Comparación entre Engel y Dik

Teachers’ classroom practises can be improved through effective teacher professional development (Borko, 2004; Darling-Hammond & Richardson, 2009; Guskey, 2002; Peterson, 2002; Richardson, 2003). There is a consensus in the literature on the characteristics that makes professional development effective (Desimone, 2009; Guskey, 2003; Loucks-Horsley et al., 1996). Most writers agree that effective professional development possess some of the following characteristics:

 driven by a clear and well-defined image of effective classroom learning and teaching (Desimone, 2009; Loucks-Horsley et al., 1996; Loucks- Horsley, Stiles, Mundry, Love, & Hewson, 2010);

 integrate instructional methods to promote learning for adults that mirror student learning (Loucks-Horsley et al., 1996);

 conducted for a sufficient time, at least a semester or minimum of 80 hours’ instruction time (Desimone, 2009; Garet, Porter, Desimone, Birman, & Yoon, 2001; Supovitz & Turner, 2000);

 provide teachers with opportunities to develop content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge and PCK (Desimone, 2009; Guskey, 2003; Loucks-Horsley et al., 1996);

 prepare and support teachers to serve in leadership roles (Loucks-Horsley et al., 1996);

 build or strengthen the community of learning and promotion of collegiality and collaborative exchange among the participants (Darling- Hammond & McLaughlin, 2011; Garet et al., 2001; Guskey, 2003);

 school-based or conducted on site and engage teachers in concrete classroom practice of new teaching skills (Desimone, 2009; Penuel, Fishman, Yamaguchi, & Gallagher, 2007; Supovitz & Turner, 2000);

 continuous and consciously linked to other parts of the educational system reforms or school change (Darling-Hammond & McLaughlin, 2011; Desimone, 2009; Loucks-Horsley et al., 1996);

 give teachers the opportunity to evaluate professional their development activities (Garet et al., 2001; Guskey, 2003; Loucks-Horsley et al., 2010);

 offer teachers opportunities for active learning such as reviewing students work and obtaining feedback of their teaching (Garet et al., 2001; Rogers et al., 2007); and

 sustained, on-going, intensive and supported by practice such as coaching, modelling and collective problem solving (Darling-Hammond & McLaughlin, 2011; Rogers et al., 2007).

...focuses on developing the core attributes of an effective teacher. It enhances teachers’ understanding of the content they teach and equips them with a range of strategies that enable their students to learn that content. It is directed towards providing teachers with the skills to teach and assess for deep understanding and to develop students’ metacognitive skill. (p. 4)

There is a paucity in the literature on the direct link between professional development and its impact on student achievement or learning (Frechtling, Sharp, Carey, & Vaden-Kiernan, 1995; Garet et al., 2001; Shymansky, Yore, & Anderson, 2004; Yoon, Duncan, Lee, Scarloss, & Shapley, 2007). Frechtling et al. (1995) and Slavin (2003) reported that it is difficult to establish a direct linkage between professional development and student achievement because many factors intercede, such as the socio-economic status of schools and students, class size, parents’ background, students’ commitment to learning and culture of school management. Shymansky et al. (2004) commented that “these complexities make the design and execution of true experimental studies that can isolate and measure the specific effects of professional development on student achievement both difficult and expensive” (p. 772). Similarly, C. C. Johnson, Kahle, and Fargo (2007), reported that the “current research base failed to demonstrate a clear relationship between professional development and student performance” (p. 2). For example, Frechtling et al. (1995) and Garet et al. (2001) reported on studies evaluating the impact of professional development on student achievement and they concluded that these studies were in the early stages and that few studies provided only the preliminary direction about the characteristics of effective professional development programmes. Garet et al. (2001) argued that:

…relatively little systematic research has been conducted on the effects of professional development on improvements in teaching or on student outcomes…. there is little direct evidence on the extent to which these characteristics relate to positive outcomes for teachers and students. (p. 917)

However, some recent studies have provided some empirical evidence on the impact of professional development on students’ achievement (Guskey, 2002; C. C. Johnson & Fargo, 2010; Ross, Hogaboam-Gray, & Bruce, 2006; Yoon et al.,

2007). For example, Yoon et al. (2007) identified three stages in the impact of professional development on student achievement: first, professional development enhances teachers’ teaching knowledge and skills; second, teachers’ enhanced knowledge and skills in turn results in improved classroom teaching practices; and finally, the improved teaching practices raises students’ general achievement. Ross et al. (2006), in documenting the impact of professional development on student achievement in mathematics, reported significant student achievement gains in mathematics for the treatment group while no increase was observed for the control group. In science C. C. Johnson et al. (2007) conducted a longitudinal quasi-experimental study over a three year period and reported significant gains in student achievement in years two and year three of the professional development intervention. They concluded that “teacher participation in effective, sustained, professional development and their subsequent use of standards-based instructional strategies have a positive impact on their students’ performance in science” (p. 10). Likewise, in another longitudinal study, C. C. Johnson and Fargo (2010) reported that students in treatment schools had higher achievement gains in science than those students taught by teachers of control school, who had not participated in the professional development training.

Despite a consensus on the characteristics of effective professional development, little is known about how these characteristics work and how they can be applied in professional development programmes to have a positive impact on student achievement (Garet et al., 2001). Thus, there is a need for systematic research into how the specific characteristics make professional development work effectively and the relationship with student learning. Darling-Hammond (1997) recommended that effective professional development activities be entrenched in teachers’ daily work, involving them in joint lesson planning, study groups, mentoring and peer coaching, and action research. Despite knowing these characteristics, a variety of professional development models are still being used. These models of professional development are discussed in detail in the next section.