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Conceptual Framework
5. Selecting Appropriate Professional Development Strategies and Materials
Once the needs of the target audience, the context in which they work, and
the purposes of the professional development have been clarified, the professional
development provider is ready to begin the process of designing learning experiences
by selecting appropriate strategies and materials.
Traditionally, professional development of in-service teachers has taken the
form of workshops and institutes, often first engaging teachers in learning
science and mathematics content and then in trying out activities designed
to help students learn similar content. In an effort to broaden professional
development providers' repertoires, Susan Loucks-Horsley and her colleagues
described 15 strategies in their book, Designing
Professional Development for Teachers of Science and Mathematics
(1998). Strategies such as workshops and institutes, immersion in inquiry,
action research, case discussions, examining student work and student
thinking, and partnerships with scientists and mathematicians in business,
industry and universities are presented, including examples of each strategy
and commentaries on their use.
Building on that work, as well as on the work of Borasi and Fonzi, Professional
Development that Supports School Mathematics Reform (2002), for
the purpose of the TE-MAT database we have clustered strategies for professional
development into the following four categories:
Continue: 5.1.
Examining Classroom Practice
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