Knowledge in Action Professional Development Lessons Learned

• In Event: Examining Impacts of Professional Development on Project-Based Learning Instructional Practices

Abstract

Study Objective
Knowledge in Action (KIA) is a project-based learning (PBL) approach to Advanced Placement (AP). Developers designed the package of KIA curriculum, instructional materials, and professional development (PD) to bolster students’ deeper understanding of content and skills through student-driven projects. This study examined the impact of the KIA program in AP US Government (APGOV) and AP Environmental Science (APES) classrooms in five large districts nationwide, as well as its implementation, both in classrooms and in the PD context.

Theoretical Framework
PD is central to the KIA package The program, held locally in each of the five participating school districts during the study, includes four full days in summer, four full-day sessions throughout the school year (preceding four project cycles), and on-demand one-on-one virtual coaching throughout the year. Following PD best practices (Correnti, 2007; Murray, Savin-Baden, 2000; Supovitz & Turner, 2000), KIA’s PD is designed to accustom teachers to design principles and curriculum resources and develop their PBL instructional abilities. Coaches modeled PBL practices with teachers, often taking on the student role. PD can be particularly effective when including active learning, and collective participation of teachers from the same communities (Garet et al., 2001).

Methods, Techniques or Modes of Inquiry
We randomly assigned schools, and the recruited teachers within each, to receive the KIA intervention opportunity—access to KIA curriculum and PD—in 2016-17 or 2017-18. Analysis of implementation and outcomes data collected in 2016-17 informed estimation of the impact of the KIA program on students’ AP scores and other outcomes. An accompanying implementation study examined teachers’ PD experiences and their shift from a predominantly transmission-based to project-based learning approach.

Data Sources
This study included over 23 data sources, including PD materials and participation data, surveys (teacher and student), interviews (PD providers, teachers, students, principals), and collection of student records, including AP outcomes.

Analysis
We analyzed survey data using descriptive statistics and interview and observation data using structural followed by inductive coding. We used hierarchical models to examine KIA impacts, accompanied by sensitivity analyses investigating results’ robustness to modeling choices (e.g., use of two-level versus three-level HLM, use of district fixed or random effects, to covariates, etc.).

Results
We explored the successes and challenges experienced by both PD providers and participating teachers. We drew insights on coach hiring, training and management important to PD developers, as well as on teacher experiences informative to school districts, policy makers, and to teachers interested in PBL approaches. We also explored the impact of the KIA package—including curriculum, instructional materials and PD—on student AP performance.

Study Significance
This study is the first to explore the causal impact of a PBL approach to instruction in an AP context. Results shed light on the potential for PBL approaches in AP contexts and the critical importance of high-quality PD for supporting teachers making the change to inquiry-based instruction. Lessons learned can help others seeking to implement successful PBL PD programs.

Authors

• Anna Rosefsky Saavedra, University of Southern California

• Amie Rapaport, Gibson Consulting Group