Teacher professional development today stands at the juncture of two developments: The adoption of the Common Core State Standards, and growing efforts to reconfigure and personalize learning opportunities for teachers. This special report explores that intersection, providing profiles of new ideas and challenges in PD today.
Kathryn Parker Boudett, co-author of Meeting Wise: Making the Most of Collaborative Time for Educators, offers ideas on what makes school-based meetings work well—and why they often don't.
Leo Ramos and Amy Pendray of the Long Beach district in California look on as educators from Avalon Elementary School, on Santa Catalina Island, review a new course on formative assessment. The course is party of myPD, an online system that tailors professional-development offerings for teachers and tracks progress toward their learning goals.
Sera Lee, a 5th grade teacher at Freedom Hill Elementary School in Fairfax, Va., works on a problem during a small-group session at a math-modeling training at George Mason University. Experts say that introducing modeling to younger students can improve their critical-thinking and application skills in math.
A pilot professional-development program funded by the National Science Foundation introduces elementary school teachers to a method of advanced problem-solving.
In a video produced by the Center for the Collaborative Classroom, teacher Nina Morita demonstrates how educators can build community around writing practice and instruction. Experts say that, when used within a structured PD program, classroom-practice videos can help teachers improve their skills and negotiate instructional shifts.
Educators say the social media platform offers immediacy and practicality often missing from school PD programs.
Ross Brenneman, September 28, 2015
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7 min read
Newly minted teacher leaders from Bancroft Elementary School in Washington go through an exercise during a summer training session on instructional coaching. The summer coaching intensive is a key component of the District of Columbia’s Teacher Leadership Innovation program, designed to provide structural supports for teacher-leader roles in schools.
An initiative in the nation's capital aims to give select teachers more time to work with colleagues.
Anthony Rebora, September 28, 2015
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7 min read
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