A professional development school model for the development of literacy teachers

Abstract

Against the backdrop of persistently poor levels of literacy in our country, this article presents work done by university faculty, pre-service and in-service teachers to establish a professional development school (PDS) aimed at helping literacy educators meet the demands of teaching children in overcrowded, high-need schools. The purpose of this article is twofold: First, to describe two innovative features of the PDS model, namely tapping into pre-service teacher talents and using learning stations to individualise literacy instruction and, second, to demonstrate that the model leads to responsive teaching which contributes to raising students’ reading levels. The article concludes by promoting the effectiveness of the PDS movement in educating teachers and contributing to student achievement.