Skip to content
  • Subscribe

    Sign up here for our monthly newsletter.

  • Menu

    Scooping up meaningful evidence

    By Thomas R. Guskey
    October 2003
    Vol. 24, No. 4
    The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation places new demands on educators at all levels. But perhaps no group will be more affected than staff development leaders. The accountability requirements under this federal program drastically reshape their roles. More notably, the legislation compels staff development leaders to refocus their perspectives and, in some cases, to revise completely their efforts in the educational improvement process. Two aspects of the NCLB legislation have special significance for staff development leaders. First is its requirement for “scientific, researchbased programs.” Second is the strong emphasis on accountability, defined in terms of improvements in student performance. These two aspects have profound implications for staff development leaders’ responsibilities, especially in the area of evaluation. RESEARCH-BASED PROGRAMS Believing that educators have not always

    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
       

    Authors

    Thomas R. Guskey

    Thomas R. Guskey is a professor of education. You can contact him at the College of Education, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, (859) 257-8666, e-mail: guskey@uky.edu.

    References

     Guskey, T.R. (1992, November). What does it mean to be “research-based”? The Developer, 5.

    Guskey, T.R. (1996, October 23). To transmit or to “construct”? The lure of trend infatuation in teacher professional development (Commentary). Education Week, 16(8), 34.

    Guskey, T.R. (1999). Evaluating professional development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

    Guskey, T.R. (2001a). The backward approach. Journal of Staff Development, 22(3), 60.

    Guskey, T.R. (2001b). Backward planning: An outcomes-based strategy for professional development. Curriculum in Context, 28(2), 18-20.

    Guskey, T.R. (2003, February). How classroom assessments improve learning. Educational Leadership, 60(5), 6-11.

    McLaughlin, M.W. (1991). Enabling professional development: What have we learned? In A. Lieberman & L. Miller (Eds.), Staff development for education in the ’90s: New demands, new realities, new per – spectives (2nd ed., pp. 61-82). New York: Teachers College Press.

    Miller, B., Lord, B., & Dorney, J. (1994). Staff development for teachers: A study of configurations and costs in four districts. Newton, MA: Education Development Center.

    U.S. Department of Education. (2002). Scientifically based research and the Comprehensive School Reform (CSR) Program. Washington, DC: Author.


    Thomas guskey photo02
    University of Kentucky | + posts

    Thomas R. Guskey, PhD, is Professor Emeritus in the College of Education, University of Kentucky. He is a longtime member of Learning Forward, best known for his work on teacher change and on planning, implementing, and evaluating effective professional learning. Contact him by email at guskey@uky.edu, on X at @tguskey, or at www.tguskey.com.


    Search
    The Learning Professional


    Published Date

    CURRENT ISSUE



  • Subscribe

  • Recent Issues

    CURRICULUM-BASED PROFESSIONAL LEARNING
    October 2024

    High-quality curriculum requires skilled educators to put it into...

    LEARNING TO PIVOT
    August 2024

    Sometimes new information and situations call for major change. This issue...

    GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES
    June 2024

    What does professional learning look like around the world? This issue...

    WHERE TECHNOLOGY CAN TAKE US
    April 2024

    Technology is both a topic and a tool for professional learning. This...