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Top-notch programs for middle schoolsBy Joan Richardson After an in-depth, two-year study, NSDC has identified 26 staff development programs that boost student learning in the middle grades. These programs have demonstrated improved student achievement in the core content areas of language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies by increasing teachers' knowledge and skills. The Edna McConnell Clark Foundation funded the project. "We have teachers who are process rich and content poor. This is particularly true in the middle grades where many teachers do not have academic majors, are teaching out of their content areas, or haven't had opportunities to keep abreast of changes in their fields, particularly in science, math, and social studies," said project director Joellen Killion. The results of this work have been published in a new "consumer's guide," called What Works in the Middle: Results-Based Staff Development for the Middle Grades. The 26 programs were selected from among 500 programs nominated for consideration. More than 80 percent of the nominated programs were eliminated because they lacked evidence of impact on student achievement. About 80 projects were chosen for the second level of review; only half of those were selected for the final intensive review. "The review process does not guarantee that these programs will be successful in every school but it does suggest that, if implemented properly, these programs have the potential to improve teachers' content knowledge, content-specific pedagogical process, and student achievement," Killion said. The project's national advisory panel included experts in the content areas, evaluation, information management and technology, and staff development. The panel identified criteria for program consideration and also worked with six partner associations --the National Association of Secondary School Principals, National Council of Social Studies, National Council of Teachers of English, National Middle Schools Association, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and the National Science Teachers Associations -- the regional educational laboratories, and ERIC. In order to receive further consideration, the panel agreed each program must:
"While there were exceptional staff development programs that were more general, we did not consider programs unless the content of the staff development extended teachersÕ understanding of their discipline and its key constructs or added to teachers' repertoire of content-specific instructional strategies," Killion said. Especially important was the panel's agreement on the qualities of an effective staff development program. "This had not been done before. We were asking, 'What must be included in a staff development program in order to win that Good Housekeeping seal of approval?' For us to agree on that is very significant," Killion said. Successful programs did not have to rely solely on results of standardized tests to demonstrate improved student learning. Other methods for showing changes included portfolios, exhibitions, performance tasks and events, local criterion-referenced tests, and increased participation in higher-level courses. "These methods provide models that staff developers can use to evaluate their own staff development efforts," Killion said. But merely changing classroom behavior or changing students' attitude towards learning was not sufficient. "This meant that increasing student participation in class or having evidence of higher order thinking skills was not sufficient evidence of improved student learning," Killion said. Killion believes the guide will enable districts to be savvier consumers before they commit to new programs. "They don't have to recreate the wheel. They don't have to go out and adopt something that has no evidence of success," she said. "Even if they choose not to adopt the programs in this book, they would at least have some criteria, some characteristics to use as the basis for shaping their own staff development program. They would have a set of guidelines and a set of questions to ask so they will know if they are selecting something that will have an increased likelihood of improving student achievement." Copies of What Works in the Middle can be ordered from the NSDC Business Office. A single copy is $30, non-members, $24, members
Programs that improve teaching and learning The following programs will be included in What Works in the Middle. The guide includes a description of the staff development programs in the appropriate content area, guidelines for selecting and/or designing initiatives to improve student achievement; strategies for evaluating staff development and more information about how these programs were selected. Language arts
Mathematics
Science
Social studies
Interdisciplinary
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