Claims

Sporadic, disconnected professional learning does not change practice long term, whereas well-structured programs can build differentiation skills with positive student outcomes

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · design r1 · q2
Currency · newest study 2021 · checked against its sources 2026-10-15 (automated, 2 of 2 entries) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims

Reading the evidence codes

q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.

This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.

q2 i? Citing earlier research, the article reports that conferences and short workshops can help teachers develop skills and knowledge, but that professional learning that is sporadic and disconnected is ineffective in the long term; it reports Valiandes and Neophytou (2018), not a study of its own, as finding that teachers in a well-planned and systematic program connected theory with practice and differentiated instruction successfully. → Marks 2021 q2 i? Through a well-structured training program the skills and knowledge required to differentiate instruction could be learned, established and developed, with positive effects on student outcomes (Valiandes & Neophytou, 2018). → Marks 2021 (2)

Evidence

Marks 2021

Marks, A., Woolcott, G., & Markopoulos, C. (2021). Differentiating Instruction: Development of a Practice Framework for and with Secondary Mathematics Classroom Teachers. International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education, 16(3), em0657. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/11198

q2 · i? · design · r1

Narrative review attribution: the article, which develops a practice framework and evaluates no program itself, reports that traditional forms such as conferences and short workshops "can assist teachers in developing their PCK and efficacy", but that professional learning that is "sporadic and disconnected is known to be ineffective in the long term", citing Boyle et al. (2005), Darling-Hammond et al. (2017) and Koellner & Jacobs (2015). No effect size printed.

"professional learning that is sporadic and disconnected is known to be ineffective in the long term, resulting in little change in teachers' beliefs and practices or improvements in student achievement (Boyle et al., 2005; Darling-Hammond et al., 2017; Koellner & Jacobs, 2015)."

Marks 2021 (2)

Marks, A., Woolcott, G., & Markopoulos, C. (2021). Differentiating Instruction: Development of a Practice Framework for and with Secondary Mathematics Classroom Teachers. International Electronic Journal of Mathematics Education, 16(3), em0657. https://doi.org/10.29333/iejme/11198

q2 · i? · design · r1

Narrative review attribution: the article reports the Valiandes and Neophytou (2018) study of a professional learning program focussed on designing and applying differentiated instruction, finding skills "could be learned, established, and developed" with positive student outcomes. No effect size printed.

"The study revealed that, through a well-structured training program, the skills and knowledge required to differentiate instruction could be learned, established, and developed, with consequent positive effects on student outcomes."

Discussion

Page metadata
Field Value
type claim
id structured-professional-learning-builds-differentiation-skills
title Sporadic, disconnected professional learning does not change practice long term, whereas well-structured programs can build differentiation skills with positive student outcomes
description Sporadic, disconnected professional learning does not change practice long term, whereas well-structured programs can build differentiation skills with positive student outcomes
status review
evidence_strength weak
newest_evidence 2021
source_checked 2026-10-15
generated by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-07
trust unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content
sources 2 — marks-2021, marks-2021-2

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