Designing Professional Development For Teachers Of Science A

Description:
This new edition collects and brings together in one place what has been learned from professional developers efforts across the country in order to make the framework, principles, and strategies of the first edition come to life. This edition deepens our understanding of professional development through further research and new resources. The original purpose of this book to put a competent and caring teacher in every classroom has yet to be fulfilled and is more urgent now than ever.The authors provide one-stop shopping for busy practitioners that incorporates the most up-to-date research gleaned from the broadest possible research base as well as robust and rich descriptions of effective professional development programmes. It incorporates the growing knowledge base about learning, teaching, the nature of science and mathematics, professional development, and change. The authors scanned the field of professional development in mathematics and science over the last five years, noting what has changed and what has not, dissected the original framework, updated examples, incorporate what authors have learned as well as advances in the field.This essential primer offers a framework that considers key inputs and combines strategies uniquely tailored to their environment and goals; summarizes key knowledge and best practices; provides guidance on assessing one's context; describes strategies that go beyond most common workshops and institutes; provides real-life examples of how elements of the framework were used to create professional development initiatives; and offers references and resources for further exploration and inquiry. The highlights of the Second Edition include: new design framework that incorporates standards, student learning data, and evaluation techniques; more guidance for assessing context using data; and more strategies for professional development, including lesson study, aligning and selecting curriculum, and demonstration lessons.It includes: stronger real-life examples, including new uses of technology and data-driven designs. This is an essential resource for educators who design, conduct, and support professional development for teachers of mathematics and science, including staff developers, principals, teacher leaders, curriculum supervisors, and leadership teams. College and university faculty in education, science, and mathematics will also find this to be a useful compendium of ideas for improving mathematics and science education.

Review:
'The classic just got better. It makes the connection between student learning data and goals for professional development and it introduces new resources and strategies. It's a 'must-read' for anybody who is serious about enhancing teaching and learning.' -- Gerry Wheeler, Executive Director 'Educators who are no longer content with slipshod approaches to professional development will find both guidance and inspiration in this second edition. This edition both updates the groundbreaking work presented in the first edition and places the design framework firmly within the context of standards-based reform and a performance-based culture that seeks to continuously improve professional practice and student achievement.' -- Dennis Sparks, Executive Director 'This important work reveals the layered complexities of mathematics/science professional development, while providing tools for navigating a difficult terrain. It is a powerful resource for supporting mathematics and science leaders, tying together content, context, and design.' -- Judith Mumme, Project Director 'The second edition of Designing Professional Development for Teachers of Science and Mathematics...is a professional learning classic for every staff developer, regardless of subject area.' -- The Journal of the National Staff Development Council, Fall 2004

Table of Contents:
Foreword by Dennis Sparks Introduction Acknowledgments About the Authors 1. A Framework for Designing Professional Development 2. Knowledge and Beliefs Supporting Effective Professional Development 3. Context Factors Influencing Professional Development 4. Critical Issues to Consider in Designing Professional Development 5. Strategies for Professional Learning 6. The Design Framework in Action 7. Putting the Professional Development Design Framework to Work Resource A: Images of Learning and Professional Development References Index

Author Biography:
Katherine E. Stiles brings 20 years of experience to her current work as a project director and senior program associate at WestEd, and is co-director of WestEd's National Academy for Science and Mathematics Education Leadership. As a senior staff member on Using Data Project, a collaboration between TERC and WestEd, Stiles co-developed the professional development program and provided technical assistance to the participating schools engaged in collaborative inquiry into data. She was awarded the Paul D. Hood Award in 2002 from WestEd for Distinguished Contribution to the Field. Stiles is co-author of the Corwin Press book, Leading Every Day: 124 Actions for Effective Leadership (2005), which received the National Staff Development Council's 2003 Outstanding Book of the Year Award. She has co-authored or authored additional Corwin Press titles, including Designing Professional Development for Teachers of Science and Mathematics, Second Edition (2003), and the Facilitator's Guide to Leading Every Day (2006). Stiles has degrees in psychology, education, and special education. Susan Mundry is currently deputy director of Learning Innovations at WestEd and the associate director of WestEd's Mathematics, Science, and Technology Program. She directs several national or regional projects focused on improving educational practice and oversees the research and evaluation projects of Learning Innovations. She is codirector of a research study examining the distribution of highly qualified teachers in New York and Maine for the Northeast & Islands Regional Education Laboratory and is the project codirector for the evaluation of the Intel Mathematics Initiative, a professional development program for elementary and middle grades teachers aimed at increasing student outcomes in mathematics. She is also a Principal Investigator for two National Science Foundation projects that are developing products to promote the use of research-based practice in science and mathematics. Since 2000, Mundry has codirected the National Academy for Science and Mathematics Education Leadership, which provides educational leaders with training and technical assistance on professional development design, leading educational change, group facilitation, data analysis and use, and general educational leadership, as well as access to research-based information to improve teaching and learning. Building on this work, she provides technical assistance to several large urban schools districts engaged in enhancing leadership and improving math and science programs. As a senior research associate for the National Institute for Science Education (1997-2000), Mundry conducted research on attributes of effective professional development. She served on the national evaluation team for the study of the Eisenhower Professional Development program led by the American Institutes for Research, where she worked on the development of national survey instruments and the protocols for case studies. From 1982 to 1997, Mundry served in many roles from staff developer to associate director at The NETWORK, Inc., a research and development organization focused on organizational change and dissemination of promising education practice. There, she managed the work of the National Center for Improving Science Education and the Center for Effective Communication, provided technical assistance to schools on issues of equity and desegregation, oversaw national dissemination programs, and co-developed the 'Change Game,' (Making Change for School Improvement) a simulation game that enhances leaders' ability to lead change efforts in schools and districts. Mundry has written several books, chapters, and articles based on her work. She is coauthor of the best selling book, Designing Effective Professional Development for Teachers of Science and Mathematics (2nd edition), as well as Leading Every Day: 125 Actions for Effective Leadership, which was named a National Staff Development Council Book of the Year in 2003. Her latest book is The Data Coach's Guide to Improving Learning for All Students (2008). Peter W. Hewson is Professor of Science Education at the University of Wisconsin--Madison. He is also the director of a project to develop collabo-rative research in science and mathematics education between South Africa and the United States. He has been a principal investigator on several other federally funded multiyear projects in science education. As Codirector of the Professional Development Project of the National Institute for Science Education, he coauthored the first edition of Designing Professional Develop-ment for Teachers of Science and Mathematics (1998). He teaches in the under-graduate teacher education and graduate science education programs and coordinates a professional development school in Madison. He has been deeply involved in the development of a conceptual change framework and its application to the learning and teaching of science. He has also studied initial teacher education and the continuing professional development of practicing teachers. He has published numerous articles on these and re-lated topics. He received his D.Phil. in theoretical nuclear physics from Oxford University, and he taught physics and science education in South Africa before moving to the United States. Susan Loucks-Horsley was the lead author of the first edition of Designing Professional Development for Teachers of Science and Mathematics and directed the professional development rese