Running Head: LITERATURE REVIEW

Week 2: Literature Review

Rachel Martin
TED 690- Capstone
National University
Professor Johnson
1-13-16

LITERATURE REVIEW

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Abstract

This paper takes an in-depth look at professional development in the teaching world of
science. A study was performed to see the effects, if any, of professional development for science
teachers on student achievement, teaching practices and class culture. The findings of the study
are discussed and mention the benefits of staff development for teachers and the positive effects
seen in the classroom. Also mentioned are the relationship between the amount of hours and the
quality of development and whether positive effects were seen.

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Week 2- Literature Review

Staff development has long been used as means to keep teachers updated on current
practices within a school, a district and when implementing new standards and practices in the
classroom. Development ranges from addressing new technology, more depth into the subject
content and how to change teaching practices for more student engagement and interest.
Development itself is a necessary tool to keep teachers informed and ahead of the curve,
especially in a world when new standards and new practices are often being introduced and
studied. This article takes a look at the types of staff development for science teachers and points
out the most important details all development must contain for it to be worthwhile.
According to Supovitz and Turner (2000), Staff development lies at the heart of nearly
every educational effort to improve student achievement (p. 963). Teachers are similar to their
students, where they are in a constant state of growth as they develop their skills and achieve
mastery over time. However, even after achieving mastery, science teachers still need to be upto-date with the most current and best teaching practices, such as the new Common Core State
Standards and now the Next Generation Science Standards. In addition, each district and each
school offers development courses in new technology, new reforms, laws, etc. All of these
different types of development are supposed to help teachers reach the best version of
themselves.
The Commission on Teacher Credentialing (2013) lists Developing as a Professional
Educator in Domain F. Teacher Performance Expectations (TPEs) include Professional, Legal
and Ethical Obligations and Professional Growth (p. 1). This Domain touches upon an
important point in dealing with legal and ethical obligations of a teacher, which is starkly
different than development for teaching practices. For example, as mandatory reporters, teachers

LITERATURE REVIEW

are heavily involved in students lives and must be aware of all new laws that pertain to them.
For instance, a few years ago a law constitutes sexting of a minor as child pornography.
Students caught distributing the messages can be (and have been since this law passed) charged
with felony. Teachers must participate in staff development to be aware of new laws, reforms and
practices that directly affect their teaching and their students.
Other types of development that fall under TPE 13 for Professional Growth must
include high quality development [to] produce superior teaching in classrooms, which will, in
turn, translate into higher levels of student achievement (Supovitz & Turner, 2000, p. 965).
When hosting professional development, effectiveness of the development lies in the standards
being taught, the amount of hours, teachers knowledge of the subject-matter and using inquirybased questioning. This is called high quality development using the scientific method of
reasoning and when used, resulted in changed teachers attitudes towards reform and their
use of inquiry-based teaching practices those changes persisted several years after (Supovitz
& Turner, 2000, p. 965) the staff development trainings concluded.
The article touches upon why staff development is so important for science teachers, but
also for teachers of all subjects. It mentions the necessity for teachers to be in a constant state of
growth through setting higher learning goals (Supovitz & Turner, 2000, p. 965) in order to
achieve any type of reform in teaching practices, laws, and policies. The article also found that
high quality development created better teachers and may be linked to an increase in student
achievement over time. Lastly, this article proves that different types of staff development is
more than just an obligation for a teacher, but an opportunity to grow and become better
teachers.

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References

Commission on Teacher Credentialing. (2013). California Teaching Performance Expectations.

Retrieved from: http://www.ctc.ca.gov/educator-prep/standards/adopted-TPEs-2013.pdf
Supovitz, J.A. & Turner, H.M. (2000). The effects of professional development on science
teaching practices and classroom culture. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 37,
963-980. Retrieved from:
https://www.ntnu.no/wiki/download/attachments/11273030/Supovitz+(2000)_The+Effect
s+of+Professional+Development+on+Science+Teaching+Practices.pdf