Final reflection prompts given at the end of the professional development provided feedback on what specific information the participants found useful and what still challenged their thinking with regard to using MEAs to integrate STEM.
In 2007-2008, a study conducted by the National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance (NCEE) found that professional development provided by Pearson for math teachers did not significantly improve student performance compared with students whose teachers did not participate in the program.
A structured two year programme will facilitate broad professional development, provided it takes account of the needs of new graduates.
The categories of promoting change and professional development provided consistently positive findings, however findings were inconsistent in five categories: professions' attitudes to accreditation, organizational impact, financial impact, quality measures and program assessment.
We have developed strong partnerships with Bournemouth University which have enabled an innovative link to ASYE and all professional development, providing independence and rigour in assessment of practice.
Collaborative models for professional development provide a way to incorporate the NRC's (2012) suggested features of successful programs and overcome many of the barriers to instructional change.
Appropriate professional development provides the teachers with the understanding and the relevance of the proposed change, and initiates the shift in a teacher's knowledge, attitudes and classroom behaviors that leads to new teaching and learning strategies for students.
Whatever the problems with Reading First, at least it infuses funds in professional development, provides direct support to teachers, promotes local assessments and supports teacher collaboration.
Poor management, assessed as a factor of the SSS which predicted professional development, provides an area for improvement that may affect retention in rural or underserved areas.
The inquiry-based lessons and experiments encountered by the teachers during the professional development provide an authentic learning experience, allowing teachers to truly inhabit the role of a learner in an inquiry-based setting.
