While a new report concludes that “most teachers do not appear to improve substantially from year to year," Jane Coggshall argues we should not conclude that we should throw out all teacher professional development because it’s a waste of money. What’s needed instead, she says, is a broad set of ...
This report, based on a national evaluation of the Eisenhower program, provides information about how the program is operating and how it might be strengthened. A second objective of this report is to contribute to knowledge about teacher professional development. The Eisenhower program is a source of funding for professional ...
AIR researchers are analyzing the costs associated with a new professional development program as part of the Simulated Instruction in Mathematics Study (SIM PD) to capture systematically all personnel and non-personnel costs for implementing the intervention.
The effort to link statistically student achievement to measures of teaching or teachers has proven very difficult. Analysts generally agree that the impacts of effective teachers on student achievement are important. The problem for analysts has been in identifying the characteristics of high quality teaching or teachers. ...
AIR, along with several partners, recently completed a large-scale evaluation of statewide professional development academies in Texas. The study provided the Texas Education Agency with critical information about the implementation of the professional development academies provided to teachers through the regional education service centers. ...
Rural educators in the Northeast Region are beginning to implement the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics. For the implementation to be successful, teachers reported needing more time to collaborate and increased access to high-quality curricula and professional development opportunities.
When teachers learn, students learn. For decades, AIR has conducted studies of teacher professional learning and helped practitioners use evidence to develop, implement, test, and scale professional learning programs.
Despite large investments and efforts, schools and districts have long struggled to provide ongoing, effective, and sustained support for teachers’ professional development. This study examined the experiences of teachers in six schools participating in one of three teacher network programs during the 2016–17 school year. ...
AIR and MDRC, along with three small-business subcontractors, designed a randomized field trial to examine the impact of professional development (PD) on reading instruction and student achievement. The study combined scientific rigor with an understanding of how schools operate and what schools were doing in an attempt to improve reading ...
Typical approaches to professional learning are often driven by district or campus priorities, rather than by the individual needs of teachers. Adult learning and motivation theories emphasize the importance of allowing teachers autonomy over their own learning. Moreover, teachers may have the best understanding of what kind of learning would ...