Common features of professional development activities for mathematics and science teachers

Abstract

This study examines professional development activities provided for mathematics and science teachers in the National Science Foundation’s Math and Science Partnership Program by analyzing a cross‐sectional sample of over 2000 professional development (PD) activities in the program. Data were gathered from secondary source documents and surveys to examine core and structural features of professional development offerings (i.e. form, collective participation, content, duration and outcomes). The results from this sample of PD activities for mathematics and science teachers were mixed. There was evidence of research‐based practices, including the collective participation by teachers at the same grade levels, a focus on content‐specific training and sufficient duration. However, courses and workshops continued as the dominant form of PD delivery, there are few measures used to assess the PD activities, and the partnerships did not connect PD efforts for mathematics and science teachers with classroom practices and student achievement outcomes. These findings indicate that the delivery of PD has adopted important research‐based strategies, but that the partnerships need to design better methods for documenting growth in teacher knowledge and connecting that growth with student outcomes.