Abstract

Professional development for science teachers is widely recognized as a key element for successful standards-based systemic reform, yet there is little empirical evidence to justify design decisions for professional development. This paper presents both a theoretical model of teacher learning and an analytical framework that employs the model to link professional development to both student and teacher learning. Our approach begins with an analysis of relevant content standards for science learning, and then uses evidence of student performance to gauge areas where focus is needed in professional development. The success of our professional development designs is evaluated using a combination of teacher reflection, classroom observation, and ultimately the re-assessment of student performance. This process is used to inform a continual process of design and re-design. We present two examples of this process in use. The first example describes teacher learning about the use of modeling software by students. The second example is about teacher learning related to helping students master map reading skills related to watersheds. We argue that this form of empirically-based assessment of professional development, linking teacher and student learning, is a key to the eventual success of standards-based systemic reform efforts.

Citations