Professional development for evidence-based SRSD writing instruction: Elevating fourth grade outcomes

Writing is a critical skill for success in all areas of life, but it is one of the least taught skills in school. Teachers consistently report being unprepared to teach writing. In this study, set in a Southern U.S. boomtown, teachers received two days of practice-based professional development for a ten-week implementation of self-regulated strategy development (SRSD), an evidence-based writing intervention, to support student persuasive and informational writing as well as performance on the state standardized writing exam. This multi-site cluster randomized controlled study evaluated the effectiveness of SRSD on student writing outcomes including prompt adherence, elements, and holistic quality. Multilevel modeling analysis was used to evaluate data from 418 fourth -grade students (256 treatment, 162 control) nested across 33 classes (n = 17 treatment taught by 8 departmentalized teachers; 16 control, 9 departmentalized teachers) within 11 schools randomly assigned to condition. Teachers implemented SRSD with high fidelity (M = 92%; range 91–100%). SRSD had a statistically significant and large effect on prompt adherence (p < .001; Hedges’ g = 1.87), elements (p < .001; Hedges’ g = 0.84) and holistic scores (p < .001; Hedges’ g = 0.87), while holding gender and pretest scores constant. Effects of SRSD on all writing measures were not significantly moderated by students’ gender, students’ pretest scores, or schools’ pretest scores. There were complications with teacher observations, especially related to technology. Limitations and future directions are discussed.     

Practice-based professional development and Self-Regulated Strategy Development for Tier 2, at-risk writers in second grade

In this randomized controlled study, we investigated implementation of Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) in story writing by 11 second grade teachers who first collaborated in practice-based professional development in SRSD. Students at-risk for failure in writing were randomly assigned to treatment and control conditions in each teacher’s classroom. Teachers implemented SRSD with small groups of students at-risk for failure in writing (referred to as Tier 2 intervention in the Response to Intervention, or RTI, model) in their classrooms; control students at-risk in writing received regular classroom instruction from their teachers. Integrity of strategies instruction and social validity were assessed among the participating teachers. Student outcomes assessed included inclusion of genre elements and story quality, generalization to personal narrative, and teacher perceptions of intrinsic motivation and effort for writing. Teachers implemented strategies instruction with high integrity; social validity was positive. Significant effects were found for inclusion of genre elements and story quality at both posttest and maintenance; effect sizes were large (.89–1.65). Intervention also resulted in significant generalization to personal narrative (effect sizes were .98 for elements and .88 for quality). Teachers reported significantly higher perceptions of both intrinsic motivation and effort (effect sizes were 1.09 and 1.07, respectively). Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.     

Professional development of teachers in the implementation of a strategy-focused writing intervention program for elementary students

In this study we examined the effectiveness of Tekster [Texter], a comprehensive program for writing for the upper elementary grades, combining strategy instruction, text structure instruction, and the teaching of self-regulation skills with observational learning, explicit instruction, and (guided) practice to address both the focus of instruction (what is taught) and the mode of instruction (how it is taught). Further, we investigated the added value of a professional development program for teachers on the effectiveness and implementation of the intervention in the classroom, by adopting a teachers-training-teachers approach. One group of teachers (N = 31) was trained by experts, and subsequently trained their colleagues (N = 37). Quasi-experimental results showed that students’ writing performance improved after the intervention (ES = 0.55), while generalizing over tasks, students, and teachers. Further, teachers became more positive and felt more efficacious about teaching writing after the intervention. There were no differences between trainers and trainees, which provides evidence for the spillover effect of professional development. To get more insight in how teachers implemented the intervention in their classroom and in the social validity of the intervention and the teachers-training-teachers approach, we triangulated post-intervention questionnaires with classroom observations and interviews. This mixed methods approach revealed that both trainers and trainees were highly satisfied with the program and easily adapted their focus of instruction. However, for adjusting the mode of instruction more teacher support seems to be needed.     

Effects of writing beliefs and planning on writing performance

White and Bruning (2005) distinguished two sets of writing beliefs: transactional and transmissional beliefs. In this paper we analyse their beliefs scale and suggest two hypotheses about how such beliefs relate to writing performance. The single-process hypothesis treats the beliefs as different amounts of engagement, whereas the dual-process hypothesis claims that the beliefs represent different types of engagement. We then describe the results of an experiment with 84 university students as participants that assessed the relationship between writing beliefs, different forms of pre-planning and different aspects of writing performance. Our results support the dual-process hypothesis, and suggest that transactional beliefs are about the preference for a top-down strategy or a bottom-up strategy, while transmissional beliefs are about the content that is written about. These beliefs interact in their effects on text quality, the amount and type of revision carried out, and the extent to which writers develop their understanding. They also moderate the effectiveness of outlining as a strategy.     

Self-regulated strategy development instruction for writing an opinion essay: Effects for six students with emotional/behavior disorders

A multiple-probe across-subjects design was used to examine persuasive writing performance of six 2^nd- through 5th- grade students with emotional/behavior disorders (EBD). Students’ writing was evaluated before and after self-regulated strategy development (SRSD) instruction for the POW (Pick my idea, Organize my notes, Write and say more) + TREE (Topic sentence, Reasons – three or more, Ending, Examine) strategy. Students’ essays written during and immediately after instruction indicated that the students had learned to write independently a persuasive essay with five parts. Generalization and maintenance performance, however, varied across students and appeared to be associated with behavior as opposed to the inability to transfer or remember the strategy.     

The long-term effects of strategy-focussed writing instruction for grade six students

We compared 56 eighth-grade students who 28 months previously had received instruction in strategies for planning and revising their writing, with 21 students of similar academic ability from the same school who had not experienced the intervention. Both groups wrote an expository essay whilst logging their writing activities and completed writing metaknowledge and self-efficacy questionnaires. Students who had received the intervention showed a greater tendency to pre-plan (but not to revise) their texts, produced better quality and more reader-focused writing, and were more likely to show an awareness of the importance of text structure. These findings suggest persistent benefits for strategy-focused writing instruction.     

教师专业发展的新视野:“学校群”策略

"学校群"策略是信息技术环境下教师专业发展的新模式,其关注区域性校际协作,其从组织策略、学习服务支持策略和效能策略三个方面组织和实施教师专业发展活动。通过讨论"学校群"教师专业发展的三个策略和新思路与方法,试图实现延伸校本培训、共享优质资源和推进协作研究,实现教师共同体和学校群体共同发展。     

我国职业教育发展进程研究与思考

本文研究了建国以来我国职业教育几起几落的发展历程,分析了影响职业教育科学发展的原因,并提出了建议与对策。     

信息技术教师专业发展中的知识困顿

教师知识研究对教师专业发展有着重要影响。本文从分析信息技术教师的专业知识结构入手,通过揭示信息技术教师专业发展中存在的知识缺失和认知误区,提出完善信息技术教师专业知识结构的初步设想,以期促进有关信息技术教师专业发展的理论与实践探索。     

关于促进幼儿园男教师专业发展的策略研究

幼儿园男教师作为我国幼教队伍的重要组成部分,其专业发展与幼儿教育教学质量的高低存在紧密联系。本文通过对幼儿园男教师专业发展存在的问题及原因进行分析,并在此基础上得出促进幼儿园男教师专业发展的策略。     

我国专科教育现状分析及发展战略构想

本首先分析了当前我国专科教育所面临的发展困境与成因，进而提出了改革我国专科教育体制、建立新型专科教育运行机制的构想与相关的政策性建议。作认为，作为高等教育的一个重要组成部分，专科教育为我国的社会主义教育事业作了重要贡献，但目前又进入到一个新的发展转型期，挑战与发展的机遇关存；改革计划管理的约束的体制，寻求办学效益和社会效益的统一，建立起与社会主义市场经济体制相适应的专科教育体制与机制，实现教育体制与学校功能的战略性调整，是现阶段专科教育改革发展的必然趋势和重要条件。     

Long-term Influences of Portfolios on Professional Development

In recent publications on the use of portfolios in professional training both their goals, application and success are reported in favourable terms. The main purposes of portfolios being put forward are: documentation of performance, monitoring growth, revealing discrepancies in development and enhancing self-responsibility. The findings, however, pertain to the introductory implementation of the portfolio instrument, most notably with (student) teachers. Not much is known about the sustained use of a portfolio as an instrument to support professional development in the long term. In this study the benefits of different forms of sustained portfolio use are focused on in particular. Use is related to the portfolio's function, which can be for both professional development and certification, and to the setting and conditions of use, which may be either mandatory or voluntary. We gauge its impact on indicators like ongoing documentation, systematic reflection, dialogue with significant others and learning for professional development. The difficulties experienced users found are discussed, as well as the gains they saw in sustained use of portfolios, which led us to conclude that portfolios are mainly used for documentation but have a high potential as mirrors of competence when issued as instruments for self-evaluation and self-assessment.     

美国教师专业发展学校探究及对我国教师专业发展的启示

美国教师专业发展学校是一种多方合作办学的教师教育机构,师生的参与决策、相互沟通、教师领导和新颖的小组工作方式保证了学校的有效运转,改善了教师职前培训质量,促进了在职教师的专业发展。我国教师专业化发展应改造与提升现有师范学校的学科与知识结构,促进大学与中小学之间的密切合作;实施不同阶段的教师教育内容,促进教师专业发展的持续性;教学科研相结合,促进教师专业发展。     

从“教育先行”到“国家人力资源发展”——韩国发展战略的研究及启示

现代经济增长理论和实践都表明,教育、人力资源开发和经济增长三者之间存在着密切的内在联系.因此,将三者纳入一体化的国家总体发展战略,构建有效的内在联动机制,有助于加快提升国家综合实力和国际竞争力.本文以韩国发展模式为例,考察了其在20世纪60年代的教育先行战略和21世纪的国家人力资源发展战略,并对其实践经验和战略特点进行了分析,在此基础上,为我国社会经济转型期探寻适切的发展模式提供了一些启示及建议.     

Professional development design: Embedding educational reform in New Zealand

Teacher professional development variously supports ongoing skill development, new knowledge, and systems change. In New Zealand, the implementation of major assessment reforms in senior secondary schools provided opportunity to investigate teacher professional development as a function of the particular stage of an educational reform. Multi-method data sources including teacher surveys and school case studies were employed to evaluate professional development during the embedding stage of a standards-based assessment system, revealing a positive relationship between professional satisfaction and teacher involvement in setting priorities for the professional development. Other positive features were networking, personalized learning, and facilitator expertise. This research illustrates the importance of tailoring professional learning to implementation phase of an organizational change.     

基于合作的教师专业发展模式——美国专业发展学校(PDS)合作模式探究

美国专业发展学校(PDS)是上个世纪80年代兴起的一种基于合作的、新型的教师教育模式,它以其独特的组织形式和良好的效果引起了人们的关注,现已成为美国教师教育改革的主流趋势．本文旨在对PDS的产生背景、基本合作模式及其存在的问题进行分析与探究,以期能为我国的教师专业发展学校以及教师教育改革提供一些启示和参考。     

新疆对外贸易发展策略研究

本文从新疆外贸现状入手，阐述了新疆外贸发展的有利条件，并着重对新疆外贸发展中存在的主要问题进行了剖析，提出了相应的发展策略。     

论教师专业自主权发展的外部环境

在教师对新课程改革成功与否起着关键作用的今天,教师的专业发展显得尤其重要。然而,学校的管理模式、行政管理权、评价体系、非正式组织及社会公众对教师的态度都对教师的专业发展有一定的约束作用。因此,行政部门的放权、评价体系的改善、建立良好的组织文化、加强学校与社会的沟通对教师专业自主权的发展不无裨益。     

理解自我：教师专业发展的起点

除了从外部找各种途径来促进教师的专业发展以外,教师还要不断从自身寻找专业发展的动力,“理解自我”是教师专业发展的起点。通过论述教师“理解自我”的涵义、途径及为什么“理解自我”,对教师专业发展进行探讨。     

Motivating Teachers to Enact Free-Choice Project-Based Learning in Science and Technology (PBLSAT): Effects of a Professional Development Model

We investigated the effects of a long-term, continuous professional development (CPD) model, designed to support teachers to enact Project-Based Learning (PBLSAT). How do novice PBLSAT teachers view their acquisition of PBLSAT skills and how do expert PBLSAT teachers, who enacted the program 5–7 years, perceive the program? Novice teachers evaluated that they acquired the relevant skills but also expressed worries about enacting the program, due to potential difficulties for teachers. Nonetheless, the teachers enacted the program and identified unforeseen benefits for themselves and their students. We suggest that the CPD model helps teachers develop a sense of personal ownership and customization for the program, through multi-staged support to integrate student free-choice PBL into the formal science curriculum.