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Designing Effective Professional Development: Linking Curriculum & Instruction
Janet Carlson, BSCS
18 June 2011
Presented at Road Map for Education in the Geographical Sciences Project National Geographic Society
Washington, DC
BSCS
• Full name: Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (emphasis on the curriculum study)
• Established in 1958 • Non-profit based in Colorado • Focused on inspiring science literacy by
transforming teaching and learning – Our work is theory-based research and development
projects resulting in curriculum materials, professional development programs, evaluation reports, and empirical studies
• 40 staff, 90 projects à funded by government grants, contracts, and royalties
Professional Development Paradigm Shift
Old Paradigm • Private/individual • One-shot • Unrelated topics • External expert • Passive learning • Skill development • Atheoretical • Quick fix • Training
New Paradigm • Shared process • Sustained • School-related issues • Internal expertise • Active learning • “Why” & “how” of teaching • Research-based • Lasting change = slow
process • Learning
Professional Learning
Additive Learning -- the addition of new skills to an existing repertoire
AND Transformative Learning -- substantial changes
in deeply held beliefs, knowledge, and habits of practice Thompson & Zeuli, 1999
Requirements for TRANSFORMATIVE Professional Development
1. Create cognitive dissonance. 2. Provide opportunities to resolve
dissonance. 3. Connect 1 and 2 to teacher’s students. 4. Develop a repertoire of practice to support
new understanding. 5. Support for cycling back through #1-4.
Thompson, Charles; and Zeuli, John. The Frame and the Tapestry (in Sykes, G. & Darling-Hammond, L. (1999) Teaching as the Learning Profession. San Francisco: Jossey Bass)
Creating Cognitive Dissonance Requires PD Providers to Consider
How People Learn
Some Premises to Consider
• Teacher knowledge and beliefs impact teacher action.
• The more consistent the actions are with research on learning, the more likely it is that learners (of any age) will learn.
Principles: Learners and Learning
• What learners already know influences their learning. • Learners acquire new knowledge by constructing it for
themselves. • The construction of knowledge is a process of change
that requires addition, creation, modification, refinement, restructuring, and rejection.
• Learning happens through diverse experiences. • All learners, regardless of age, race, culture, and
gender are capable of understanding and doing science and mathematics.
(Loucks-Horsley et al., p. 33-34)
Principles: Teachers and Teaching
• The purpose of teaching is to facilitate learning.
• Teaching is a profession requiring specialized knowledge.
• The practice of teaching is complex and demanding.
(Loucks-Horsley et al., p. 38)
So what does Professional Development that accounts for all these ideas look like?
An Example: Project PRIME
• Promoting Reform through Instructional Materials that Educate
• Collaborative project BSCS, Center for Science Teaching and Learning at Northern Arizona University, and AZ biology teachers
• Funded by NSF in 2004 through the Teacher Professional Continuum (TPC) program
• Goal: Study the impact of educative curriculum materials combined with transformative PD on teacher understanding and practice
PRIME Time Line
Time line for Cohort A
Summer 05 (2 wks)
Spring 05 School Year 05-06 (2 CLS & ASTA)
Summer 06 (3 wks)
School Year 06-07 (3 CLS & ASTA)
Time line for Cohort B
Summer 06 (2 wks)
Spring 06 School Year 06-07 (2 CLS & ASTA)
Summer 07 (3 wks)
School Year 07-08 (3 CLS & ASTA)
40 HS biology teachers in Arizona
PRIME Program
Program Selection
1 week
Curriculum Analysis ASTA and 2 Lesson Study Cycles
2 weeks
Teach a
Fall Analyze Student Work Plan y
Spring Analyze Student Work
ASTA Teach b
Curriculum Analysis ASTA and 3 Lesson Study Cycles
3 weeks
Teach c
Fall Analyze Student Work Plan d
Spring Analyze Student Work
Winter Analyze Student Work Plan e ASTA Teach d Teach e
Analyze Units a,b
Analyze Units c,d,e
Y1
Y2
Major Components of the Professional Development Plan
1. Curriculum selection process 2. Emphasis on educative curriculum
materials 3. Extensive summer professional
development program 4. Collaborative lesson study sessions 5. Research on Pedagogical Content
Knowledge (PCK)
Component 1: Curriculum Selection Process
1. Coherence – An organizational structure that
deliberately promotes student understanding,
– Explicit links between facts and concepts that will facilitate the retrieval and application of those facts
– Builds from and extends concepts previously developed
– Explicit connections between the key concepts and an overarching framework about biology
2. Focus – Inclusion of a limited number of
key concepts – Development of concepts in-
depth at an appropriate level for an introductory college course
– Intellectual requirement that the reader apply and demonstrate their understanding in multiple ways
– Articulated text that helps the reader build from and extend concepts that were developed previously
Selection process included looking for evidence of
Teachers' Voices
How did choosing a curriculum using the AIM process differ from what you had experienced before? • Before: matched curriculum with state standards • Before: selected curriculum with the best
ancillaries • AIM: careful examination for relevance, rigor,
coherence, focus • Applied AIM process after Project PRIME in new
district project
Component 2: Understanding Educative Curriculum Materials
Educative curriculum materials are those that promote teacher learning as well as student learning.
(Ball & Cohen, 1996; Davis & Krajcik, 2005)
See this link: http://www.bscs.org/pdf/prensentationhighschoolbiotext06.pdf for a summary of the review of biology curriculum materials.
Component 2: Educative Curriculum Materials
(Davis & Krajcik, 2005)
Thoughtfully designed instructional materials can help teachers develop:
Content Knowledge – e.g., content information in the teacher materials
Pedagogical Knowledge – e.g., support materials for using the instructional model
Contextual Knowledge – e.g., information on common student misconceptions and related strategies
Teachers’ Voices
Donna: • Previous textbooks were used as a resource only, this one is our
guide to learning • This program interconnects concepts so it all flows together • This program emphasizes problem solving, critical thinking,
relevance
Erin: • This one scaffolds experimental skills and the curriculum for
students • This program includes student-led activities
As you used the educative materials you selected, how were they the same or different from other materials you’ve used?
Component 3: Extensive Summer PD Program
• 2 weeks summer 1; 3 weeks in summer 2 (40 hour weeks)
• Participants switched between a teacher hat and a student hat.
• Emphasis on understanding the curriculum features that supported student understanding of concepts
• Emphasis on the educative features of the curriculum and teacher craft knowledge
• Participants taught selected activities to their colleagues • 1 content deepening experience per unit – usually a
university researcher describing his/her research; later participants made connections between the lecture and the curriculum
Teachers’ Voices
Donna: • First reaction: not fun!
Colleagues reactions about the same
• Second year: recognized that CFGs helped see program as a whole & how chapters flow together
• More recently: used CFGs in PD with new teachers
Erin: • Made sense of the curriculum
progression • Helped me determine what
lessons could be skipped if necessary
• Helped me see links between big ideas in science
• Got to hear viewpoints of other teachers and could hear about their experiences related to the material
What was your reaction to the development of Conceptual Flow Graphics?
Component 4: Collaborative Lesson Study Sessions
• Participants worked in small groups to choose one lesson that they agreed to teach in a similar way, video record, and collect student work from
• Planning was done during the summer. • CLS sessions were held twice during each
school year.
CLS Planning Document Program Name: Unit Name and Number Activity Name:
Focus Question:
Expected Student Learning Outcomes
Ways that students can communicate understanding of the concept(s)…
Description of a High Quality
Student Work Product
Description of a Medium Quality Student Work
Product
Description of a Low Quality
Student Work Product
Connecting to the Conceptual Flow Graphic:
Teachers’ Voices
Erin: • Sharing video and student
work with other teachers • (Summer 2) was great—I saw:
– other methods of teaching to try – questioning techniques different
than mine – classroom arrangements that
were successful for the assignments
• It was great because two or three amazing teachers could put their brains together and develop a great lesson.
Donna: • My school is very secluded
from others and in a different culture, so it was great to compare student work with others
• CLS helped me see my teaching style
• I gained a PLC—I was able to discuss teaching with others in my group via email and phone calls
What was the value of the Collaborative Lesson Study component?
Teachers’ Voices
Donna: • Before: stand & deliver • Now: a facilitator • Before: students
expected to get it “right or wrong”
• Now, students create labs, think critically & learn the process of science
Erin: • Learning about
metacognition helped me plan better plan lessons and ask better questions
• Hearing other teachers’ ideas increased my efficiency as a teacher
• Seeing the CFGs helped me understand how the lessons are related
How did participating in Project PRIME change you as a teacher?
Empirically Tested Theoretical Path of Influence
A Closing Thought on the Importance of Effective Professional Development
The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.
Alvin Toffler
Acknowledgements
PRIME teachers • Donna Savill, Douglas
High School, AZ • Erin Stuart, Deer
Valley High School, AZ
PRIME researchers • April Gardner, BSCS • Julie Gess-Newsome,
Northern Arizona University
References
Thompson, C. and J. Zeuli (1999). The Frame and the Tapestry Standards-Based Reform and Professional Development. Teaching as the Learning Profession: Handbook of Policy and Practice. L. Darling-Hammond and G. Sykes, Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Davis, E. and J. Krajcik (2005). "Designing educative curriculum materials to promote teacher learning." Eduactional Researcher 34(3): 3-14.
Ball, D. L.. & Cohen, D. K. (1996). Reform by the book: what is – or might be – the role of curriculum materials in teacher learning and instructional reform? Educational Researcher, 25, 6 - 8, 14.
Loucks-Horsley, S., P. W. Hewson, et al. (2003). Designing professional development for teachers of science and mathematics. Thousand Oaks, CA, Corwin Press.
Thank you
BSCS 5415 Mark Dabling Blvd.
Colorado Springs, CO 80918 719.531.5550 www.bscs.org