TIFSTEM_Webinar2_v9

Welcome to the TIF STEM webinar: Designing Effective Development for STEM Teachers

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Welcome!

www.tifstemcommunity.org/

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Asking Questions

Designing Effective Professional Development for STEM Teachers

Kristen Malzahn Dan Heck Joan Pasley

Lets Get Started

P Multi-year

P Summer workshops

P Experienced, well-prepared PD providers

B { } Professional Development

Program for K-5

teachers

A

Two Districts

Teacher Survey

50%

of teachers have

made a substantial

change.

Why?

Some teachers are

attempting change

and others aren’t.

Why are some teachers changing and not others?

Y N

Math vs. Science

Number of years teaching Y N

Difference

} What might explain the low “take-up” in District A?

20% Reporting change

80% Reporting change

A B

Which of these factors

did you consider might

be making the difference?

1 Extent of principal support

2 Extent of parent support

3 Availability of appropriate

instructional materials

4 District policies that

get in the way

5 Other factors

Polling

Check to see…

If teachers have necessary supplies

Instructional materials Student assessments Teacher evaluation policies

Consider…

for principals

involving parents

Help insure buy-in

Simplified Logic Model Parent support

Policies aligned with the vision

Principal support

Appropriate instructional materials

Teacher knowledge & skills

Professional development

Teaching practice

Student outcomes

Learn about designing high quality STEM PD and consider how to apply what you are learning to your particular context.

Consider implications for the knowledge and skills of STEM Master Teachers who may be providing this PD.

Goals of this Webinar

For this Webinar

we will… ü  Assume that you will address these

other system components as essential for lasting improvement; and

ü  Focus on the design of PD to enhance teacher knowledge and skills and improve STEM teaching and learning.

S T E M

cience

echnology

ngineering

athematics

} Integration

1 Determining your PD needs

2 Designing a STEM PD program

3 Selecting STEM strategies for a purpose

Designing Effective STEM PD

Determining Your PD Needs 1

Education Improvement Efforts

Your STEM education improvement results are grounded (either implicitly or explicitly) in a vision of STEM education and what effective instruction looks like to accomplish this vision.



Teaching practice

Student outcomes

Vision



Teaching practice

Student outcomes

What do teachers need to know and be able to do?

Vision



Teaching practice

Student outcomes

In what areas do our teachers need the most support?


Vision



Teaching practice

Student outcomes


STEM Content Knowledge Matters

For teaching practice: ü  Selecting content to emphasize ü  Selecting instructional strategies and sequence ü  Selecting assessment tasks ü  Implementing curriculum materials



Teaching practice

Student outcomes

For student outcomes: Students of teachers with stronger content knowledge have higher achievement scores than other students, in particular on measures of conceptual understanding.

STEM Content Knowledge Matters



Teaching practice

Student outcomes

Content teachers need to know

The content knowledge teachers need goes beyond understanding content at the level students are expected to know it. Content students

expected to know

Teacher STEM Content Knowledge

Disciplinary Content Knowledge

Pedagogical Content Knowledge

Ways of Knowing Content

Facets of Teacher Content Knowledge

Disciplinary Content Knowledge

Content Knowledge

ü More advanced concepts

ü Deeper understanding of concepts

Pedagogical Content Knowledge

Instructional strategies for teaching

How students think about

Curriculum

Particular STEM Content Areas

Knowledge of…

How instructional materials develop ideas

K-12 articulation of ideas

Designing, conducting inquiry, problem solving

Hypothesizing, conjecturing

Productive habits of mind

What counts as evidence Nature of explanation/ justification in the discipline Nature of working in the intellectual community of the discipline

Ways of Knowing Content

How knowledge is established

How ideas/problems are investigated

Determining Your PD Needs Based on Vision

In addition to “content” needs, your vision of effective STEM education will likely require teachers to have additional knowledge and skills…

Teachers will need to understand what the practices look like in the classroom.

For example…

College and career-ready schools recommend students engage in mathematics, science and engineering practices.

Integrated, multi-disciplinary approaches will require teachers to have a deep understanding of “content” across multiple disciplines.

In addition, they will need to understand how to ensure that all content areas are addressed appropriately.

For example…

Possible Data Sources

State/district standards

Content included in their designated instructional materials

What teachers and students find difficult

Knowledgeable observers

Teacher self-report

Determining Your PD Needs

Determining Your PD Needs

Be careful not to use up too many resources (and too much teacher time) on identifying needs.

What are the priority PD needs

for STEM teachers in your project? Polling

1 STEM content

knowledge at

the student-level

2 STEM content

knowledge at an

advanced level

3 Knowledge

of how students

think about

particular

content ideas

4 Knowledge of

practices in

STEM disciplines

5 Knowledge of

how to effectively

integrate

concepts from

one or more

STEM subjects

6 Other area

of need

Questions?

Designing a STEM PD Program 2

Prior to the webinar, we asked you to: Task

R  Read the description of

the two “research-based”

STEM PD programs;

R  Record the strengths/weaknesses

of each design, and;

R  Decide which program design

is stronger and why.

Design B Design A

ü  Week-long summer institute.

ü  Focused on the content in the instructional materials to understand how activities are expected to contribute to student understanding.

ü  Optional follow-up sessions during the academic year—teachers discuss implementation with access to content specialists.

ü  Principals participate in portions of the PD and learn how to support teachers.

ü  Consultants observe session and give feedback. Teachers complete a survey on impact of PD and additional assistance needed.

ü  PD primarily during the academic year.

ü  Focused on developing teachers’ expertise in analyzing student work so they can ask the right questions to develop conceptual understanding.

ü  Teachers, with the support of content experts, analyze that the tasks are assessing, what prerequisite knowledge a student would need, and what responses indicate what the student does and does not understand.

ü  Principals attend orientation and two sessions during the academic year.

ü  Researchers visit a sample of classrooms before and after to assess the extent of instructional improvement.

Polling

Study Review D

Study Review C

What is Effective STEM PD? }emerging consensus

Study Review B Study Review A

}What is Effective STEM PD?

Focuses on a purpose anchored in student learning of specific content in a specific setting

Focuses on curriculum and pedagogy

Embodies a theory of adult learning

Develops/sustains group work

Sustains focus over time

Models effective practice

Involves active participation of school leaders and staff

Connects instruction and learning

Uses assessment and evaluation Elmore, 2002

Opportunities to engage in mathematical analysis, reasoning, and communication

What is Effective STEM PD?

}“ Positively related to teacher learning ”

Longer duration/

more contact

hours

Hill & Ball, 2004

Active learning opportunities

What is Effective STEM PD? }“ Positively related to changes

in teachers’ instruction ” Desimone, Porter, Garet, Yoon, & Birman, 2002

Focus on a specific practice or set of practices

Coherence with other PD

Collective participation of teachers

“Reform types” of PD focused on higher order instructional/assessment practices

Let’s Revisit the PD Design Task

Design B Design A

ü  Week-long summer institute.

ü  Focused on the content in the instructional materials to understand how activities are expected to contribute to student understanding.

ü  Optional follow-up sessions during the academic year—teachers discuss implementation with access to content specialists.

ü  Principals participate in portions of the PD and learn how to support teachers.

ü  Consultants observe session and give feedback. Teachers complete a survey on impact of PD and additional assistance needed.

ü  PD primarily during the academic year.

ü  Focused on developing teachers’ expertise in analyzing student work so they can ask the right questions to develop conceptual understanding.

ü  Teachers, with the support of content experts, analyze that the tasks are assessing, what prerequisite knowledge a student would need, and what responses indicate what the student does and does not understand.

ü  Principals attend orientation and two sessions during the academic year.

ü  Researchers visit a sample of classrooms before and after to assess the extent of instructional improvement.

Polling

Both designs incorporated research-based approaches.

Week-long session with optional school year follow-up

School-year sessions

Ongoing Design A Design B

Design A Design B

Content-focused

Focused on the content in the instructional materials to understand how activities are expected to contribute to student understanding.

Focused on developing teachers’ expertise in analyzing student work so they can ask the right questions to develop conceptual understanding.

Design A Design B

Teacher needs

Teachers need to understand how activities are expected to contribute to student understanding.

Teachers are having difficulty monitoring student understanding.

Design A Design B

Analyzing student instructional materials.

Analyzing student work.

Apply to practice

Available research points to some elements of effective PD, but…

Effective STEM PD

does not provide sufficient guidance about how to design and implement PD for particular purposes in particular kinds of situations.

there are so many trade-offs to be considered.

each context is different

We will never have sufficient knowledge to guide all of the decisions PD designers need to make, because…

Effective STEM PD

Decisions are interrelated.

PD design and implementation is complex, with many decisions to make.

The reality…

When making these decisions, PD designers must consider…

What there is time to do

Views on what knowledge is most important

What can be done well

The needs of the particular group of teachers in relation to the selected content areas

Key Principles

Design STEM PD to fit the school community’s context and advance program goals. Consider…

Combination of centralized activities and year-round activities

Plan for turnover & mobility

Address STEM teachers’ diverse backgrounds and learning needs.

Teachers’ grade levels affect content needs

Needs of new vs. veteran STEM teachers

Key Principles

Establish QC mechanisms when using multiple PD providers.

Collect data on progress to improve program quality.

Key Principles

Build a collegial atmosphere of trust, mutual respect, and openness to ideas.

Key Principles

Connect STEM PD to the classroom.

Demonstrate how PD is connected to state and local standards.

Connect PD to student work and learning.

Focus on instructional resources.

Balance emphasis on content, pedagogy, and instructional materials.

Ensure these offerings are part of an overall, coherent program of work.

Keep the focus on content and student learning.

Key Principles

Model and explain quality instructional practices.

Address equity issues and raise teacher expectations of high-level STEM achievement for all students.

Key Principles

Questions?

Selecting STEM PD Strategies for a Purpose 3

Key Principles

Start by identifying a purpose, not picking a strategy.

PD strategies are not inherently good or bad, but some may be better suited than others for a particular purpose.

PD strategies vary in cost, and in the knowledge and skills needed to implement them well.

Strategies

Research suggests that teachers can deepen their understanding of disciplinary content by working on challenging problems at an advanced level.

Immersion in Content

1

1 2 3 4 5

STEM Master Teachers employing this strategy will need…

Strategies 1 2 3 4 5

Strong content background

Immersion in Content

Skill in facilitating learning experiences for adults


Strategies 1

2 2 3 4 5

Research suggests that teachers can deepen their understanding of disciplinary content and their pedagogical content knowledge by experiencing their student materials as learners.

Exploring Student Instructional Materials

Strategies 3 4 5


1 2

Be careful that the content doesn’t get lost.

Teachers will likely see the PD as relevant.

Teachers need to learn the content AND learn how the activities are intended to help students develop their understanding.

Strategies 3 4 5


1 2

Need to go beyond modeling effective pedagogy; PD should allow time for facilitators to explicitly discuss the pedagogy that was modeled.


Strategies 3 4 5




1 2

Expertise in K-12 mathematics/science education

Knowledge of how the activities in the instructional materials are intended to develop STEM ideas

Strategies 1

3 4 5

Research suggests that examining student work can help teachers to understand student thinking.

Analysis of Student Work

3 2

Strategies 4 5


Helpful for teachers to first analyze a carefully crafted set of student work before analyzing their own students' work.

1 3 2

Strategies 4 5

Analysis of student work should focus on what students understand, not just what they do not understand.

Student work samples should be rich enough to illustrate students’ thinking and include the full range of important student ideas about the content.


1 3 2


Strategies 4 5




Understanding of student thinking about the targeted content


1 3 2

Strategies 1

4 5 2

Research suggests the need for school-based and/or job-embedded PD for STEM teachers.

School-based Study Groups and PLCs

4 3

Strategies 4 5


Specifically, participation in PLCs has been linked to increased teacher confidence and positive changes in teachers’ instructional practices.

1 2 4 3

Strategies 4 5


School-based Study Groups & PLCs are potentially very powerful and can address a number of different PD purposes.

1 2 4 3

BUT should not be expected to address all of the needs for teachers’ continuing education.

may be more amenable to some PD purposes than others


Strategies 5



Skill in facilitating discussions in small groups

Expertise in K-12 STEM education


1 2 4 3

Strategies 4 5


Protocols and tools can increase the likelihood that a STEM PLC will be successful.

1 2 4 3

Strategies 1

5 5 2 4 3

Research indicates that instructional coaching can be an effective method for improving STEM instruction.

ü  Applying other PD to practice

ü  Trying out new strategies, getting feedback, refining and trying again

Instructional Coaching

Strategies Instructional Coaching

Potentially a very powerful strategy.

1 5 2 4 3


Strategies




Skill in observing STEM instruction, diagnosing strengths/areas for improvement, and providing constructive feedback

Instructional Coaching

1 5 2 4 3

What is the most important factor

in determining the strategies you

will use in your STEM professional

development?

1 The purpose of the STEM PD



4 All of the above

Polling

A few last points…

High quality PD materials save time and effort in designing STEM PD, and provide scaffolding for novice PD providers.

the fact that no design will work without good implementation

the need to select approaches that fit your particular context

Expert practitioners & common sense highlight…

Important!

Our eyes are always bigger than our stomachs… we always want to do more in professional development than we are able to do.

needs needs needs needs needs



Priorities? (now & over time)

Collaborate with project teams to develop an overall STEM PD plan that fits with your goals and context.

Review and give feedback on existing plans for STEM PD.

Provide ideas for materials and resources to support your STEM PD efforts.

The STEM TA can..

Questions?

Documents

TIFSTEM_Webinar2_v9