Professional Development

1
Professional Development

• Sylvia Linan-Thompson
• Vaughn Gross Center for Reading and Language Arts
• The University of Texas at Austin

2
Professional Development

• That is
• Coherent
• Has content that focuses on increasing teacher
  knowledge and skill in critical areas and
• Is of adequate intensity and duration
• Is needed in a systematic approach to
  professional development

3
Coherence

• Refers to the degree to which PD activities are
  aligned with school, district, and state goals,
  standards, and initiatives
• and
• Expected student outcomes

4
Content

• Focus on those areas you want to change
• the use of assessment to inform instruction
• instruction

5
Instruction

• Strategy instruction
• Teachers across content areas need to know how to
  teach students to use strategies and how to
  integrate strategy use

6
In particular

• Struggling readers need strategies for
• word reading
• comprehension
• Vocabulary
• that cut across the content areas

7
In addition,

• Teachers will be more likely to use the practices
  if
• Are able to integrate the practices into their
  content and routines
• They believe they support content acquisition
• They believe student outcomes will improve

8
Format

• Large group
• Follow-up
• The combination will ensure that the PD is of
  sufficient intensity and duration which is
  associated with teacher change.

9
Pre-service Teachers

• Entails engaging institutions of higher learning
  in the planning and development of the
  initiatives and policies that will drive change.

10
Conclusion

• This approach requires the collaboration and
  participation of stakeholders at every level.
• Commitment to making this a priority by
  developing initiatives, policy, and funding that
  support the level of change needed to change
  student outcomes.