Core Features of Effective Professional Development for Teachers: What Should Professional Development Programs Be Aligned With?

• In Event: Fairmont Roundtable Session Fourteen
  In Roundtable Session: Professional Development for Our Times (Table 8)

Abstract

“Effective” professional development (PD) differs from “traditional” PD in that it has the core features known to support changes in teaching practices and in student learning: collective participation, sufficient duration, active learning, and specific content focus, all within a coherent development process. However, research shows that not all PD programs that have this set of core features lead to the desired changes. This has led some researchers to question the relevance of relying on these specific design features. This article, based on the results of a scoping review on the topic, serves to specifically support our understanding of content focus, one of the features that has not been clearly defined and whose relevance has been called into question.

Authors

• Marie-France Boulay, Laval University
  Presenting Author

• Christine Hamel, Université Laval
  Non-Presenting Author

• Sandra Hamel, Laval University
  Non-Presenting Author