Improving Student Learning with Teacher Professional Development

by Raymond Rose and Alvaro Galvis

The No Child Left Behind legislation states that all teachers must be “highly qualified” by 2006. However, current teacher data indicates that a number of teachers do not yet meet that definition. Many professional development programs aimed at helping teachers meet NCLB requirements are available, but they are not all alike.

Technology, and in particular the Internet, supports communication, collaboration, and sharing information—hallmarks of successful learning communities. Computer-based models and simulations help students learn difficult math and science concepts. The Concord Consortium has integrated these technologies into online professional development.

Use technology that excites both students and teachers

Simulations, games, and problem-solving tools allow learners to explore, inquire, construct ideas, and test those ideas. Our Seeing Math™ Secondary materials help algebra teachers reflect on their teaching by inviting them to become careful observers of their own learning processes while they explore math concepts with Java-based interactive materials. Teachers build knowledge by sharing their experiences with these materials. After they have experienced such inquiry learning and discussed their different solutions to the same problem, they use the interactive software with their students.

Focus on student gaps in learning

National and state standards, as well as standardized tests have helped to demonstrate the successes —and weaknesses—of each school district in particular content areas. This information provides a starting point for teacher professional development, which can focus on those weaknesses and develop targeted approaches to potential causes and possible solutions. In our CONGENIA project, which offers local and online courses for rural teachers in Colombia, the professional development effort is driven by the identification of student weaknesses on standardized tests; content is then aligned to those areas. Our Modeling Across the Curriculum project helps teachers see student gaps by capturing large amounts of data as students work with computer models. Analysis of the aggregated data at the classroom, school, and district level allows teachers to make targeted interventions and helps inform the design of appropriate teacher professional development activities.

Understand student thinking

Our Seeing Math™ Elementary interactive video cases capture the interaction between students and teacher, making it possible to analyze the learner’s thinking. Teachers view videos and transcripts, plus surrounding materials in order to participate in grounded discussions centered on events in the video or in their own classrooms. They learn to analyze student work, as well as the questions and answers students pose. Teachers practice questioning strategies to uncover student thinking, including misconceptions and a variety of valid ways of solving problems.

Recently, the Department of Education has called for scientifically based research data to demonstrate a professional development program’s efficacy. Quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the Seeing Math project shows that teachers gain instructional knowledge after participation in our courses. As teachers incorporate that knowledge into their instruction, their content knowledge also increases, moving them into the “highly qualified” category.

Raymond Rose (ray@concord.org) is Vice President of the Concord Consortium.
Alvaro Galvis (alvaro@concord.org) is Research Director of the Seeing Math project.