Title: Characteristics of Success

In Student Achievement through Staff Development: Fundamentals of School Reform, Bruce Joyce and Beverly Showers have outlined the four essential characteristics of district and school staff development models. All cases studied focus on these four elements.

 

Content

What?

  1. Curriculum
  2. Instruction
  3. Technology

Content dealing with these three areas is likely to improve student learning. One other effective focus is the overall climate of the school.
Implementation

How?

  1. Organized study groups
  2. Peer coaching

Implementation implies organization.
Inclusion

Who?

  1. Teachers
  2. Administrators

In "Teacher Learning That Supports Student Learning", Linda Darling-Hammond presents strategies for teacher learning that support the Joyce and Showers model of staff development.

Joyce and Showers (p. 55) found no examples of school improvement where the "... entire community of educators ... was not involved."

Case study: Comparing three models

  • Inservice On-Site Model
  • Off-Campus Model
  • Academic Model
Goals and Inquiry

Measures?

  1. Goals and how to achieve them were kept central
  2. Specific student learning is the focus, not general goals.
  3. Formative (process) 
    • Action Research
  4. Summative (outcome)

Back to Staff Development Universe