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Edmonds School District
Lynnwood, WA
School Type: Public
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School Setting: Suburban
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Level: K-12
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School Design: Traditional
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Content Presented By:
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Summary
The practice: Professional development should provide opportunities to gain an understanding of the theory underlying the knowledge and skills being learned.
- New classroom organization
- New teaching and observation techniques
- New assessment and records of student performance
- Action research
- Intensive summer mathematics institutes
- 6 full-time and 5 part-time teachers develop curriculum and provide Professional Development
- Schools with the largest percentage of students receiving free and reduced price lunch achieving at or above the district average growth rate
- Students scores grew from 62.3% to 72.9% on the Listening part of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning in 1997-1998
- Students scored 5% higher than the state average on the Writing part of the assessment
In the Edmonds School District of Lynnwood, Washington, strategies for professional development grew out of a district-wide change model used in a National Science Foundation-funded project to implement reform in mathematics. In this model, teacher leaders focused first on changing their own understanding of mathematics and the new mathematical paradigms, as well as their practices in classroom instruction and assessment strategies. Once they were comfortable with these changes, the teacher leaders provided training and support for their fellow teachers. This model was extended to all curricular areas. Six full-time and five part-time teachers were released from their classrooms to support curriculum and professional development. FOCUS, the four-day paid professional development experience in the summer, provided opportunities for district teachers to receive training and to participate in dialogues about curriculum frameworks and instructional strategies. It was conducted primarily by district teacher leaders. By investing in their own development first, teacher leaders gained an in-depth understanding of the theory related to change, content, instruction, and assessment before they began helping other teachers develop similar understandings and skills.
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