What Is The Impact Of Teachers’

What is the impact of teachers’ peer collaboration on literacy instruction? By Jacqueline Dennis Action Research Presentation April 26, 2008

Characteristics of Effective Staff Development: • Large number of contact hours delivered over time • Study groups engaged in regular, structured, and collaborative interactions identified by the group • Teachers need feedback and support during implementation • Teachers should have high teacher efficacy and be reflective

Collaboration: • Fosters professional development • Teacher satisfaction • Teacher effectiveness • Improves student achievement • Brings teachers out of egg-crate isolation • Builds strong professional culture • Increases dialogue with colleagues

Methods: • Distributed literacy questionnaire for teachers to complete • Questionnaire discussed strengths & weaknesses of literacy instruction • Staff development was defined by the participants • Researcher delivered staff development for 2 meetings • Participants met bi-weekly after schools to discuss progress of implementation for 45-90 minutes • Participants bring running records to drive discussions • Researcher provided each participant with opportunity of classroom observation and feedback about implementation

Results: • 6 of 8 teachers were observed implementing word work procedures • Sustaining the implementation was inconsistent • Time, implementation for ELL students, and student motivation were themes discussed during meetings

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