Professional Development

Working under the direction of the National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform, AIM at Middle-Grades Results will work with math accessibility experts at EDC to develop two videos and accompanying professional development materials and an online course. Teachers will learn how to plan lessons and assessments with an accessibility lens. This three year effort is one of four comprehensive school improvement models that will develop, pilot, and disseminate resources.

Sponsored by the Council of Chief State School officials (CCSSO), the moderated online discussion (MOD) project is a year long initiative designed to support the work of Leadership Issue Groups (LIG) by stimulating conversation on education leadership imitatives. Six issues serve as the primary focus for discussions: (1) data-driven decision-making; (2) role, responsibilities, and authority; (3) assessing leader behavior; (4) resource allocation and incentives; (5) governance; and (6) high school leadership.

This project addressed gaps in the current state assessment system and explored the following questions: Where are the gaps in the assessment system? Who are the students affected by these gaps? What are the appropriate assessment systems for students in the gaps? After answering these questions, the project developed and piloted an assessment prototype to address the problem and meet student needs. Completed research studies are available on the project Web site. TMAS is a cross center project with EEC and FSC within EDC.

The question about how (and what) teachers learn “on the job” lies at the crux of any effort to provide high-quality teachers for students. Focusing on mathematics teachers, this project will help shape the agenda for future research by identifying those aspects of teacher learning that have been firmly established, those aspects which bear further investigation, and those aspects about which little is currently known, but which are likely to be important for developing a full picture of teachers’ on-the-job learning.

EDC is creating a series of online professional development course for teachers of American History. The courses will assist teachers in building their skills as historians, using primary source documents in the classroom, and making use of local historical sites and museums. Each course includes online readings, interactive activities, online discussions, assessments, and other Web-based resources. Additionally, EDC will train and support facilitators to deliver each of the courses to teachers from school districts participating in the project.

Supported Literacy for Adolescents is a research-based literacy program developed over 10 years by EDC, with funding from the U.S. Department of Education (Office of Special education Programs and Institute of Educational Sciences), Annenberg Foundation, and MetLife Foundation. Its goal is to improve reading, writing, and comprehension among both high risk and typically achieving populations. It is deeply rooted in standards-based curriculum design, and all components of the program are aligned with national reading and writing standards, as well as selected content standards.

At this three-day institute teachers will learn about the science of building structures, how materials and design influence structural stability, and what young children might learn about building strong stable structures. Through hands-on exploration, discussion, and video analysis they will gain new understanding of how to set-up the block area for science learning and how to support children’s scientific inquiry. Participants will all receive Building Structures with Young Children, a guide developed at EDC, to teaching science through block play.

CCT is developing and testing a series of indicators that monitor change in how educational systems prepare administrators, teachers, and students for the 21st century. In addition, CCT will also determine the most efficient way to implement them. This research builds on our ongoing evaluation of the Cisco 21S Initiative, a large-scale reform effort bringing technology and professional development to schools in Mississippi and Louisiana. This new project extends our investigations into defining and assessing 21st century skills.

The Center for Science Education is working with the Massachusetts State Science and Engineering Fair to help design and develop a sustainable, scalable model of teacher professional development in inquiry-based learning. The goal of the six-day course is to enable middle and high school teachers to enhance their science curricula with inquiry-based lessons that will help students develop science literacy and acquire workplace skills such as critical thinking, communication, teamwork, and perseverance.

The success of the Teacher Quality Research Project in West Virginia led to this new project. The state Department of Education has contracted with us for LEEP to be taught eight times in parts of the state that have not had the benefit of the Teacher Quality grant. This year EDC’s Ingrid Chalufour will teach LEEP in Wyoming and McDowell counties in southern West Virginia, working with a co-instructor from the WV Department of Education.