MyTeachingPartner:%20A%20Consultative%20Model%20of%20Professional%20Development

1
MyTeachingPartner A Consultative Model of
Professional Development

• 2008 National OSEP Early Childhood Conference
• Grace Wilder Funk
• Center for the Advanced Study of Teaching and
  Learning
• University of Virginia

2
Todays Presentation

• Focus on ways to make professional development
  meaningful for teachers

3
Traditional Approach to Professional Development
Coursework, inservices, and workshops
Classroom teaching
Disconnect between professional development and
actual classroom practices
4
High Quality Professional Development

• Professional development should be driven by
  teachers need for information, support, and
  feedback
• Definition
• Sustained
• Intensive
• Classroom-focused
• Based on research

5
MyTeachingPartner

• Model of professional development that uses an
  individualized consultative model to enhance
  teachers knowledge and skills
• Designed to address concerns about traditional
  models of professional development
• Takes advantage of advances in technology for the
  delivery of professional development

6
Ingredients for Successful PD Model
7
MTP Teacher Focused Approach to PD

• Provide professional development focused on
  implementing activities related to
• Early literacy and oral language
• Social relationship / self-regulation skills
• Focus on implementation as the key to the
  developmental value of activities
• Support high-quality teacher-child interactions
  as the central part of the activities
• Use web-based, Internet technology as the means
  for delivering ongoing professional development
  at a statewide level of scale

8
Consultation web-based support for effective
teacher-child interactions (CLASS)
Lang/Lit Activities
Teacher-child interactions and relationships
(CLASS)
Student growth in language, literacy and social
relationships
9
(No Transcript)
10
Consultancy Cycles

• Collaborative process
• Take place every two weeks
• Focus on different aspects of the teachers
  practice
• Use video as the springboard for discussion
• Determine specific goals and objectives to work
  on each cycle

11
Goals for Teachers

• Become better OBSERVERS of own practice
• View practice through lens of the CLASS
• Become more INTENTIONAL in interactions with
  children
• Increase SELF-EFFICACY
• Increase quality of IMPLEMENTATION of lessons
  curricula

12
Observation provides a link from knowledge,
expertise, and support to actual teaching
practices
Reflection
Knowledge Expertise Support
Teaching Practice
Classroom Observation
13
Our Lens for Observing

• MTP uses the CLASS as the basis for defining high
  quality implementation of lessons curricula and
  as the focus on our professional development
• Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS)
• Developed to assess classroom interactions and
  relationships as measured by three major
  components
• Emotional support
• Organization / management
• Instructional support
• Provides a common language and viewpoint

14
Classroom Quality
STRUCTURE
PROCESS
Curriculum
Relationships
Materials Training and Education
Academic Social Interactions
Childrens Academic Social Development
15
Domains Dimensions of the CLASS
16
How Technology Supports MTP
17
Technology

• Technology allows teachers to view effective
  practice and reflect upon their own practice
  using a standardized metric of classroom quality

• MTP website
• Language and literacy activities
• Activity demonstrations
• Research rationale
• Social emotional curriculum
• CLASS video library
• Videconferencing

18
(No Transcript)
19
(No Transcript)
20

• Activity Components
• Objectives
• Getting Ready
• Materials
• Things To Do/Make
• Activity
• Summary
• Details
• Extension Activities

21
Videoconferencing
iSight
iChat
22
Study Design

• Pre-k teachers were randomly assigned by district
  to one of two study conditions for a period of
  two school years
• Web Access teachers (n52) received language and
  literacy activities, materials and access to the
  MyTeachingPartner website
• Consultancy teachers (n81) received language and
  literacy activities, materials, access to the
  MyTeachingPartner website, and bi-monthly
  discussions with a teaching consultant

23
Effects of MTP support

• Teachers in consultancy
• Grew more sensitive in interactions with students
  
• Increased students engagement in instruction
• Improved language stimulation techniques
• Children
• Greater gains in tests of early literacy
• Lower levels of problem behavior
• Consultancy was a more powerful intervention in
  high poverty classrooms
• Using web resources was more important in
  improving quality for teachers without a
  consultant

24
Improvements in Teacher Sensitivity
25
Improvements in Learning Formats
26
Improvements in Language Modeling
27
Summary

• The MTP Consultation Model is
• Ongoing
• Individualized
• Collaborative
• Based on observations of teachers' current
  classroom practice
• Intended to promote self-reflection
• Designed to improve areas of teaching with direct
  links to student achievement

28
Teacher Feedback on MTP Approach
29
Teacher Feedback

• The consultancy part of this program was very
  beneficial to me. You were wonderful to talk to
  and share my concerns. You understood the
  problems in my classroom and you gave wonderful
  advice.
• I have enjoyed working with you this year. I
  feel that we have been partners in the true sense
  of the word. You have given me great support when
  I really needed it. I also appreciated your
  expertise in many areas.

30
MTP Approach to Professional Development
Connects professional development with classroom
practice using a common denominator the CLASS
lens on interactions
Classroom teaching
Consultative Model
31
Questions and Reflections

• What are your thoughts about what you have seen
  and heard so far?
• How does this fit in with your current system of
  professional development?

32
Guidelines for a Consultative Model of PD

• A COLLABORATIVE approach is essential
• OBSERVATION offers a unique opportunity to work
  with teachers
• FEEDBACK works best when it is balanced,
  specific, personalized, and ongoing
• CHANGE takes time

33
How to Provide Feedback

• Start with the Positive
• What did you see that you did well? or What
  was going well during this time?
• Ask about Challenges
• What as challenging? or After viewing the
  tape, what would you have liked to have done
  differently?
• Develop Mutual Goals
• Ensures that you are working on something that is
  meaningful to the teacher

34
CLASS Activity

• View video
• Think about indicators of Teacher Sensitivity
• Awareness
• Responsiveness
• Addresses problems
• Student Comfort
• Develop feedback to teacher

35
(No Transcript)
36
Questions or Comments?

• http//www.myteachingpartner.net/
• http//www.ncrece.org/wordpress/