From Measurement to Improvement: Leveraging Observation Protocols to Improve Teaching in Middle School English Language Arts

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

Although classroom observation protocols have increasingly become tools for evaluating teachers, they have recently been seen as key levers for improving the quality of teaching. The promise of using observation systems for improvement is supported by early studies of professional development (PD) based on observation protocols (cf. Allen, et al, 2011). Yet, we still have much to learn about leveraging observation tools for PD. This symposium presents findings from a two-year study that investigates a model of PD built around PLATO, an observation instrument designed to measure the quality of teaching in ELA classrooms. This study investigates the degree to which engagement in this PD intervention is associated with changes in teachers’ conceptions of teaching and their classroom practice.

Sub Unit

• Division L - Educational Policies and Politics / Section 3: Curriculum, Testing, and Instructional Practice

Chair

• Pamela L. Grossman, Stanford University

Papers

• How Does an Observation Protocol Inform an English Language Arts Professional Development on Core Practices? - Lorien Chambers Schuldt, Fort Lewis College; Michael Metz, Stanford University; Taralynn Kantor, Stanford University

• Giving Teachers a Language and Vision of Practice Through Professional Development Based on an Observation Protocol - Erika Moore Johnson, Stanford University; Jamie O'Keeffe, Stanford University; Pamela L. Grossman, Stanford University

• Changes in Instructional Practice - Lindsay Brown, Stanford University; Julie Jackson Cohen, University of Virginia; Pamela L. Grossman, Stanford University

Discussants

• Sarah W. Freedman, University of California - Berkeley

• Megan L. Franke, University of California - Los Angeles