Teacher Change

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Subject:[ProfessionalDevelopment] State Professional Development Systems
From:Jacobson, Erik EJacobson at air.org
Date:Mon Jan 30 19:26:31 EST 2006

To answer another one of David's questions -

4. What kind(s) of professional development, from your experience, results in the most change in teacher practice? And why do you think so?

In my experience, lasting changes in teacher practice occur in situations where teachers have the chance to really rethink how they frame their approach to teaching. Strategies come and go, but the philosophies that support them do not. For that reason, I see study circles, practitioner research, and project-based professional development as the most effective means of facilitating changes in teacher practice. Each of these approaches is effective because they include a long-term commitment of time, a focus on real issue, and patience. I think we often expect teachers (as adult learners) to develop at a rate that we would never hold our students to. Do we expect student practice to change after one class period? For those of us who see development as a spiral rather than a straight line, it is not surprising to see that teachers need some time to work through new ideas and approaches. I can think of transformative moments in my own development as a teacher, and those of peers, in which there were "a-ha!" moments - those moments when you feel like "Oh, now I see...." These usually happen in class in the midst of teaching, rather than in a workshop. Successful PD lays the groundwork for these kinds of changes.

In addition, I think these models of PD are probably successful because they can be democratic and/or conducted from the ground up. Clearly, ownership of change goes a long way to make it lasting.

Erik Jacobson
CALPRO/California

Subject:[ProfessionalDevelopment] State Professional Development Systems
From:David Rosen djrosen at comcast.net
Date:Mon Jan 30 20:27:55 EST 2006

Hello Erik, and others

What a beautifully clear, compelling and insightful answer to my question. If you have a chance later to write more about how teacher research, study circles and/or project based professional development lead to transformation, to point us to some examples from teachers' writings about these experiences or share your own observations of other teachers in transformation, that would be great. I would also like to hear from others, from California or other state PD systems, who can give examples of what Erik is talking about here.

I hunger to hear more detail. However, if the discussion moderators prefer, this level of depth could be saved until after we have all the introductory and basic information.

David J. Rosen
djrosen at comcast.net

Subject:[ProfessionalDevelopment] State Professional Development Systems
From:Cassie Drennon Bryant cassie at drennonassoc.net
Date:Mon Jan 30 21:34:02 EST 2006

Hi all,
I was moved by Erik's post as well and, like David, I'm left wanting to hear more. Although we still look forward to hearing the basic system description from a couple more states that are serving as "guest respondents," Jackie and I wouldn't want, at this point to restrain the conversation. Erik and others, please let's continue this thread for a bit. What approaches, in your experience, result in especially powerful learning experiences for teachers? And if, as Erik says, "strategies come and go but philosophies that support them do not," then what are the various approaches to professional development that support teachers developing a philosophy of teaching? In keeping with the overarching discussion, how are PD "systems" supporting these approaches?

Cassie

Subject:[ProfessionalDevelopment] Brief answers from MA to PD questions 1, 2, & 4
From:Stephen Reuys Steve.Reuys at umb.edu
Date:Wed Feb 1 13:35:03 EST 2006

4. What kind(s) of professional development, from your experience, results in the most change in teacher practice? And why do you think so?

I think we honestly have to say that figuring out what types of professional development are most effective and are most likely to result in change in teacher practice is one of the issues that we continue to wrestle with. Without the resources to do on-going, intensive follow-up with teachers (and, in many cases, without the capacity for teachers and other staff to participate in that sort of intensive professional development), we have a difficult time knowing just what the results of our work are. However, based on our experience and on what research has been done in this area, it appears that professional development is most likely to be effective when it is done in a on-going way, over a period of time; when it's done at the program level, with the support of program colleagues and admininstration; when it's done in a way that allows for both practical application and reflection; and when it meets the particular needs of program staff.

Subject:[ProfessionalDevelopment] Brief answers from MA to PD questions 1, 2, & 4
From: Janet Isserlis Janet_Isserlis at brown.edu
Date: Wed Feb 1 15:27:06 EST 2006

and, to add briefly to what Steve has said here, and others have said directly or implicitly - Professional development that grows in a culture that values learning and respects practitioners as people who both know *and* learn stands a far better chance of being professional development that will be meaningful and useful to practitioners, and by extension, to learners. Finding ways to include learner input into these processes is critical as well. I believe that these are assumptions that inform RI's PD plans - and those of many other states/programs.

Janet Isserlis

Subject:[ProfessionalDevelopment] Transformation
From:Jacobson, Erik EJacobson at air.org
Date:Wed Feb 1 13:56:16 EST 2006

David Rosen wrote: "If you have a chance later to write more about how teacher research, study circles and/or project based professional development lead to transformation, to point us to some examples from teachers' writings about these experiences or share your own observations of other teachers in transformation, that would be great. I would also like to hear from others, from California or other state PD systems, who can give examples of what Erik is talking about here."

With regards to professional development and teacher transformation, I can speak to several things from my own experience. I hope this will provide some detail, but I know that it is only a start.

First, as a teacher I was involved in piloting part of EFF in an ESL classroom (this was many years ago). My class was looking at "Accessing and Analyzing Information," and I worked with my students to develop a resource manual that was shared with other students in the program. My strongest memory from that project was that during one of our discussions, my students told me that if they needed a phone number that they didn't have, they would leave their apartment and call 411 on a pay phone outside. At that time such calls were free, and a person could save several dollars a month by using this method. I am sure that going into the project I thought I really understood my students' situations and imagined that I was sensitive to their lives, but this bit of information was a real wake up call. Although this type of realization happens in many different ways and at different times, I think that because I was part of a group of people looking at creating some guidelines and trying to come to a consensus on terminology, I was able to really examine the terms we were using (access, analyze, and information). I believe my moment of insight ("I have no idea how other people in different socioeconomic classes interact with technology" was one thought) produced a change in my teaching because it happened in the context of a larger, on-going discussion of what it meant to access and analyze information, and what that meant for adult education. My perspective had been altered, and I had to start asking myself new questions and looking for new ways of doing things.

Second, for several years I organized and facilitated summer institutes for K-12 ESL and Bilingual Education teachers. As part of each institute, we would hold parent forums at local CBOs based in immigrant communities. These forums were advertised as opportunities for immigrant parents to come and discuss the issues their families were facing, and to give their perspective on education. Since the events were held at the CBOs, the discussion took place in the native language of parents. For most of the K-12 teachers, this was an eye-opening experience. They were in an unfamiliar space, relying upon translators to follow the parents were saying (rather than the other way around). For most, this was also the first time that they were in the position of hearing directly from immigrant parents, who were setting the agenda for the discussion. As part of the institute we held meetings at a Haitian, Somali, and Cape Verdean center. Participants were required to come up with action plans to implement back at their own schools. We followed up with participants after the institute was over, and provided small stipends to some who really worked on their plans (e.g., one group developed a video in Brazilian Portuguese that gave parents a virtual tour of the school). Many of the teachers said the experience really changed the way that they thought about immigrant parents, and that they would have to think about how to better work with them in the future. I think this was successful for several reasons. Again, it was connected to a project, so it had focus ("What steps can you really take when you get back to your school?"). It was part of an on-going conversation ("How do you assess and support parental involvement?"). And perhaps most importantly, it was a group experience. Participants had a chance to talk to each other about what they had felt, and nobody was made to feel like they were the only ones that had to re-examine their own belief system. While this was a K-12 project, the PD principals are the same in an adult education setting. I mention this one because I personally witnessed the effects of the institute.

This is already a long response, so I will stop here. Perhaps in another post I can write more about the study circle experience here in California.

For teacher writings of experiences like this, particularly in adult education, I think a good place to start is the Change Agent or the Civic Participation and Community Action Sourcebook. Perhaps Silja can speak about those resources, and similar projects that people have been involved with.

Erik Jacobson
CALPRO/California

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment] Transformation
From: Mina Reddy mina_reddy at worlded.org
Date: Thu Feb 2 14:17:46 EST 2006

I had the opportunity to participate in the same EFF project that Erik mentioned. I found the requirement for a journal entry after each class challenging, but definitely worthwhile in structuring immediate reflection on the class activities and the individuals in the group. I enjoyed the class more because of this reflective activity.

Last year, I was developing a portfolio for ABE licensure, so I paid more conscious attention to how I developed my lessons. During part of the year, I took a SABES hybrid online adult development course in which we connected our reading and discussion to our classroom experiences. This gave me some new insight into how the students might be experiencing the activities I presented.

For many years, I have been primarily an administrator, not a teacher, but these experiences were highly gratifying. I believe that professional development that is ongoing and creates an opportunity for dialogue and reflection in the course of teaching a class is most memorable and useful.

Mina

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment] Transformation
From: Wendi Maxwell WMaxwell at cde.ca.gov
Date: Thu Feb 2 14:42:46 EST 2006

Whenever I've talked to practitioners about what kind of PD really works, they all find something that's as near as possible to the transformative experience Mina and Erik cite. As a policy person, I have a question about how to make transformation practical on a broad scale.

How do we create transformative experiences for hundreds or thousands of teachers - some of whom may need to see their practice with new eyes, but who may not be interested in participating in any PD beyond traditional workshops?

What are the "logistics of transformation" for creating broadscale change? Do we have to do this one teacher at a time, or even one school at a time?

Our state (CA) uses a variety of approaches. Many of them (study circles, our new action-research project) have a profound effect on the teachers involved. We've had 30 schools involved in study circles - a tremendous accomplishment. However we still have another couple of hundred to go. At this rate, it will take many many years.

Not everyone has to change to move the system forward, but there does have to be a critical mass. How do we know where the tipping point is? These kinds of projections are important if we're trying to create systemic change in our systems.

Wendi Maxwell

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment] Transformation
From: Silja Kallenbach silja_kallenbach at worlded.org
Date: Fri Feb 3 12:23:29 EST 2006

Hello ALLPD Colleagues,
Sorry to take so long to respond to your invitation Erik, and to be such a silent guest on this discussion. I have been reading everyone's comments with great interest. As a regional effort, the New England Literacy Resource Center is always looking to supplement what our member states are offering in terms of PD. Not being attached to any one state, or having too many restrictions on our funding, gives us some liberty in setting our agenda and priorities. Some of our most enduring and successful projects have come into being partly because they did NOT seem to be on anyone's agenda at the time in any substantial way and yet seemed important and innovative. These priorities are sustained by the kind of feedback we receive from practitioners, and of course funding that enables us to provide any PD in the first place.

Our work on social justice and civic participation is one example of an enduring priority area (that enjoys strong support from our Board), and The Change Agent paper is an example of one project in that priority area. We do not expect that the PD theme of incorporating social justice in adult education will draw big crowds any time soon but we do receive positive feedback from The Change Agent readers who tell us that it is one of the only resources of its kind developed specifically for our field* which is why we keep publishing it. I know that we need to evaluate the impact of The Change Agent and ought to find funding to do so. I'm hoping that Andy Nash will find time to chime in about all the work she has done over the years in civic participation PD for NELRC.

Another example of a priority area that we have pursued that did not seem to be on many agendas 6 or so years ago is preparing adult learners for postsecondary education. We were fortunate to partner with a private foundation that has generously supported 25 programs and the NELRC in that effort. As this project is evolving and maturing, our technical assistance efforts are increasingly directed at assisting our member states in institutionalizing the privately funded programs with public funding and expanding the number of transition programs(as components of existing programs) across the board. Connecticut and Maine have made great headway in this regard, a tough call in the current economic climate. We are also now able to offer our TA and PD services to states outside of New England through the National College Transition Network.

The research and PD we have done over the years on applying multiple intelligences theory in adult education is yet another example of work that was not being done and yet held promise of addressing some of the intractable issues that affect adult education, namely how to fully engage learners so that they learn and persist in their studies. Teachers and many students were "transformed" as part of the Adult Multiple Intelligences Study. I only wish we had funding to do sustained PD on this topic and could do a more rigorous follow-up study specifically focusing on outcomes from MI-based teaching approaches on persistence and learning gains. One thing we will be offering starting this spring is an online MI course that I'm developing with one of the AMI teacher researchers, Wendy Quinones. It will be NELRC's first online course that we have developed ourselves and will be offered on the AE Pro platform, unfortunately for a fee since we have no funding for this work.

In these ways, we are hoping to transform different aspects of policy and practice at different levels of the adult education system (practitioners, programs and policymakers) at least in our corner of the country, and hopefully beyond New England as well. I am humbled by the task and keenly aware of our need to better capture the outcomes and impact of our work at these different levels of the system.
Silja --

Silja Kallenbach, Coordinator
New England Literacy Resource Center
World Education
44 Farnsworth Street
Boston, MA 02201
tel. 617-482-9485
fax. 617-482-0617
email. silja_kallenbach at worlded.org www.nelrc.org

Get free resources about ABE/ESOL-to-college transitions at www.collegetransition.org Teach critical thinking with The Change Agent, a social justice publication for the adult education community, available at www.nelrc.org/changeagent

Subject: [ProfessionalDevelopment] Transformation
From: Jacobson, Erik EJacobson at air.org
Date: Fri Feb 3 18:50:44 EST 2006

Wendi asked: "How do we create transformative experiences for hundreds or thousands of teachers - some of whom may need to see their practice with new eyes, but who may not be interested in participating in any PD beyond traditional workshops?" I think this question has many elements that need to be looked at separately, even if they are related.

First, we need to think about providing opportunities for transformative experiences for large numbers of practitioners (and I use this word intentionally). From a policy perspective, a key issue will be resources (e.g., time and money). Participating in building something like EFF was great, but in some ways it is hard to mobilize teachers to develop such things on a continuing basis. For that reason, the first thing that came to my mind is getting teachers, tutors, and others, to work together with other professional staff (counselors, clerks, etc.) at schools to collaborate on school-wide projects that are already required tasks, and that need to be revisited on regular basis. For example, each school or program should already be doing community asset mapping (or similar surveys of resources and needs). This should be something that everybody (including students) is involved with in some way, and not just the community-asset mapping committee. This would get everybody thinking about what the school's mission is, and what the students and teachers bring with them (visions, goals, skills, needs), and what it means to be teaching "in this community, at this time, and with these goals." Since these issues have to revisited on a constant basis it would not be a one-shot workshop or short-term project model. I would think that money to pay for staff to participate could be drawn from several different line items, not just whatever is currently allocated for PD. Similarly, I have heard requests from some programs for information about cultural competency. This is something that cannot be bottled up and provided as a fixed object. Schools should be helping staff and students to develop resources that provide background on the communities that they serve.

In a similar fashion, I think that something like a lesson study approach could maximize the number of teachers involved. (For those unfamiliar with lesson study, here are two web sites:

(1) http://www.lessonresearch.net/ <http://www.lessonresearch.net/>
(2) http://www.tc.edu/lessonstudy/ <http://www.tc.edu/lessonstudy/>).

Again, you could get many teachers discussing both big picture questions ("what do we want to achieve with assessment") and details ("how do you use this test?"). I do not know of research on lesson study in adult education, but it is a promising approach with K-12 teachers.

The second half of Wendi's question deals with practitioners who do not want to do anything other than traditional workshops. This is a long-standing problem. In some ways, if the whole school is engaged in a project, that is, if opportunities for transformation are built-in to the work itself, it becomes less of an issue. If the school actually becomes a learning community for staff, than there is no longer a distinction between practice and professional growth. Becoming a learning community (not in a static sense) is very difficult, however, and beyond the scope of this posting. Perhaps other can chime in on this point.

Erik

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