According to Characteristics of Improved School Districts - Themes from Research (October, 2004), improved districts
are providers or brokers of high quality professional development programs that are intensive, ongoing, focused on classroom
practice, and include on-site coaching. Districts assure that their support for professional development is based on
the teaching and learning needs of the school. Professional learning communities are developed and supported to build
teacher knowledge and skills and to change instruction across the system.
Improved districts regard "the building of teachers' knowledge and skills as a crucial component of change" according
to Massell (The District's Rolein Building Capacity: Four Strategies, 2000, p. 2). In the Pew Network
districts, "the greatest strides occur where the adults also have opportunities to learn" (David & Shields, When Theory
Hits Reality: Standards-Based Reform in Urban Districts, 2001, p. v).
McLaughlin and Talbert (Reforming Districts: How Districts Support School Reform. A Research Report,
2003) note that "reforming districts seek out and use cutting-edge practice, most especially in professional development
where they have reallocated resources to provide site-based resources that reflect best thinking about how to foster teachers'
learning and instructional capacity" (p. 17). The "instructional supports provided by reforming districts" are described
by the researchers as "very high quality . . . intensive . . . site-focused and . . . designed in response to teachers' expressed
needs and evidence about student learning" (p 18).
In many of the improved districts, professional development was related to particular curriculum adoptions or to district-supported
principles of instruction. Togneri and Anderson (Beyond Islands of Excellence: What Districts Can Do to Improve
Instruction and Achievement in all Schools, 2003) note that the professional development includes deliberate strategies
to use research-based principles of professional development, widespread use of data in decision making, and clear connections
between district goals and school-level practices. The researchers conclude that improved districts used "student performance
data to guide what teachers needed to learn and created cadres of principal and teacher leaders to provide quality instructional
guidance" (p 49).
Kercheval & Newbill (A Case Study of Key Efective Practices in Ohio's improved School Districts, 2002, p.
13) noted that improved districts in Ohio identified professional development as an essential component and included a range
of professional development:
- improving student achievement
- implementation of continuous improvement plans
- curriculum alignment and mapping
- use of assessments to monitor and identify student academic progress
- instructional strategies to reflect proficiency test format.
The authors of this research conclude that "making significant changes in the classroom requires long-term sustained efforts
on the part of districts . . . . Teachers change their practice incrementally at first, and it takes time for them to develop
both competence and confidence in new methods" (Corcoran & Lawrence, Changing District Culture and Capacity:
The Impact of the Merck Institute for Science Education Partnership, 2003, p. 37).
The building of professional community is another dimension of professional development in improved districts. A
professional community is generally related to staff in a school. Supovitz and Christman (The Impact of Standards-based
Reform in Duval County, Florida: 1999-2002, 2003) assert that "(c)ommunities of instructional practice are a powerful
way for groups of teachers to engage in instructional improvement through sustained inquiry into their practice and investigations
into ways that their teaching can most effectively produce greater student learning. Communites focused on instruction
bring teachers out of isolated classrooms and engage them in structured ways to systematcally explore togethr the relationships
between their teaching and the learning of their students. Working together, teachers learn with and from each other, capitalizing
on the ways that adults learn most effectively" (p. 8). Professional learning communities help provide organizational
supports and resources, help break down obstacles, and facilitate the challenging work of school reform.
Leaders must
- Build trusting relationships among professionals in the building and the district.
- Create structures and schedules that sustain interaction among professionals.
- Help to frame joint work and shared responsibilities.
- Model, guide, and facilitate participaqtion in professional communities that value learning.
- Promote a focus on learning and associated core values (pp. 25-26).
Questions for reflection:
- How does the district/school build capacity in the district and the school to improve instruction and student learning?
- How does the district/school reflect research-based professional development practices?
- How does the district/school ensure coherence across professional development, policies, and teaching and learning practices?
This page was last updated on January 2, 2007.
