The Dynamic Approach to teacher professional development: effectiveness and sustainability

Author(s):

Margarita Christoforidou(presenting / submitting)Leonidas Kyriakides Anastasia Panayiotou

Conference:

ECER 2016

Network:

10. Teacher Education Research

Format:

Paper

Session Information

10 SES 03 A, Teacher Professional Learning: Collaboration, Communication and Partnership

Paper Session

Time:

2016-08-23

17:15-18:45

Room:

NM-G107

Chair:

David Morris

Contribution

Among the various systems and paradigms employed in teacher education and development, the Holistic or reflective Approach (HA) and the Competency-Based Approach (CBA) are considered as the dominant approaches to teacher professional development. However, both approaches have been criticized extensively and little empirical evidence supports their effectiveness in promoting effective teaching. Taking this into consideration, the Dynamic Approach (DA) was proposed (Creemers, Kyriakides & Antoniou, 2013). This approach is based on the assumption that teacher professional development should be focused on addressing specific groupings of teacher factors relating to student learning rather than to an isolated teaching factor (as proposed by the CBA) or to the whole range of teacher factors (as implied by the HA). Therefore, the DA lies between the two dominant approaches and aims to overcome their main weaknesses. Particularly, its content derives from the grouping of teaching skills included in the dynamic model of educational effectiveness (Creemers & Kyriakides, 2008). Previous research findings revealed that these teaching skills could be classified into stages of effective teaching, structured in a developmental order and associated with student outcomes (Creemers et al., 2013). Thus, the DA suggests that teacher professional development should be differentiated to meet the needs and priorities of teachers at each stage. The integrated dimension of this approach is attributed to the fact that, it refers to teaching skills that are positively related with student achievement and participants are also engaged into systematic and guided critical reflection on their teaching practices. Recent studies support the effectiveness of the DA in relation to the CBA and the HA. Particularly, an experimental study compared the effectiveness of the DA to the HA and revealed that only teachers employing the DA improved their teaching skills (Antoniou & Kyriakides, 2011). The use of DA also had a significant effect on student achievement in mathematics. A second study compared the effectiveness of the DA to the CBA in improving teacher assessment skills and promoting student outcomes (Christoforidou, 2013) and demonstrated that, for teachers at all stages, the DA was more effective in improving assessment skills and promoting student outcomes in mathematics. Taking in mind the argument that it is easier for a teacher to improve than to maintain a standard of excellence, teachers were offered a three-year professional development program based on the DA to examine possible changes/stability in their teaching skills during these three years. The study reported in this paper investigates whether the intervention has a greater effect on improving teaching when it is offered for more than one year or whether the effect of DA is gradually reduced. In this way, suggestions about the duration of teacher professional development courses based on DA can be drawn.

Method

In the first phase of the study, data regarding teaching skills were collected through external observations (n=106). One low-inference and one high-inference observational instrument were used. These instruments were designed to collect data concerning the eight teacher factors of the dynamic model and previous studies provided empirical support to their construct validity (see Creemers et al., 2013). Observation data were analyzed with the use of the Rasch and the Saltus models and teachers were classified into the same five stages that emerged from earlier studies (see Antoniou & Kyriakides, 2011). In the second phase of the study, teachers were randomly assigned into two groups; one experimental group which received a professional development program based on the DA (n=53) and one control group which received a program based on the HA (n=53). Based on the individual needs identified, the experimental group was provided with support for improvement based on the DA throughout the three years of implementation. Teachers who participated in the control group employing the HA were engaged in activities involving the whole spectrum of teaching elements, attitudes and perceptions; these were not specific to their initial competences or development stage. Teaching skills of all participants were measured at the end of each school year, using the same procedure as in the first phase of the study.

Expected Outcomes

At the beginning of the intervention, there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups in their teaching skills. At the end of each year, statistically significant differences at .05 level were identified. Moreover, the paired t-test revealed that teachers of the control group did not manage to improve their teaching skills during these three years, whereas statistically significant improvements in the skills of the experimental group during each year were identified. By calculating the effect sizes on teaching skills of offering the intervention for only one year (d=0.17), two years (d=0.32) or three years (d=0.41), the duration of the program was found to play an important role in improving teaching skills. A multilevel analysis (occasion/time within teachers) revealed that the intervention was equally effective for teachers situated at different stages. However, separate analysis of teachers of the experimental group situated at the higher stages (3-5) revealed a non-linear relation in the progress of their skills whereas a linear progress was identified among teachers situated at the lower levels. Strengths and limitations of using the DA to promote quality of teaching are identified and suggestions for further research are provided.

References

Antoniou, P. & Kyriakides, L. (2011). The impact of a dynamic approach to professional development on teacher instruction and student learning: results from an experimental study. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 22(3), 291-311. Creemers, B.P.M., & Kyriakides, L. (2008). The dynamics of educational effectiveness: A contribution to policy, practice and theory in contemporary schools. London: Routledge. Creemers, B.P.M., Kyriakides, L., & Antoniou, P. (2013). Teacher professional development for improving quality in teaching. Dordrecht, the Netherlands: Springer. Christoforidou, M. (2013). Teacher professional development in classroom assessment: using the dynamic model of educational effectiveness to improve assessment practice. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Cyprus, Cyprus.

Author Information

Margarita Christoforidou (presenting / submitting)

Cyprus International Institute of Management

Education

Nicosia

Leonidas Kyriakides

University of Cyprus, Cyprus

Anastasia Panayiotou