Abstract

Professional development is a significant component of education today. Yet, staff development as it is practiced by many has been criticized. The purpose of this study was to assess the use of Payne's model for professional development in a Midwestern elementary school more than one year after a three-year intensive professional development initiative had ended. In addition, change in teachers' knowledge, skills, and beliefs as a result of the training was also assessed.

Payne's model is comprised of three foundational trainings. These include A Framework for Understanding Poverty, Learning Structures, and Meeting Standards and Raising Test Scores When You Don't Have Much Time or Money. Technical assistance sessions, recommended at least one time per grading period, are designed to assist educators in implementing the strategies, processes, and concepts taught in the trainings.

Three instruments were used to assess teachers' use of the strategies and implementation of practices associated with the model. These were the Instructional Framework Scale-Observation, Instructional Framework Scale-Artifacts/Conference, and the Teacher Survey to Assess Change in Organizational and Classroom Practice as a Result of the Payne Training. Data were gathered through classroom observations, interviews, and teacher self-reporting through the survey.

Results indicate a fairly highly level of implementation of 78.8%. Overall, the systemic processes and concepts taught in A Framework for Understanding Poverty were implemented at higher levels than the strategies taught in the Learning Structures training. Of 12 practices associated with the model, all practices had a mean level of implementation greater than 2.0, based on a scale of 1 (not implemented) to 3 ( effectively implemented), as reported by the teachers. In addition, all teachers indicated a moderate or significant change in their knowledge and skills as a result of the training. Moderate or significant change in beliefs was reported by 87.5% of the teachers. Factors contributing to the change were mostly related to the content of the trainings.

This study provides support for offering professional development that is focused, ongoing, and extending over a period of years with support provided teachers through technical assistance. Results also indicate that monitoring of practices increases the likelihood of implementation.