Designing professional learning to impact quality of instruction
Date
2020
Authors
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
Thomas Edison Charter School (TECS) is a K-8 public charter school in Wilmington, Delaware. The school serves over 700 students in kindergarten through eighth grade. TECS has a history of low student achievement and variability in teacher experience and quality of classroom instruction. I investigated the extent to which building teacher content knowledge and coaching can be used to improve the quality of instruction and minimize instructional variability for teachers in grades one through three at TECS. ☐ To measure the quality of instruction, I designed an evaluation tool based on the school’s literacy curriculum, Bookworms Reading and Writing. To ensure consistency in feedback, I partnered with the TECS literacy coordinator to create a modified innovation configuration. The innovation configuration provided concrete examples from ideal implementation to least effective implementation for use with the evaluation tool. ☐ I combined coaching and a three-part focus on improving teachers’ subject-matter knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, and curricular knowledge to improve instruction at TECS. At the beginning of each month, during grade-level PLCs, I targeted each of these foci by providing professional development on oral reading fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension to teachers. By meeting as a grade-level team, the teachers and I were able to discuss grade-specific aspects of the curriculum, establish a common vision, and create consistent expectations. ☐ Paired with the professional development, I implemented an active coaching model. I scheduled two observations and one feedback session monthly. For these observations, I focused on the implementation of the instructional strategies discussed during the PLCs. After the first observation of the month, I met with each teacher to provide one-on-one feedback and to set an improvement goal. An additional visit to their classroom allowed for an opportunity to observe for improvement related to the assigned goal. ☐ Evidence of improvement was collected from classroom observations using the evaluation tool. I collected a total of five observations. The data revealed that while the results did not improve linearly, there was an overall improvement in the quality of instruction from baseline to final observation in all grade levels. ☐ Drawn from the improvement effort results and related research, I offer four recommendations to continue these improvements. The recommedations address the type and quantity of internal formative observations, the need for an incentivized teacher attendance policy, the potential for a school-wide positive behavior plan to add value to instructional efforts, and the use of systematic monthly goal setting.
Description
Keywords
Professional learning, Quality of instruction, Charter schools