RUNNING HEAD: Literature Review – Domain F (6-10) 1

Literature Review – Domain F (Standards 6-10)

Karen Bowler

National University
LITERATURE REVIEW – DOMAIN F (6-10) 2

Abstract

The Nevada Teacher Professional Responsibilities Standards include five specific

standards including indicators for mastery and competency. Standard 2 pertains to reflection on

personal growth and practice. This literature review will summarize an article found on the

Center for Public Education website that discusses effective professional development. This

topic specifically falls under Indicator 2 for Standard 2, which states “The teacher pursues

aligned professional learning opportunities to support improved instructional practice across the

school community” (Nevada Department of Education). This review will be included as an

artifact for evidence of Domain F (6-10) in my Professional Development Quest Portfolio

(PDQP).
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Literature Review – Domain F (Standards 6-10)

With recent education reforms urging teachers to foster collaboration, discussion and

reflection among students in attempts to develop cognitive processes like those required in

educator instructional practice standards, it is ironic that school district seldom employ these

same learning techniques to developing teachers. Meanwhile, teachers’ performance is

increasingly tied to their students. This imbalance must be corrected (Center for Public

Education).

Gone are the days of exposing teachers to new concepts, strategies, or techniques in a

one-time workshop and calling it professional development. Rather, in this age of

accountability, professional development requires fundamental changes to teachers’ practices

that bring about increases in student learning.

In order for professional development to be effective in improving teachers and the

practices they use, we first need to understand how teachers learn new skills. It has been

assumed that teachers merely need to be presented the information on effective teaching

strategies in order to employ them in their classroom. This, however, is not the case. Research

suggests that it is more complex than that. It is estimated that more than 90 percent of teachers

participate in workshop-style trainings during the school year. Despite the popularity of this

form of training, it is ineffective as it rarely results in changing teachers’ practices or improving

student achievement.

Because the biggest struggle for teachers is not learning new teaching approaches, but in

implementing them, traditional forms of professional development are not effective, as they do

not support teachers during the implementation stage. Studies have shown that even seasoned
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teachers struggle with employing a new instructional technique at first. In fact, statistics indicate

that it takes, on average, 20 instances of practice before a teacher masters a new skill.

For practices to truly change, professional development needs to occur over time and

preferably be ongoing. When a new teaching strategy is first attempted, it will most likely be

met with failure. It is important to keep in mind that mastery only comes with continuous

practice even though it may seem awkward and frustrating in the early stages. Without support

during this stage, it is highly likely that teachers will not keep going with the newly learned

technique. Research has shown that when new strategies are merely described to teachers in

professional development, only 10 percent are able to transfer it into their practice. On the other

hand, when teachers are supported and coached through the awkward implementation phase, 95

percent are able to transfer the new skill into their classrooms. As a result, if real change is

desired with regard to teaching practice, professional development must include substantial

support and coaching throughout implementation.

Before coaching begins, however, teachers need to have a solid understanding of the

teaching strategy as a foundation to build on. Presentation of this knowledge needs to be of an

active form rather than passive. Modeling of the strategy by a coach or mentor teacher has been

found to be very helpful in assisting teachers to grasp the new teaching approach before

attempting to implement it in their classrooms.

It is best that professional development be delivered in the teacher’s content area, as

generic topics are generally not found useful for teachers. Not only is professional development

that focuses on analyzing skills or concepts that teachers will be teaching well-received, but also

has been shown to improve teacher practice as well as student learning.

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As schools/districts focus on providing new forms of professional development that

facilitate not only teaching new approaches but also provide coaching and support through

implementation, they also need teachers who are implementers of effective teaching strategies as

well as innovators of strategies, methods, and techniques that foster critical thinking. One way

that schools can achieve this is through the use of professional learning communities (PLC’s)

where teachers within the same content area create instructional innovations, help and support

each other through the implementation process, and then reflect on the results. Basically, these

communities of teachers act as coaches for one another. Effective PLC’s can bring real change

to teacher practices, and in turn, increase student achievement.

As I read and studied this article, I began to think about professional development

workshops I’ve attended in the past, and I found the points made in this article to be dead on, at

least as they pertain to most of my own experiences. I have participated in only a few

workshops/conferences to this point, and while I have tried to implement the teaching strategies I

learned about, I became frustrated when my first attempts were not successful, and ended up

bagging the whole thing thinking, “well, that didn’t work”. One exception to this is a Kagan

Cooperative Learning conference I attended a few years ago. I think the difference with this

particular professional development is that it was a four-day conference where we were required

to actively participate by practicing the strategies and role-playing with one another. Also, my

mentor teacher attended the conference with me, and upon our return to school, we were able to

support one another through the implementation phase. This article helped me to realize that I

need to be selective in the professional development activities I choose. It also gave me some

things to think about and tips that will help me be more successful in implementing new

approaches in my classroom.
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References

Center for Public Education. (n.d.). Teaching the Teachers: Effective Professional

Development. Retrieved from

http://www.centerforpubliceducation.org/research/teaching-teachers-effective-

professional-development.

State of Nevada Department of Education. (2019). Teacher Professional Responsibilities

Standards and Indicators. [PDF file]. Retrieved from

http://www.doe.nv.gov/uploadedFiles/ndedoenvgov/content/Educator_Effectiveness/Edu

cator_Develop_Support/NEPF/Teacher/Teacher-

Professional%20Responsibilities%20Rubric.pdf.