Implementation of Common Core–Aligned Professional Learning Communities in D.C. Public Schools

• In Event: District and State-Level Approaches to Teacher Improvement

Abstract

Objectives

Beginning in 2016, the District of Columbia Public Schools began implementation of a district-wide professional development program called Learning together to Advance our Practice (LEAP). The goal of LEAP is to help teachers improve the quality of their Common-Core aligned teaching practices. This paper presents initial findings from an in-depth evaluation of LEAP Implementation in eight schools, with a focus on grade 3-5 LEAP teams (English Language Arts and Math). We assess the fidelity and quality of LEAP implementation as well as factors contributing to variations in implementation across schools.
Teachers were organized into teams by content and grade band. LEAP teams engage in a three-part weekly cycle of professional learning including:
• LEAP Seminars – Weekly 90-minute training sessions facilitated by the LEAP team’s LEAP Leader.
• LEAP Observations – Weekly 15-minute observations in which teachers demonstrate learning from the weekly seminar.
• LEAP 5P Debrief – Weekly coaching meetings between the LEAP Leader and a teacher during which the teacher receives feedback on specific skills studied during the LEAP Seminar.

Theoretical Framework

Our evaluation is informed by the Berkel et al. (2011) model for understanding program implementation and by a more comprehensive theory of change that draws attention to the ways in which factors such as school level leadership and culture may contribute to the success of implementation.

Methods and Data Sources

Teachers (n=24) and LEAP Leaders (n=14) in this study all worked in high-poverty schools, were ethnically diverse, and had a range of educational backgrounds and experience profiles.
Data for this paper are drawn from a mixed-methods study that included surveys, interviews, audio-recorded debrief sessions between LEAP Leaders and teachers, as well as administrative data on teachers and LEAP Leaders.

Results

Fidelity of implementation varied significantly across LEAP teams and declined across the school year. The dosage of LEAP delivery ranged across teams and teachers and also appeared to decline slightly over the course of the year.

The quality of LEAP implementation was relatively high, although there was a range. Teachers reported strong relationships with their LEAP Leaders and positive team interactions. Debrief conversations were of high quality, as assessed by items such as engagement of teachers and focus of the conversation on content-specific teaching practices.Teachers were very positive about LEAP, with the vast majority (91%) reporting it was an improvement on prior professional development experiences. The quality of LEAP implementation and teacher satisfaction was stronger in schools in which teachers reported a more positive school culture. Dosage of LEAP implementation was not related to school culture.

Scientific or Scholarly Significance

Many school districts are looking to reform their approaches to professional development (Gulamhussein, 2013) but few are attempting to reform their systems at the level of breadth and depth as DCPS. Lessons learned from this first year of LEAP implementation can help us better understand factors that may facilitate and detract from the impact of such reforms.

Authors

• Bridget Kathleen Hamre, University of Virginia

• Julie Jackson Cohen, University of Virginia

• James H. Wyckoff, University of Virginia