Presenters: Randy Lamb, Dr. Christie Bledsoe, & Dr. Marlene Zipperlen

Nature of the Problem

“Good teachers form the foundation of good schools, and improving teachers’ skills and knowledge is one of the most

important investments of time and money that local, state, and national leaders make

in education”

( Holland, 2005, p. 1).

A growing body of research indicates that

teacher quality has more impact on student

achievement than any other factor.

0 A. Downs, 2006

Nature of the Problem According to NCLB (2002),

“Professional development should include activities that as a whole, are regularly evaluated for their

impact on increased teacher effectiveness and improved

student academic achievement.”

Statement of the Problem

0The general problem is educators use professional development for continuing education, but the results are undocumented.

0The specific problem is professional development programs do not necessarily transfer to changed teacher behavior in the classroom, which positively affects student achievement.

Purpose of the Study

0The purpose of this study was to examine teachers’ perceptions about professional development.

Research Design & Method

0Quantitative research methodology

0 Cross-sectional Survey Design (Creswell, 2012)

0Current attitudes toward PD

0District wide surveys

Literature Review 0 Professional Development in the United States

0 National Defense Education Act (1958)

0 Elementary & Secondary Act (1965)

0 A Nation at Risk (1983)

0 America 2000: An Education Strategy (1991)

0 Goals 2000: Educate America Act (1994)

0 No Child Left Behind (2001)

0 Race to the Top (2009)

Literature Review 0 Professional Development in Other Countries

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

1000

1100

1200

1300

1400

1500

Arg

entin

a1

Chile

Unite

d S

tate

s2

Me

xic

o

Scotland

New

Ze

ala

nd

Au

str

alia

Bra

zil

Po

rtuga

l

Ge

rma

ny

Neth

erla

nds

Canada

Irela

nd

Sp

ain

OE

CD

avera

ge

En

gla

nd2

Slo

venia

Be

lgiu

m (

Fl.)

Be

lgiu

m (

Fr.

)

Norw

ay

Slo

vak R

epublic

Denm

ark

2

Cze

ch R

epublic

Fra

nce

Luxem

bourg

Esto

nia

Italy

Ko

rea

Icela

nd

Tu

rkey

Au

str

ia

Hungary

Jap

an2

Isra

el

Fin

lan

d

Indonesia

2

Russia

n F

edera

tio

n2

Po

lan

d

Gre

ece

Hours per year

Number of teaching hours per year, by level of education (2010) Net statutory contact time in hours per year in public institutions

Lower secondary education Primary education Upper secondary education, general programmes

1. Year of reference 2009. 2. Actual teaching hours. Countries are ranked in descending order of the number of teaching hours per year in lower secondary education. Source: OECD. Argentina: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (World Education Indicators Programme). Table D4.1. See Annex 3 for notes (www.oecd.org/edu/eag2012).

Evaluating Professional Development

0Better Methods

0Aligned with Curriculum

0Ongoing Follow Up

Theoretical Framework Four Theories

0Age Theory (Trotter, 2006)

0 Stage Theory

0Piaget

0Teacher Career Cycle Model (Maskit, 2011)

0Cognitive Development Theory (Lynn, 2002)

0Functional Theory

Teacher Career Cycle Model

Current Findings

0 Factors Affecting Professional Development

0 Teacher Factors (Bradley-Levine, Smith, & Carr, 2009; Klein & Riordan, 2011; Meister, 2010)

0 School and District Influences (Corcoran, Fuhrman & Belcher, 2001; Goldberg, 2006: Lynch & Worden, 2010)

0 School Culture and Demographics

(Comer, 2001; Moore, Kochan, Krasha, & Reames, 2011; Torff & Sessions, 2009)

0 Implementation Barriers

(Moorewood, Ankrum, & Bean, 2010; Steyn, 2010; Tang & Choi, 2009)

Implementation Barriers

Data Collection

0Online Survey (Qualtrics)

0Voluntary Participation

Instrument

0Teachers’ Attitudes about Professional Development (TAP)- (Torff, Sessions, & Byrnes, 2005).

0An open-ended question at the end of the survey.

Instrument TAP presents five statements about Professional Development activities:

(1) Professional development workshops often help teachers to develop new teaching techniques.

(2) If I did not have to attend in-service workshops, I would not.

(3) Professional development events are worth the time they take.

(4) I have been enriched by the teacher training events I have attended.

(5) Staff development initiatives have not had much impact on my teaching.

Instrument Open-ended Question:

“How has your teaching behavior changed

because of professional development?”

Participants & Selection • 316 elementary and secondary

teachers in two Texas school districts.

• The sampling included regular classroom teachers, special education

teachers, and special area teachers.

Participants

• Range 22 – 74 years old • Mean of 43.26 years

Participants

70%

22%

4% 3% 1%

Educational Attainment

Bachelor's

Master's

Master's + 30

Master's +60

Doctorate

Gender

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

Males Females

Males

Females

250

66

Grade Level Taught

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

Primary Seconday

Primary

Seconday187

129

Years of Teaching Experience

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

0

Research Questions & Analysis 0What are the differences in teachers’

perceptions of professional development based on…

0teachers’ age?

0teachers’ years of experience?

0teachers’ level of educational attainment?

0gender?

0teachers’ grade level (elementary or secondary)?

Results

0The analysis showed that none of the five variables significantly

affected teachers’ perceptions of professional development.

Themes

0Classroom Management

0Technology Training

0New Ideas Connected to Subject Taught

0Working with Others

References 0 Bradley-Levine, J., Smith, J., & Carr, K. (Spring2009). The role of action research in

empowering teachers to change their practice. Journal of Ethnographic & Qualitative Research, 3(3), 152-161.

0 Comer, J. P. (2001). Schools that develop children. American Prospect, 12(7), 30. 0 Corcoran, T., Fuhrman, S., & Belcher, C. (2001). The district role in instructional

improvement. Phi Delta Kappan, 83(1), 78. 0 Goldberg, B. (2006). Use data effectively to bridge staff development and student

results. Journal of Staff Development, 27(2), 72. 0 Holland, H., & American Educational Research Association, W. (2005). Teaching

teachers: Professional development to improve student achievement. AERA Research Points, 3(1), 1-4. American Educational Research Association (AERA).

0 Klein, E. J., & Riordan, M. (2011). Wearing the “student hat”: Experiential professional development in expeditionary learning schools. Journal of Experiential Education, 34(1), 35-54. doi:10.5193/JEE34.1.35.

0 Lynch, D. & Worden, J. (2010). It's all about the people. Phi Delta Kappan, 92(3), 53.

0 Maskit, D. (2011). Teachers’ attitudes toward pedagogical changes during various stages of professional development. Teacher and Teacher Education, (27) 851-860.

References 0 Meister, D. G. (2010). Experienced secondary teachers’ perceptions of engagement and

effectiveness: A guide for professional development. Qualitative Report, 15(4), 880-898. 0 Moore, S. D., Kochan, F. K., Kraska, M., & Reames, E. H. (2011). Professional development and

student achievement in high poverty schools: Making the connection. International Studies in Educational Administration (Commonwealth Council for Educational Administration & Management (CCEAM)), 39(2), 65-79.

0 Morewood, A. L., Ankrum, J. W., & Bean, R. M. (2010). Teachers’ perceptions of the influence of professional development on their knowledge of content, pedagogy, and curriculum. College Reading Association Yearbook, (31), 201-219.

0 Richter, D., Kunter, M., Klusmann, U., Ludtke, O., & Baumert, J. (2011). Teaching and Teacher Education (27) 116-126.

0 Steyn, G. M. (2010). Educators’ perceptions of continuing professional development for teachers in South Africa: A qualitative study. Africa Education Review, 7(1), 156-179. doi:10.1080/18146627.2010.490009

0 Tang, S. Y. F., & Choi, P. L. (2009). Teachers’ professional lives and continuing professional development in changing times. Educational Review, 61(1), 1-18. doi:10.1080/00131910802684748.

0 Torff, B., & Sessions, D. (2009). Teachers' attitudes about professional development in high-SES and low-SES communities. Learning Inquiry, 3(2), 67-77.

0 Torff, B., Sessions, D., & Byrnes, K. (2005). Assessment of teachers' attitudes about professional development. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 65(5), 820-830.