Professional Development

Coaching centered professional development, longitudinally allowed Texas SEED teachers to actively implement different strategies in their classrooms, while developing their own instructional materials (Garet et al., 2001). We used the ECHO model (Arora et al., 2014) for our social and emotional and equity-based professional development. There has been an explosion of research on effective teaching, especially in the areas of social and emotional learning and equity, but teachers may not know about or know how to implement the research. ECHO seeks to democratize knowledge and increase equitable access to high-quality, research-based practice.

The ECHO motto is “All Learn, All Teach” such that each hub, like Texas SEED, becomes a learning network of practitioners and researchers. Thus, it is deliberately not “something that researchers do to practitioners”. All ECHO Hub and Texas SEED team members are trained to create a culture of deep respect for what everyone brings, using language like “did you think about” or “consider X,” rather than “do this.” The goal is to remove barriers between researchers and teachers so that everyone feels safe to talk about what one does not know.

Texas SEED Professional Development
Social and Emotional Learning	Mathematics Pedagogy
Teachers in Texas SEED PD learned how to promote students’ prosocial behavior using three strategies: Praise students’ spontaneous prosocial behaviors to increase frequency. Use of inductive discipline to correct misbehavior, with emphasis on “victim-centered induction.” This refers to (a) pointing out how a student’s misbehavior affects another, (b) asking the student to imagine being the other, and (c) suggesting acts of reparation. This teaches students to focus on others’ well-being and provides practice of prosocial behavior as students make reparation (Bergin, 2014). Form positive relationships with students through being sensitive, responsive, and warm; using non-coercive discipline; and supporting students’ autonomy (Bergin & Bergin, 2009) Research indicates these three strategies are effective, yet teachers do not often use them. Texas SEED teachers were supported to use these strategies in their classrooms and share and reflect on their implementation with their colleagues during professional development meetings.   Bergin, C., & Bergin, D. A. (2009). Attachment in the classroom. Educational Psychology Review, 21, 141-170.	The mathematics pedagogy professional development implemented teaching practices that reflect the recommendations from the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Principals and Standards for School Mathematics (2000) and the Texas Education Standards (2012). According to these organizations, teachers need professional development opportunities to actively learn and enhance their content knowledge and pedagogy through models of effective classroom practice, collaborative activities, analysis of student thinking, reflection, and connecting experience to teachers’ daily lives (Garet et al., 2001).
To learn more about prosocial education, visit: Prosocial Development & Education Research Lab – College of Education & Human Development	Lessons from the Texas SEED mathematics and equity professional development for teachers, with ideas for classroom implementation, can be found in our Resources.

References

Arora, S., Thornton, K., Komaromy, M., Kalishman, S., Katzman, J., & Duhigg, D. (2014). Demonopolizing medical knowledge. Academic Medicine, 89(1), 30–32.

Garet, M. S., Porter, A. C., Desimone, L., Birman, B. F., & Yoon, K. S. (2001). What makes professional development effective? Results from a national sample of teachers. American Educational Research Journal, 38(4), 915–945.
doi.org/10.3102/00028312038004915

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (2000). Principles and standards for school mathematics. NCTM.

Texas Education Agency. (2012). Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills.
https://tea.texas.gov/academics/curriculum-standards/teks-review/texas-essential-knowledge-and-skills