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    What Research Tells Us

    Common characteristics of professional learning that leads to student achievement.

    By Learning Forward
    February 2013
    Today’s education policy places a high priority on improving teacher quality and teaching effectiveness in U.S. schools (Obama, 2009). Standards-based professional learning requires teachers to have deep subject knowledge and the most effective pedagogy for teaching the subject. States and school districts are charged with establishing teacher professional development programs, some with federal funding support, designed to address the significant needs for improved teacher preparation. The results of a national study of teacher professional development over a two-year period (Darling-Hammond, Wei, Andree, Richardson, & Orphanos, 2009) show that, while teachers are experiencing more professional learning than in the past, we don’t have strong data regarding its effectiveness to improve teaching and learning. What follows is a summary of recent research that measures effects of professional

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    Authors

    Rolf K. Blank

    Rolf K. Blank (rolfb@ccsso.org) is a program director at the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) in Washington, D.C.

    How teacher learning leads to student achievement

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    References

    Banilower, E.R., Heck, D.J., & Weiss, I.R. (2007). Can professional development make the vision of the standards a reality? The impact of the National Science Foundation’s Local Systemic Change Through Teacher Enhancement Initiative. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 44(3), 375-395.

     

    Blank, R.K. & de las Alas, N. (2009). Effects of teacher professional development on gains in student achievement: How meta analysis provides scientific evidence useful to education leaders. Washington, DC: Council of Chief State School Officers.

     

    Blank, R.K., de las Alas, N., & Smith, C. (2008). Does teacher professional development have effects on teaching and learning? Analysis of evaluation findings from programs for mathematics and science teachers in 14 states. Washington, DC: Council of Chief State School Officers. Available at www.ccsso.org/Documents/2008/Does_Teacher_Professional_Development_2008.pdf.

     

    Clements, D.H. & Samara, J. (2011). Early childhood mathematics intervention. Science, 333(6045), 968-970.

     

    Corcoran, T.B. (2007). Teaching matters: How state and local policymakers can improve the quality of teachers and teaching. (CPRE Policy Briefs RB-48). Philadelphia, PA: Consortium for Policy Research in Education, University of Pennsylvania.

     

    Darling-Hammond, L., Wei, R.C., 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. Oxford, OH: NSDC.

     

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

     

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

     

    Guskey, T.R. (2003, June). What makes professional development effective? Phi Delta Kappan, 84(10), 748-750.

     

    Harris, D.N. & Sass, T.R. (2007, March). Teacher training, teacher quality, and student achievement. (Working Paper 3). Washington, DC: National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research.

     

    Hiebert, J. (1999). Relationships between research and the NCTM Standards. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 30(1), 3-19.

     

    Kennedy, M. (1998). Form and substance in inservice teacher education. (Research Monograph No. 13). Madison, WI: National Institute for Science Education.

     

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

     

    Loucks-Horsley, S., Hewson, P., Love, N., & Stiles, K.E. (1998). Designing professional development for teachers of science and mathematics. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

     

    National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future. (1996). What matters most: Teaching for America’s future. New York: Author.

     

    Obama, B. (2009, March 10). Taking on education. Remarks made at the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Washington, DC. Available at www.whitehouse.gov/blog/09/03/10/Taking-on-Education.

     

    Scher, L.S. & O’Reilly, F.E. (2007, March). Understanding professional development for K-12 teachers of math and science: A meta-analysis. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Chicago, IL.

     

    Shavelson, R.J. & Towne, L. (2002). Scientific research in education. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

     

    Showers, B., Joyce, B., & Bennett, B. (1987). Synthesis of research on staff development: A framework for future study and state-of-the-art analysis. Education Leadership, 45(3), 77-87.

    Yoon, K.S., Duncan, T., Lee, S.W.-Y., Scarloss, B., & Shapley, K. (2007). Reviewing the evidence on how teacher professional development affects student achievement. Washington, DC: Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics.


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    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.


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