Using Data to Tailor Professional Development to Teachers' Contexts

• In Event: Conceptual and Statistical Models for Professional Development

Abstract

Many professional development (PD) efforts fail to create lasting change because they are not responsive to teachers’ experiences and instructional contexts. In this study, we applied an improvement science approach, drawing from both quantitative and qualitative data sources, to improve and tailor a PD to teachers’ needs for learning and provide supports within their instructional contexts. In this proposal, we describe Project Coordinate, a PD designed to increase teams of fourth grade general and special educators’ shared knowledge and skill for effective literacy instruction within an MTSS framework. We describe the innovation, data sources on teacher learning and experience, and the ways we used the data to refine the design of our PD and target activities to improve teacher learning.

Authors

• Amber Elizabeth Benedict, Arizona State University - Tempe

• Mary T. Brownell, University of Florida

• Benjamin Kelcey, University of Cincinnati

• Pasha Antonenko, University of Florida