Is professional development better than being dismissed?

Is professional development better than being dismissed?

The last issue of Best Evidence in Brief reported on a study in which low-performing teachers were dismissed. A new working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research reports on an experiment where low-performing teachers were provided with coaching from higher-performing peers.
The experiment took place in Tennessee in 14 elementary and middle schools. Tennessee teachers are observed in the classroom many times each year, and scored on 19 specific skills (e.g., questioning, lesson structure, and pacing, and managing student behavior). Schools were randomly assigned to a treatment condition or business-as-usual control group. In the treatment schools, low-performing "target" teachers were matched with high-performing teachers, based on the outcomes of their classroom observations. The high-performing teachers were chosen based on their high scores in skills for which the low-performing teachers had received a low score. The pairs were encouraged to work together on these skills, as well as more generally on observing each other's teaching, discussing strategies for improvement, and following up on each other's commitments throughout the year.
After a year, students in treatment schools (whether taught by target or non-target teachers) showed a small improvement (effect size +0.06) on math and English tests, when compared with students in control schools. Gains by students taught by target teachers were higher (+0.12). These improvements persisted and grew. In the following year, the effect for target teachers was a marginally significant +0.25. 

Johns Hopkins University 

Research in Brief

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Mentors.net - a Professional Development Resource

Mentors.net was founded in 1995 as a professional development resource for school administrators leading new teacher induction programs. It soon evolved into a destination where both new and student teachers could reflect on their teaching experiences. Now, nearly thirty years later, Mentors.net has taken on a new direction—serving as a platform for beginning teachers, preservice educators, and

other professionals to share their insights and experiences from the early years of teaching, with a focus on integrating artificial intelligence. We invite you to contribute by sharing your experiences in the form of a journal article, story, reflection, or timely tips, especially on how you incorporate AI into your teaching

practice. Submissions may range from a 500-word personal reflection to a 2,000-word article with formal citations.

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