Hi Everyone,

I'm passing on this message from Cris Smith. It is a response to last
week's discussion about the differing findings of the FOB survey, and
the NCSALL Staff Development Study, in terms of teacher education level
and chances of incorporating ideas learned in PD. 

Julie
**********************************************

Cris here.  I directed the NCSALL professional development study, where
we
found that teachers with a bachelor's degree or less made fewer changes
in
thinking and acting after participating in professional development,
which
is different from the FOB evaluation, which found that those with
master's
degrees or above who responded to the Focus on Basics survey reported
making
more change in their classrooms or programs after reading Focus on
Basics.

I think one reason for the difference, in addition to the ones people
have
mentioned previously, might be the difference in the samples:  in our
professional development study, almost 100% of those participating were
primarily teachers.  In the Focus on Basics survey, only 33% identified
themselves primarily as teachers (although in both samples we had
administrators who did some teaching, and some teachers who did some
administrating).

One hypothesis for the differences between these two studies and the
amount
of change related to level of education might be that, according to what
we
found in the professional development study, administrators and others
have
more power to make change than do teachers, even at the classroom level.
 So
it could be that with the higher proportion of administrators and
non-teachers in the FOB sample, many of whom have post-graduate degrees,
they may be reporting more change because they are in a position to make
more change, whereas the PD study sample, which was mostly teachers and
where only half had masters' or above, were not in a position to make as
much change as a result of what they had learned.  Anyway, that's one
hypothesis.

It could also be a motivational issue.  It requires individual
initiative to
read Focus on Basics, and probably many people read articles on those
topics
about which they have the strongest motivation or recognize the issue as
a
problem in their work that needs solving.  Whereas, some proportion of
teachers who attend professional development (we found) are there for
reasons other than an interest in the topic or just a strong motivation
to
learn:  they may have been asked (or told) by their program
administrator to
attend the PD; it was on a free night or convenient to get to; someone
else
from their program was also attending so they went along; or they were
interested in our PD because it was part of a research project or they
liked
the idea of trying a different model of PD (practitioner research or
mentor
teacher group) that they hadn't tried before, but either weren't
interested
in the topic of the PD (learner persistence) or didn't recognize it as a
problem in their program or class.  All of these things, regardless of
education level, may affect what people learn and do after attending the
PD.
However, I still believe that the idea that more experienced, more
"degreed"
practitioners and administrators CAN become "settled" and not feel as if
they need to make changes in what they do.  If they are already doing a
good
job, they might be right, but in both the PD study and the FOB
evaluation,
we didn't look at teaching quality (as evidenced by student achievement)
so
we don't know if that's the case.  They could be "settled" teachers who
are
either very effective or not very effective at all.  But that's another
study.  Best...Cris



Cristine Smith
Deputy Director, NCSALL
World Education
44 Farnsworth Street
Boston, MA  02210-1211
csmith at worlded.org
(617) 482-9485  T,W
(413) 256-6258  M, Th, F

Julie McKinney
Discussion List Moderator
World Education/NCSALL
jmckinney at worlded.org


>>> Barbara Garner <b.garner4 at verizon.net> 04/14/06 12:32 PM >>>

Wow, lots of ideas and information here.

First, regarding the differing findings of the two studies (the FOB
survey, and the NCSALL Staff Development Study, a lengthy research
projects)in one, those with less education were more likely to
incorporate ideas learned in professional development. In the other,
those with more education were likely to do the incorporating...
But perhaps the good news is that both groups, under certain conditions,
put professional development to use.

The issue that Janet writes about, of the conditions conducive to
engagement in professional development, are much the same issues we
think about when pondering how to enroll and engage ABE learners. The
need, the motivation, are important, but so are elements such as
availability, cost (free), accessibility, child care if needed, etc. And
a climate conducive to learning. I can't agree more that all the pieces
have to be in place. 

Has anyone experienced a considerable change in their program, toward a
climate more conducive to learning? And when I write "climate" I'm
thinking about both atmosphere and also particulars: paid release time,
substitutes available, support for trying new things, etc. What caused
the change? What can we learn from your experiences? How about change, I
hate to say it, in the opposite direction? What stifles professional
learning?

And continuing outreach, particularly to folks who don't know of FOB and
NCSALL as a resource, is a valuable reminder. Any suggestions of
concrete things NCSALL should be doing to bring itself and FOB to
teachers' attention?

Barb
From: mgsantos at sfsu.edu
Date: Fri Apr 14 09:21:13 CDT 2006
To: The Focus on Basics Discussion List <focusonbasics at nifl.gov>, 
	Janet Isserlis <Janet_Isserlis at brown.edu>
Subject: [FocusOnBasics 244] Re: teacher education and change

Janet and all

I have to agree strong with Janet's thoughts on motivation.  I train
adult ESL
teachers in MA TESOL program and many of them (of varying levels of
experience)
WANT to implement the ideas they read in FOB ... but when they get go
back to
their programs, they reported feeling frustrated that their programs
don't seem
to support innovation and creativity in teaching. If a program isn't
committed
at the program-level to fostering a "culture of change" (lots of stuff
out there
in K-12 about this), personal motivation can provide a point of entry
but is not
sufficient for meaningful impact.

At the same time I think we need to recognize the many ways that
teachers do
grow and develop that don't necessarily translate into measurable
learner gains.
Stephen Reder and his team in Portland have argued for a broader view on
learner
participation, beyond program attendance.  Perhaps we also need to begin
systematically accounting for the ways that teachers manage their own
professional growth and strive to develop professionally, outside of
formal pd
organizations and *in spite* of the lack of programmatic support.  

With FOB online, the series represents a rich library that a teacher
could turn
to for self-reflection. However there are still a lot of teachers out
there (I
meet them at TESOL conventions) who don't know about NCSALL or FOB.  If
FOB is
facing the end of its publishing run, it seems strategic to think how
NCSALL
might use its remaining FOB funds to expand its outreach. 

Best, Maricel Santos

Quoting Janet Isserlis <Janet_Isserlis at brown.edu>:


> Katrina and all

> 

> I think motivation is likely an important factor, but we also need to

be

> mindful of systemic support for educators.  What supports are/aren't

> available to people who are working more than one part-time job?  What

are

> the cultures of professional development in their various workplaces? 

Aside

> from the intrinsic motivation to learn more, what messages to program

> administrators, colleagues and funders convey to teachers about the

value of

> professional development?

> 

> I was really fortunate to have had an opportunity to begin my MA work

after

> I'd been teaching for 9 years (through a program that funded the

courses so

> that we only paid for books).  It was a part-time masters program,

over two

> and a half years, designed for full-time teachers.  I was already

privileged

> to be working full time; the degree program required a lot of work,

but not

> a lot of money.  While grateful endlessly for the program - I was

ready to

> dig in and learn, and had the questions to ask that I might not have

had in

> my first year of teaching - I still think that we can't only ascribe

> participation in PD to personal motivation.  We also need to be

proactive in

> working to build opportunities for practitioners across the board -

new,

> continuing, veteran practitioners - or we risk what I've heard Barb

describe

> as "good programs getting gooder."  It's great to build capacity in

strong

> programs - but it's also great to make capacity building available

across

> the board.

> 

> IF it is the case that personal motivation is the determining factor,

then

> we've all the more work to do to build a greater collective culture of

> learning and respect for learning throughout the field.

> 

> Janet Isserlis

> > 

> > I think motivation is probably the driving force. I think the

individual

> has

> > to be willing to learn or be open to new ideas. I also think

complacency is

> a

> > bad thing and something people slide into sometimes

unknowingly...they get

> > comfortable with the way they've done something and think they don't

have

> to

> > change it or even fear the change and tensions usually associated

with

> change.

> > 

> > Personally,  I've waited for a while before pursuing an advanced

degree and

> if

> > all goes well I'll be starting my Masters in the fall. I've been

teaching

> in

> > Adult Ed for 10 years though. I think sometimes, that there is a

feeling

> that

> > having an advanced degree means you've "arrived" at some pre

determined

> > destination...or that you're now an expert able to impart knowledge

but

> > perhaps not gain it. I'm not really sure. I've encounted that

behavior in

> the

> > workplace and I think that's what's put me off for so long about

going back

> to

> > school. I don't ever want to feel I have nothing else to learn or

gain via

> any

> > form of education. I definitely feel that professional development

is

> > essential to staying effective in the classroom. I actually believe

> > professional development is essential in ANY workplace.

> > 

> > I think I'd wonder how the NCSALL arrived at their conclusion

compared to

> how

> > FOB arrived at theirs.  Was the pool of respondants the same in size

as

> well

> > as was the pool of respondants the same in terms of degrees etc.

> > 

> > Ultimately, I think it comes down to the individual person's drive

and

> desire

> > to grow professionally and personally.

> > 

> > Regards

> > Katrina Hinson

> 

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