What Factors Impact the Professional Development Teachers Engage In and Ultimately Find Valuable By Melissa Maxson

Background  I provide support, resources and professional development to teachers  Teachers are from Muskegon, Newaygo, Ottawa, and Oceana counties in West Michigan  Schools are very diverse  Interested in providing pd experiences that meet teacher needs

Research Process  I am curious as to what teachers really want, what they value from a professional development event and what they end up using in the classroom from their experiences  Utilize results to influence the professional development that I plan, how it is shared with the teachers, and hopefully increase its impact.

Literary Review  Most successful professional development (pd) requires teachers to attend from the same school or district  Provide collaborative/group learning  Pd needs to involve active learning  Needs to be sustained for greater impact  Focused on content and on how students learn

Bibliography  Garet, M.S., Porter, A.C., Desimone, L., Birman, B.F. & Yoon K.S. What makes professional development effective? Results from a national sample of teachers. American Educational Research Journal, Vol. 38, No. 4. (Winter, 2001). pp  Guskey, T.R. Professional Development That Works: What Makes professional Development Effective? Phi Delta Kappan, Vol. 84 (2003)  Hendricks, M., Luyten, Hans., Scheerens, J., Sleegers, P., Steen, R. (2010). Teachers’ Professional Development. Retrieved from  Liesure, Beth. (2007). Evaluation of New Hampshire Education & Environment Team Summer Institute Retrieved from  Sparks, Dennis. (2002). Designing Powerful Professional Development for Teachers and Principals. Retrieved from  Penuel, W.R., Fisherman, B.J., Yamaguchi, R., Gallagher, L.P. What Makes Professional Development Effective? Strategies That Foster Curriculum Implementation. American Educational Research Journal, Vol. 44, No. 4. (December 2007). pp

Problem Statement  What impacts a teacher’s decision in the professional development they choose to take. AND  What aspects of that professional development are most valued & least valued?

Data Instruments  MSTA Survey; 25 participants  SurveyMonkey; 15 participants  Focus Group; 6 participants

 What criteria do you look at when deciding what professional development to take?  What percentage of professional development knowledge and skills do you take back and use with your students?  Why? What are the deciding factors in whether you use or don’t use the knowledge/skills/topics/curriculum/etc. with your students?  What style of professional development is most beneficial to you? Example Questions Utilized

Surprising Results Percentage Number of Responses

Highlights of Focus Group PD needs to be…  something I can use today in the classroom  Content and grade specific  Free  Provide conversations with colleagues  Ready-to-use  Provide materials  Hands-on  Attended by several people in same building  Held later in school year, no summers

Surprising Results The biggest barrier preventing teachers from taking professional development… a. Too expensive b. Family responsibilities c. Lack of administrative support d. Conflicts with schedule e. No suitable pd opportunities

Highlights of MSTA Survey  Needs to be low cost  Provide practical information  Something useful to take back to the classroom – immediately!  Discussions  School wide  Hands-on  Convenient

Highlights of SurveyMonkey PD needs to be…  Content relevant  Connected to curriculum/standards  Useable in a classroom – today!  Provide new ideas  Low-cost  Wants it to address helping students learn or increase student interest  Face-to-face, 1-day or multi-day  Hands-on  Provide peer interaction

Overall…  Teachers seem to be wanting the same things from professional development – free pd, collaboration, hands-on, ready to use, standards based, and content specific.  There are a few differences among schools because of support from administration and school structure

Action Plan  Reduce the amount of content at summer institute  Provide more opportunities to reflect on how content can be incorporated into their classroom  Provide more collegial dialogue  Require or recommend teachers attending with colleagues from their school  Keep follow-up workshops during the school year  Future research – student impact