Camille Catlett, FPG Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina

Marilou Hyson, Early Childhood Consultant, and University of Pennsylvania

Aglaia Zafeirakou, Global Partnership for Education c/o The World Bank

Who, What & HowNew Models for Evidence-based

Professional Development

CIES ConferenceWednesday, March 13, 3013

Agenda for Today’s Session

Overview of recent research on professional development (PD) for Early Childhood Development (ECD)

Definition and contextual framework for PD Indonesian example Gambian example Questions and answers Take home ideas

One thing we can say with certainty about professional development is that workshops alone are not effective if building skills or dispositions is the desired outcome

(Fixsen, Naoom, Blase, Friedman, & Wallace, 2005)

What do we know about effective PD for ECD?

. . . and yet

One-off events and training workshops are consistently the PD method of preference in early childhood, despite the fact that short-term, one-time trainings have little or no impact on quality improvements.

(Zollitsch & Dean, 2010, The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, 2011)

Recent findings

Recent research syntheses on adult learning strategies and teacher development provide some empirical basis for designing effective professional development

(Trivette, 2005; Trivette, Dunst, Hamby, & O’Herin, 2009; Darling-Hammond, Wei, Andree, Richardson, & Orphanos, 2009)

Based on these findings, effective professional development . . . Is intensive and ongoing, with multiple, sequenced, active

learning experiences Is grounded in specific practice-focused content Builds on the learner’s current level of understanding Includes large doses of learner self- assessment of his/her learning against a set of standards, criteria, or expert feedback Is aligned with instructional goals, learning standards, and curriculum materials

Promising practices

Relationship-based training efforts (coaching, consultation, technical assistance, mentoring, communities of practice, peer study groups) are promising but largely unproven methods. To date studies are “far from conclusive and offer little in the way of showing advantages of one over the other.”

(Zollitsch & Dean, 2010)

 OUTCOMES

PD Methods % of participants who could demonstrate

KNOWLEDGE

% of participants who could demonstrate

SKILL

% of participants who could USE NEW

SKILL IN THE CLASSROOM

Theory and Discussion 10% 5% 0%

Training with Demonstration 30% 20% 0%

Training with Practice and

Feedback60% 60% 5%

Training with Onsite Coaching 95% 95% 95%

(Joyce & Showers, 2002)

Impact of Different PD Methods

Definition of Professional Development

“Professional development is facilitated teaching and learning experiences that are transactional and designed to support the acquisition of professional knowledge, skills, and dispositions as well as the application of this knowledge in practice …

Definition (continued)

The key components of professional development include: a) characteristics and contexts of the learners

(i.e., the “who” );

b) content (i.e., the “what” of professional development); and

c) organization and facilitation of learning experiences (i.e., the “how”).”

Think about…

Who are the learners?• Are the decision makers?• Are essential community

partners?• Are the PD providers

(consultants, coaches, mentors, faculty members)?

What do you want the learners to know and be able to do?• Master content?• Apply content?• Support others in using

content?• Know where to find resources?

How will you organize, support, and evaluate the learning?

Contextualizing Professional Development

The Crosswalks Model

Community Organizing Model of Professional Development

• Use community context and the resources generated from an understanding of community context

• which will support changes in the knowledge, skills, and behaviors of PD providers (mentors, consultants, faculty)

• which will support changes in the knowledge, skills, and behaviors of teachers

• which will support changes in child outcomes and family/community perceptions

Community Context PD Providers

TeachersChildrenFamilies

Community