Scaling up is a major and largely misunderstood issue in professional
development. Some people talk about scaling up as an issue of
replicating a teacher education course at multiple sites throughout
the nation and express concern about the fidelity of the product to
the prototype. They use an industry metaphor in thinking about
building a sales and distribution system. This approach has been very
successfully at promoting the adoption of some clearly defined
innovations that closely match the predominant culture in schools
(e.g., Madeline Hunter), but fails when used to implement complex
innovations (e.g., inquiry-based science teaching).
Others talk about an "Amway" approach where trainers train trainers
and so on and express concern about the dilution of the message. They
use a marketing metaphor when talking about this approach. This was
typical of the approach taken in the 1960's for programs such as BSCS
biology programs. Unfortunately, the complexity of the innovation and
the depth of change in the overall school system required to support
the innovation often failed to materialize. This approach can be
dangerous, because it can lead to a backlash such as seen in
California toward "Whole Language," where the complexity of the
innovation is misunderstood and is implemented on a superficial level,
thus not achieving the results found for the original sites.
Others talk about the fact that successful professional development
program is embedded in the culture of the educational system in which
it thrives and are concerned that you can not simply take the content
and structure of the formal education component and transplant it
successfully without consideration of the culture in the educational
system receiving the program. Radical proponents of this type present
a picture that successful professional development is case specific
and that each school must grow its own. Perhaps a gardening metaphor
will help understand the promise of this model, where a successful
experimental garden bears seeds that are distributed to other gardens
to be nurtured and cultivated by skillful gardeners into vibrant
healthy crops at the new sites. However, the local conditions
(rainfall, climate, and type of soil), the specific tools and
techniques used by the gardener (e.g. fertilizer and type of
cultivation) will vary from site to site, and the quality of the
product will vary from site to site (even to include the possibility
that not all seeds grow well at all sites).
My belief is that each of these approaches to scaling up illuminate
and solve part of the problem, but none of them alone can be
successful. What is needed is a holistic, system approach to the
problem. We need to address all components of the teacher preparation
and teacher education system as well as the state educational system,
local education agencies, and schools. We also need to accept that
local schools and school districts have the primary responsibility for
the professional development of teachers, and that state and national
efforts only can support and assist schools in meeting their
responsibility.
Here are a some ideas for successfully spreading the reform throughout
the nation:
1. Develop educational policies (and funding) at the national, state
level, and local level that encourage, reward, and support the
professional development of teachers.
2. Market the reform message at the local, state, and national level
to develop an awareness, the need, and receptivity to educational
improvement. Without broad-based public understanding and support of
the reform of schools, the reform is doomed for failure.
3. Develop the leadership infrastructure of individuals (scientists,
science teacher educators, teachers, school administrators, volunteers
from community and business/industry) who have the knowledge and skill
to serve as designers, leaders, managers, and instructors in
professional development programs in every region of the nation.
4. Develop and disseminate multiple models (cases) of the
professional development of science teachers (such as listed in NISE
monograph under development). Provide detailed description of these
models as enacted in diverse settings. Provide handbooks that provide
the description and tools of the project (content, reform tools,
strategies, course syllabi, learning activities, assessment tools).
5. Provide technical assistance (in areas such as project design,
project monitoring, educational reform, change strategies, program
evaluation, public relations) to professional development projects to
help them adapt successful models for their own context.
6. Build the case for reform by collecting compelling evidence that
the new approaches are more effective at meeting current goals than
older, traditional approaches. All professional development projects
must conduct a solid program evaluation and widely disseminate the
results. Professional development projects must be linked with
changes in curriculum and instruction and tied directly to improvement
of student learning.
7. Use professional development to strengthen the relationships among
the components of the educational system (curriculum/instructional
materials, instruction, learning environment, assessment, teaching
support system, professional development program, school
administration, school policies).
8. Connect together the leaders of the reform (e.g., curriculum
developers, teacher education programs, state departments of
education, professional development projects, regional labs, national
institutes).
_________________________________________________________
James D. Ellis, Ph.D.
Program Director
Division of Elementary, Secondary and Informal Education
The National Science Foundation
4201 Wilson Boulevard, Room 885S
Arlington, VA 22230
Phone: (703) 306-1616 ext: 6862
FAX: (703) 306-0412
Email: jellis@nsf.gov
_________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
TEECH Leadership Development Discussion
To send a response, send mail to teech_leadership@teech.terc.edu
To unsubscribe from the list, send mail to ntlist_manager@teech.terc.edu
In the body of the message: unsubscribe teech_leadership <email-address>
View or post messages from the Web at http://hub.terc.edu/terc/teech.html
______________________________________________________________________________