional Development Spending
Federal revenue plays a significant role in funding professional development for teachers, whereas state, local, and private sources contribute up to 25 percent to districts' operating budget for professional development initiatives. Although districts invest significantly in professional development for teachers, they are not effectively leveraging those resources to develop teacher quality. Regis Anne Shields, J.D., from Education Resource Strategies, discussed effective professional development spending and suggested how districts can better leverage resources to develop teacher quality.
Key issues regarding current professional development spending for teachers are as follows:
- Districts typically spend more on school-based professional development than on the individual professional growth of teachers.
- Resources spent on individual professional development tend to focus solely on teacher training.
Districts should focus resources on individual professional development targeted at recertification and leadership development rather than spend the bulk of revenue during teacher induction. Implementing a teacher coaching model where coaches are rigorously selected and equally distributed across schools best aids the continual professional development of teachers. Laura Goe, Ph.D., from the National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality and ETS, moderated this presentation.
Concurrent Sessions
Targeting Support and Professional Development for Gen Y Teachers
This session, facilitated by Gretchen Weber, from the National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality and Learning Point Associates, emphasized the importance of understanding the needs of Gen Y teachers so that the teaching profession can adequately recruit and retain this new crop of talent. Sabrina Laine, Ph.D., from the National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality and Learning Point Associates, shared several Gen Y findings from a joint survey between the National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality and Public Agenda.
The findings revealed that Gen Y teacher characteristics are incompatible with the current education system. This generation wants administrative support and feedback as well as opportunities to innovate and grow professionally while contributing to leadership. Many teachers decide to leave the profession, while others do not enter the profession after college because the education system does not appeal to their professional development needs.
Ed Wilgus, professional development manager for the Vancouver School District, shared how Gen Y teachers want to be part of an organizational culture where the HRM system integrates recruitment, induction, mentoring, career growth, and evaluation. Vancouver Public Schools uses these HRM solutions to improve the recruitment and retention numbers of new teachers.
The discussion concluded with a professional development model for change that includes integrated teacher standards (certification requirements, curriculum, and professional growth), principal support, and mentorship to effectively attract and keep Gen Y teachers.
Professional Development in Practice: Addressing the Needs of Special Student Populations
This discussion addressed how many teachers feel underprepared to teach ELL and students with disabilities and presented professional development strategies for improving teacher training in these areas. The following examples, presented by Deborah L. Voltz, Ed.D., from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and Heidi A. Ramirez, Ph.D., from Temple University, illustrate how university–school partnerships work to resolve such professional development issues:
- Project SMILE, at the University of Alabama, created a professional development training program whereby university staff helped a specific school district advance their education acumen of including students with disabilities in the general education classroom. This endeavor improved teachers' awareness and knowledge of improving instruction for ELL and students with special needs.
- Temple University used university–school partnerships to improve their teacher training program, which increased teacher retention by providing more opportunities to practice with ELL and students with disabilities.
Moderated by Bradley Scott, Ph.D., from The South Central Collaborative for Equity, Intercultural Development Research Association, group participants determined that more professional development training is needed for teachers with insufficient real-life experience in educating special student populations. Presenters stressed a call for a shared relationship between school staffs and universities where trust and flexibility are applied in the design and execution of professional development plans for serving students with disabilities and ELL.
Professional Development Partnerships and Standards
Many school districts struggle to determine a clear consensus on professional development needs and means to evaluate professional development success. As a result, professional development can be sporadic, with no clear vision within schools. This session offered strategies, based on NCATE standards, to assess current needs, discuss professional development opportunities, and evaluate progress.
Katherine Bassett, from the National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality and ETS, moderated this session where Marsha Levine, from NCATE, asserted a need for more coherence to standards for teacher preparation, induction, and professional development. Levine viewed teacher preparation and development as a continuum, yet group participants shared how school staffs often view time as the biggest barrier to implementing professional development. Nevertheless, staffs are willing to work harder and longer hours if their efforts are valued.
Professional development strategies, outlined by Stephanie Hirsch, Ph.D., from NSDC, included the following:
- Use trust, training, and patience to gain buy-in and consensus regarding professional development priorities among school staff.
- Utilize professional learning communities to develop fluid professional development plans that are needs based and job embedded.
Peggy Stewart, from the New Jersey Professional Standards Board, highlighted the New Jersey Professional Development Model, which ensures that every teacher engages in daily professional development to help propel student achievement. However, there is no clear evidence that shows a connection between student achievement and professional development. NSDC created innovation configurations to assess professional development efforts within schools and is currently developing a document to link professional development to student learning.
Professional Development: Research and Policy into Action
This discussion, facilitated by Ellen Behrstock from the National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality and Learning Point Associates, centered on creating helpful professional development practices from professional development research and policy. Presenters Joyce Lieberman, Ed.D., from Learning Point Associates, and Sydnee Dixon, Director of Educator Quality and Licensing at the Utah State Office of Education, expressed the need to parallel professional development standards and initiatives for a positive impact on teacher retention and student learning.
Gary Appel, from Great Lakes East Comprehensive Center and Learning Point Associates, focused on lesson study as a means to further professional learning through examining teaching instruction. According to Appel, lesson study explores real challenges teachers face in classrooms, builds teacher knowledge, and supports professional collaboration—all of which are critical to furthering professional development.
The overall consensus concluded that professional development needs are accurately determined when school improvement plans align with professional development standards. Conducting a needs assessment, matching professional development programs with NSDC standards, and utilizing systemic data collection to review professional development initiatives are essential for establishing effective professional development practices.
Luncheon Keynote
Professional Development State Policy Panel
Tricia Coulter, Ph.D., from the National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality and Education Commission of the States, moderated this presentation, which addressed the design and delivery of professional development in Hawaii, New York, and Iowa.
Hawaii's professional development approach, explained by Robert Campbell, Ph.D., from the Hawaii Department of Education, uses Title II funds and collaborates with higher education institutes to provide professional development courses for teachers. The courses are aligned with highly qualified teacher requirements and teachers can track their highly qualified teacher status, professional development credits, and professional development course offerings through Hawaii's online professional development database.
Alysan Slighter, from the New York Department of Education, described how New York has 130 statewide teacher centers where planning committees establish and provide professional development activities such as college courses, mentoring/coaching, workshops, conferences, and professional study groups. Topics include technology, school community initiatives, state and national initiatives, curriculum development, professional support, and special populations. Rosemary B. Harrigan, from the Greater Capital Region Teacher Center, discussed how the teacher centers work with professional development planning teams. These teams, which are required by New York State regulation, are effective because they are voluntary, teacher driven, and supported by the state legislature. Harrigan emphasized that systematic professional development change for teachers only will occur if administrators and teachers agree on a professional development approach.
The Iowa professional development model, presented by Marietta Rives, from the Iowa Department of Education, focuses on improving student learning by mandating that districts develop and submit career development plans as a part of its Comprehensive School Improvement Plan. Districts are expected to collect and analyze student data, set learning goals, select professional development content, offer professional development training, and evaluate outcomes based on statewide professional development standards.
