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CONsortium for New Explorations in Coherent Teacher EDucation

“CONNECT-ED provides an altogether different version of practice-based professional development.” Brian Lord, Education Development Center, Newton, MA

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Rationale:  The landscape of science and mathematics professional development offerings in Central New Jersey does not reflect research conclusions concerning programs with beneficial, lasting effects.  Studies indicate that professional development (PD) most likely to improve student achievement exhibits two key characteristics.  First, it should promote continuous learning in which teachers learn new ideas, have the opportunity to try them first-hand, and receive feedback on their efforts.  “One-shot” experiences are not effective.  (Garet, Porter, Desimone, Birman, & Yoon, 2001; Hawley & Valli, 1999.)

Second, PD should help teachers develop a deep knowledge of the content they teach, an understanding of how students learn, and skill with teaching methods  that support student learning.  (Cohen & Hill, 2001; Fennema & Franke, 1992; Garet et al, 2001; Kennedy, 1999.) Although NJ teachers are meeting state requirements to accumulate PD hours, those who specialize in a subject spend only about half their PD hours learning the subject they teach.  Generalists (most elementary teachers) receive even less PD in subjects they teach, and very little of that is in math and almost none is in science.  Further, the most frequently chosen type of PD is the one-shot workshop.  A snap-shot of state-wide PD programs advertised via the NJ Statewide Systemic Initiative listserv for the month of October, 2004 reveals an array of 57 PD program in math, science, and technology.  Of these, 77 percent are one-shot workshops.  Few are content intensive.  While there is a plethora of science/math PD opportunities, therefore, few meet the criteria for those most likely to improve student achievement.   

In many respects the professional development environment for teachers mirrors the problems evident in much science and math teaching: hundreds of ideas are presented, but are never brought together in meaningful ways (ATLAS, pg ix).

Mission:  To address this disconnection, the CONNECT-ED consortium has developed a system of professional development that focuses instruction on key scientific and mathematical concepts, connecting subordinate knowledge and skills in meaningful ways, and that forms teams of teachers from all grade levels, allowing connections to be made hierarchically as concepts become more complex.  Each project team develops a “Big Idea Module” (BIM), around a central scientific concept (e.g. the conservation of matter).  The team works together to show how the “Big Idea” is developed at each of their grade levels and how other concepts relate to this central, unifying principle.  By working through the concept together, teams develop a deeper understanding of the scientific and mathematical concepts involved, gain a greater understanding of how concepts evolve over time both curricularly and developmentally, and benefit from a sharing of pedagogical techniques.  The goal of the project team is a 6-hour BIM to be presented to teachers from their own and other districts.

Project teams consist of three lead teachers from the same district (one teacher from elementary, one from middle and one from high school), a district administrator (math/science supervisor) and a subject matter expert (SME) (university or industry scientist, mathematician or engineer). Teams are encouraged to use concepts that have been cited and mapped in publications by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Benchmarks for Science Literacy and the Atlas for Science Literacy, as well as Principals and Standards by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

During a 6-hour BIM a teacher taking the workshop will:

• Experience the big idea sequentially at the elementary, middle, and high school levels by engaging hands-on in those grade-level curricular activities
• Learn the big idea (science content) at an adult level through instruction provided by the SME
• Experience inquiry-based teaching modeled by the instructional team
• Apply the big idea to their own practice and their district’s curriculum

While the BIM presents only a single, key scientific or mathematical concept, teachers leave the workshop having experienced exemplary teaching that can be applied throughout their curriculum. A BIM goes far beyond standard “kit training,” which typically only familiarizes teachers with curriculum kit contents and the mechanics of the activities.  A BIM teaches science/math content and challenges teachers to recognize that different curriculum activities at different grade levels and different degrees of complexity are all related to the same Big Idea.  Further, a BIM helps teachers understand that the Big Ideas can and should serve as the unifying themes (“connectors”) in their lesson planning to help students make sense of science and math; and that the Big Ideas ought to play the same role in district curriculum planning.