Refocus Professional Development

Abstract

teachers need to improve their craft is rarely what they receive from professional development. -- Yvette Jackson, former director of professional development, New York City Department of Education If we simplified professional development and focused it on the right priorities, educators would be poised to achieve swift, unprecedented gains in student learning. Every year, millions of teachers and administrators attend workshops and conferences. They set aside their instructional and supervisory duties to attend these often marathon events, which frequently require travel and its attendant expenses. Despite this investment of time and treasure, something is awry. In a recent Washington Post article, Yvette Jackson, former director of professional development for New York City public schools, cites two representative studies: One found that two years of extensive professional development in mathematics in 12 districts had no effect on student achievement; another found that a $500-million investment in professional development in her own district had no discernible effect on student performance (Jackson, 2011). The explanation for this lies in the unfocused, haphazard nature of the industry it-self. Every year, teachers and administrators are subjected to a torrent of artfully marketed, seductive, pedagogic fads, technology, products, and programs cooked up by commercial entities that promise them the world. And every year, they succumb to the pressure to adopt initiatives or programs to impress their school boards and communities. In this atmosphere, few educators are able to stop the parade and simply ask some fundamental questions: What structures and practices would ensure the largest and fastest increases in learning for college, careers, and citizenship? Answer: A content-rich curriculum that includes ample amounts of purposeful reading, writing and discussion, and sound lessons, taught in accordance with elements we've known for decades (Schmoker, 2011a, 2011b). Are these currently being implemented in my school? Answer: For most schools, the answer is a resounding yet. Most educators will admit this. Class-room observations and research roundly confirm it (Schmoker, 2011a; DuFour & Marzano, 2011, pp. 90-91). Does it make any sense to pursue new professional de-velopment initiatives when they only postpone the implementation of the most powerful, foundational elements of good schooling? Consider the following grab bag of professional development offerings and initiatives. I collected these in just a few minutes of scanning the pages of educational journals and professional development catalogs: Podcasting as a learning tool; how to teach in rural schools; blended learning; using fantasy football to teach math; creating a 21st-century school; using green-screen technology to promote active learning; (absurdly elaborate) vocabulary programs; culturally responsive pedagogy; grouping students by ability/gender/interest; using structured play to improve students' executive function; using wikis in the classroom; concept mapping across the curriculum; the flipped classroom Does good evidence sup-port such stuff? For years, we've known that many in the professional development community are members of an evidence-based culture, that in the world of professional development popular appeal routinely trumps proof of effective-ness (Corcoran, Fuhrman, & Belcher, 2001, p. 79). But more to the point, does it make any sense for a school to attend any new training before it has implemented a coherent, teacher-friendly curriculum and pacing guide for every course? Even the current blitz of workshops focused on the Common Core State Standards is misguided. These workshops are seldom designed to help schools complete a coherent, literacy-rich curriculum now, not years from now. …