Literature Review 2-Yates 1

National University

TED 690

Literature Review 2

M’Laura Yates

15 June 2019
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Abstract

This literature review is based on a peer-reviewed article from the Delta Kappa Gamma

Bulletin detailing the benefits from professional development (PD) on early literacy

outcomes. The article describes how professional development to increase teachers’

skills in early literacy can be developed between educators and university faculty to

facilitate reform of specific literacy practice for improving early-literacy outcomes. In

this review, I will provide information on evidence-based practices through translational

research based on teacher professional development and school changes to PD. It is

through these changes from pedagogical skills to content-based instruction, which is then

demonstrated in the classroom, that the most effective results are seen.
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There is a common theme that I hear in my school district and I've read in this

article and publications from around the world about the disconnect between professional

development and the implementation of said development in the classroom. This article

asserts that by using translational research foundations, which come from the medical

sciences, there is a “…bench-to-bedside approach, where the research has an immediate

impact on patient health” (Abodeeb-Gentile, et al., 2016, para. 3). In the case of

education, this would mean an approach towards professional development that is

immediately put into practice in the classroom. In the case of this study, there was an

examination of an intensive professional development (PD) program in early-literacy

instruction in a high-poverty school of English Learner (EL) students in the United

States. The focused PD on early-literacy along with a partnership with a local university

had reported benefits for both the university and the public school.

There appears to be a difference between the way university professors and

teachers view the educational process. In order to foster a mutual respect, partnerships

must be well planned and provide adequate resources for all activities. Rather than

teachers and teacher educators working independently of each other, there needs to be

more collaboration in the best possible environment. That environment is often an

elementary classroom. In the recent past, the problem that existed is how PD has been

“…focused on teachers’ development of content and pedagogical skills as separate from

the development of these skills in situ” (Abodeeb-Gentile, et al., 2016, para. 11). One of

the best PD opportunities I have been a part of was a week-long training that took place

at an elementary school where we learned different teaching strategies and then were able

to watch the presenters use those strategies in an elementary classroom over the course of
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several days. It is important for teachers to be able to implement any new training right

away while the content is fresh and easy to remember.

Through PD data observed in this study, there was information to indicate that

tensions arose from the teachers due to the use of scripted reading programs that were

mandated by district leaders and school administrators. The data suggests that the

effectiveness of the scripted programs were very low and they needed more effective

alternatives that focused on content knowledge in reading. Quality PD should emphasize

content and be in-depth, more than just one-day workshops, to facilitate real professional

growth that can be passed on in the classroom. Based on this information the PD was

changed at the school and due to the shift in PD focus, there was a positive impact on

student achievement as evidenced in state testing from one year to the next. Teachers

participated in regular team meetings facilitated by the school’s literacy coach and

focused on reflection and sharing between team members. In my experience, the best PD

I’ve had within my Professional Learning Community (PLC) is when we have been

implementing a certain standard, for example, narrative writing, and we are able to come

together to choose exemplars and discuss what strategies worked best for teaching the

different parts of writing. We were also able to revise our grading rubric and this was

useful for the teaching process as well.

One of the most significant results of this study was that teachers received more

of the content-based PD they needed, which resulted in a focus on more content-specific

instruction based on students’ needs rather than on the implementation of scripted

programs. University researchers were able to use this data to create content-specific PD

that they modeled, such as formative assessment during independent and small-group
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reading, which was then videotaped and used for school wide PD sessions. Due to the

changes that were implemented at this school, teachers were more consistently engaged

in literacy practices that focused on meaning. “These findings were consistent with other

studies that indicated PD that is focused on content and curriculum results in changes to

instructional practice and achievement”(Abodeeb-Gentile, et al., 2016, para. 25).

The information in this article is relevant and useful to my colleagues and me by

providing evidence that content-based PD partnered with collaboration from university

faculty or PD presenters creates effective change in the classroom when modeled and

implemented immediately and consistently. I plan to voice my support for this type of

PD in my school district in the future and will recommend this article to my administrator

of curriculum and professional development.

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Reference

Abodeeb-Gentile, T., Pedro, J., & Tapper, J. (2016). Translational Research in Education:
The Benefits of a Partnership that Examines the Impact of Professional
Development on Early-Literacy Outcomes. Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin, 82(3),
35–47. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1770514231/