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Jolane Roy's 7th grade class, An Wang School; and Deborah Romeo's 8th grade class, Edith N. Rogers School
Lowell, MA
School Type: Public
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School Setting: Urban
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Level: Middle
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School Design: Traditional
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Content Presented By:
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Summary
The practice: Professional development should involve teachers in the identification of what they need to learn and in the development of the learning experiences in which they will be involved.
- Teachers met regularly in study groups.
- Teacher-centered professional development strategies included standards analysis, examination of student work, and reading and discussing professional literature.
- Practitioners contributed to both planning the project and analyzing what was being learned.
- Project teachers began to discover their own beliefs and practices regarding ELLs and standards.
- Preconceptions about student populations were gradually modified with research-based knowledge and a focus on teaching strategies, leading to instruction matched to the needs of the students.
This project was initiated by administrators in a district where 65% of students are English language learners, 50-80% qualify for free or reduced-price lunches, and student scores are below the state average on all measures of statewide assessment. A three-year collaboration between researchers and teachers, the project included the "unpacking" of standards, classroom visits by both researchers and other teachers, focussed discussions of student work, reading and discussing professional literature, journal writing, and video taping, among other things. Teachers' increased reflection and exposure to colleagues' work, combined with the gradual modification of preconceptions about their students' needs and abilities with research-based knowledge, have resulted in instruction better matched to the needs of the current student population in Lowell.
This site also exemplifies the following practice(s):
- Professional development should be continuous and on-going, involving follow-up and support for further learning, including support from sources external to the school that can provide necessary resources and new perspectives.
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