At a Glance

Teacher professional learning on technology integration improves efficiency and effectiveness of instruction and produces significant increases in end-of-grade assessment scores, particularly for African-American students in math and science.

The Study

Blanchard, M., LePrevost, C., Tolin, A., & Gutierrez, K. (2016). Investigating technology-enhanced teacher professional development in rural, high-poverty middle schools. Educational Researcher, 45(3), 207-220.

What This Means For Practicioners

Researchers provide evidence that sustained, content-specific professional learning aligned with student content standards and accompanied by resources to support implementation of learning does improve student learning.

Professional learning in this study aligned strongly with four of Learning Forward’s Standards for Professional Learning (Learning Forward, 2011): Resources, Learning Designs, Implementation, and Outcomes. While other standards may have been integrated into the overall initiative, they were not discussed.

Over the three years of the study, each school received $81,000 for the purchase of technology tools, $39,000 for teacher stipends, and workshop materials (Resources). The professional learning employed multiple designs in authentic settings to support teacher learning and use of the technology (Learning Designs). The three-year initiative sustained implementation support with monthly online sessions and increased access to technology tools. Teachers reflected on their application lessons throughout the initiative (Implementation). Both teacher curricula and the application of the technology tools aligned with state content standards in math and science, and teachers had flexibility to apply the technologies to their own lessons (Outcomes).

As researchers noted, teacher professional learning “is more effective in increasing standardized assessment scores if it is done schoolwide and takes place over two to three years, with the most significant gains after three years” (p. 217). These gains are most effective, they say, when students have more years with teachers experiencing technology-enhanced professional development rather than more teachers over less time.

Researchers say that the study provides evidence that a long-term, schoolwide, technology-enhanced teacher professional learning program can impact teachers’ beliefs about teaching and its effect on students, which can positively influence student achievement (p. 217).

The study highlights the effects of sustained experience with teachers who are learning and growing in their subject areas within well-designed, sustained, content-specific teacher professional learning on students who are most in need of substantive academic gains.

Reference

Learning Forward. (2011). Standards for Professional Learning. Oxford, OH: Author.