Learning Forward

Equity and excellence in teaching and learning.

Menu

Content-focused learning improves teacher practice and student results

By Learning Forward
August 2011
Vol. 32 No. 4
Content focus and coherence are fundamental to professional devel- opment that helps teachers boost student learning. Learning Forward’s Outcomes standard emphasizes that teacher learning should be focused on subject-matter content and how students learn that content, and consistent with the in- dividual, school, and district factors that shape teachers’ work lives. Several key scholars have helped shape our un- derstanding of content focus and coherence and provided evidence to support their significance. CONTENT FOCUS Lee Shulman (1987) helped initiate the discussion of focusing on content and how students learn content. He highlighted what some researchers call pedagogical con- tent knowledge — the specialized knowledge teachers need to effectively convey content to students, such as the knowledge to select appropriate models to illustrate new concepts, as well

Read the remaining content with membership access. Join or log in below to continue.

Sed ut perspiciatis unde omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam, eaque ipsa quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt explicabo. Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem quia voluptas sit aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia consequuntur magni dolores eos qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt. Neque porro quisquam est, qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci velit, sed quia non numquam eius modi tempora incidunt ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat voluptatem.

Log In
   
Forgot password? Click here to reset
New User? Click here to register

Authors

Laura Desimone

Laura Desimone (lauramd@gse.upenn.edu) is associate professor in the Penn Graduate School of Education in Philadelphia, Pa. Her work explores how state, district, and school policy can better promote changes in teaching that lead to improved student achievement and to closing the achievement gap between advantaged and disadvantaged students.

References

Ball, D.L. (1993). With an eye on the mathematical horizon: Dilemmas of teaching elementary school mathematics. Elementary School Journal, 93(4), 373-397.

Ball, D.L. (2000). Bridging practices: Intertwining content and pedagogy in teaching and learning to teach. Journal of Teacher Education, 51, 241-247.

Borko, H., Eisenhart, M., Brown, C.A., Underhill, R. G., Jones, D., & Agard, P.C. (1992). Learning to teach hard mathematics: Do novice teachers and their instructors give up too easily? Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 23(3), 194-222. 

Borko, H. (2004). Professional development and teacher learning: Mapping the terrain. Educational Researcher, 33(8), 3-15.

Carpenter, T.P., Fennema, E., Peterson, P.L., Chiang, C., & Loef, M. (1989, Winter). Using knowledge of children’s mathematics thinking in classroom teaching: An experimental study. American Educational Research Journal, 26(4), 499-531.

Cochran-Smith, M. & Lytle, S.I. (1999). Relationships of knowledge and practice: Teacher learning in communities. Review of Research in Education, 24, 249-305.

Cohen, D.K. (1990). A revolution in one classroom: The case of Mrs. Oublier. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 12(3), 311-329.

Cohen, D.K., McLaughlin, M.W., & Talbert, J.E. (Eds.). (1993). Teaching for understanding: Challenges for policy and practice. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Desimone, L. (2009). Improving impact studies of teachers’ professional development: Toward better conceptualizations and measures. Educational Researcher, 38(3),181-199.

Desimone, L.M. (2002). How can comprehensive school reform models be successfully implemented? Review of Educational Research, 72(3), 433-479. 

Desimone, L.M., Porter, A., Birman, B., Garet, M., & Yoon, K.S. (2002). How do district management and implementation strategies relate to the quality of the professional development that districts provide to teachers? Teachers College Record, 104(7), 1265-1312.

Desimone, L., Porter, A.C., Garet, M., Yoon, K.S., & Birman, B. (2002). Effects of professional development on teachers’ instruction: Results from a three-year study. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 24(2), 81-112.

Fennema, E. & Franke, M.L. (1992). Teachers’s knowledge and its impact. In D.A. Grouws (Ed.), Handbook of research on mathematics teaching and learning (pp. 147-164.) New York: Macmillan.

Frank, K.A. & Yasumoto, J. (1998). Linking action to social structure within a system: Social capital within and between subgroups. American Journal of Sociology, 104(3), 642-686.

Garet, M., Porter, A., Desimone, L., Birman, B., & Yoon, K. (2001). What makes professional development effective? Results from a national sample of teachers. American Educational Research Journal, 38(4), 915-945.

Grant, S.G., Peterson, P.L., & Shojgreen-Downer, A. (1996). Learning to teach mathematics in the context of systemic reform. American Educational Research Journal, 33(2), 509-541.

Grossman, P.L. (1990). The making of a teacher: Teacher knowledge and teacher education. New York: Teachers College Press.

Hill, H.C., Ball, D.L., & Schilling, S.G. (2008). Unpacking pedagogical content knowledge: Conceptualizing and measuring teachers’ topic-specific knowledge of students. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 39(4), 372-400.

Leinhardt, G. & Smith, D.A. (1985). Expertise in mathematics instruction: Subject matter knowledge. Journal of Educational Psychology, 77(3), 247-271.

Little, J.W. (1993). Teachers’ professional development in a climate of educational reform. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 15(2), 129-151.

Ma, L. (1999). Knowing the teaching of elementary mathematics. Mahway, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. 

Shulman, L.S. (1987). Knowledge and teaching: Foundations of the new reform. Harvard Educational Review, 57(1), 1-22.

Smith, T.M., Desimone, L.M., Zeidner, T., Dunn, A.C., Bhatt, M., & Rumyantseva, N. (2007). Inquiry-oriented instruction in science: Who teachers that way? Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 29(3), 169-199.

Smith, M.S. & O’Day, J. (1991). Systemic school reform. In S.H. Fuhrman & B. Malen (Eds.), The politics of curriculum and testing: The 1990 yearbook of the Politics of Education Association (pp. 233- 267). Bristol, PA: Falmer.

Stein, M.K., Baxter, J., & Leinhardt, G. (1990). Subject-matter knowledge and elementary instruction: A case from functions and graphing. American Educational Research Journal, 27(4), 639-663.

Stein, M.K. & Lane, S. (1996). Instructional tasks and the development of student capacity to think and reason: An analysis of the relationship between teaching and learning in a reform mathematics project. Educational Research and Evaluation, 2(1), 50-80.

Thompson, P. W. & Thompson, A. G. (1994). Talking about rates conceptually, Part I: Teacher’s struggle. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 25(3), 279-303.

Webb, N.L. (1997). Criteria for alignment of expectations and assessments in mathematics and science education (NISE Research Monograph No. 6). Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin-Madison, National Institute for Science Education and Washington, DC: Council of Chief State School Officers.

Image for aesthetic effect only - Learning-forward-logo-square
+ posts

Learning Forward is the only professional association devoted exclusively to those who work in educator professional development. We help our members plan, implement, and measure high-quality professional learning so they can achieve success with their systems, schools, and students.

Search
The Learning Professional

Published Date
Reset

CURRENT ISSUE

    • Recent Issues

    EVALUATING PROFESSIONAL LEARNING
    February 2024

    How do you know your professional learning is working? This issue digs...

    TAKING THE NEXT STEP
    December 2023

    Professional learning can open up new roles and challenges and help...

    REACHING ALL LEARNERS
    October 2023

    Both special education and general education teachers need support to help...

    THE TIME DILEMMA
    August 2023

    Prioritizing professional learning time is an investment in educators and...

  • © Copyright Learning Forward
    • Skip to content