The Impact of Teacher Professional Development on Student Achievement
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Date
2012-03
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Publisher
The British University in Dubai (BUiD)
Abstract
Teachers have a powerful long-lasting influence on theirs students. They directly affect how students learn, what they learn, how much they learn and the way they interact. Considering the degree of teachers’ influence as educators and researchers we must understand what teachers should do to promote student positive results and classroom attitudes. Undoubtedly, teacher training plays an active role in maximizing the impact of teacher instructional practices on students’ achievement (Darling Hammond, 2001; Jacob, Brian A., and Lars Lefgren. 2004).
High Quality professional development is one of the necessary tools for improving teacher effectiveness. This research has examined the impact of teacher professional development on students’ achievement. The researcher has analyzed the scores of 231 students in three high schools in government sector prior, during and after a teachers’ training program on infusing critical thinking skills in English curriculum. Participants of the research are all from Grade 12. The researcher carried out a quantitative research applying a quasi-experimental approach and a series of tests to investigate the influence of teacher training on students’ scores. The research reveals that there is a negative impact on the scores and interestingly, it seems that as the training program and implementation of this program progress the average is declining. The overall design of this quasi – experimental research is implemented to examine this impact and to measure the changes in students’ behavior and performance. The statistical analysis implies a negative impact on students’ average and Standard Deviation across the three schools. There are limitations to the research such as:
The gender of the participants, the implementation of the professional development program, the assessment and the administration practices. The researcher offers some recommendations and suggestions to improve the quality of teacher professional development and students’ performance as well.
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DISSERTATION WITH DISTINCTION
Keywords
teacher professional development, student achievement, teachers’ influence, classroom attitudes, instructional practices, teacher effectiveness, high schools, English curriculum, critical thinking skills, student performance