CPS two-component CCSS-M professional learning program: districtwide train-the-trainer workshops plus intensive Deep Support for selected schools¶

Element · All elements
Evidence · 5 claims (3 for, 2 mixed) · 1 study (1 causal), q2 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 5 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The Chicago Public Schools Department of Mathematics, partnering with two local universities, built a professional learning program with two components. The first was a districtwide strategy relying on a "train the trainer" model offering workshops three to four times per year to all teachers responsible for implementing CCSS-M, focused on "the provision of high-quality math instruction, rather than a more narrow focus on merely understanding the content of the new standards." The second gave more intensive support—professional learning communities and, in some cases, instructional coaching—to a subset of 87 "Deep Support" schools in four networks. A three-tier distributed approach sent experienced teachers to district sessions, who replicated them at network Teacher Leader Institutes and shared them in their schools.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• District organization of schools into networks to support the train-the-trainer cascade
• Coordination of professional learning content across years so teachers encounter new CCSS-M components each year

Constraints¶

• The distributed model meant the district had less control over ensuring every teacher received professional development; around 15 percent of elementary teachers and one-quarter of high school teachers reported no standards-related professional development in each year

Target Learners¶

• K-12 math teachers in Chicago Public Schools
• Network leaders and administrators

Target Learning Goals¶

• Implementing CCSS-M-aligned, high-quality mathematics instruction

Claims¶

• Eleventh-grade ACT math scores changed similarly across schools regardless of their level of standards-related professional development [~W]
• Deep Support schools showed significantly larger test-score improvements but smaller improvements in academic demand, teacher support, and elementary grades than non-Deep-Support schools [+W]
• In elementary grades, students in schools with extensive standards-related professional development reported significantly larger improvements in academic demand, rigor, instructional clarity, and teacher support than students in schools with limited professional development [+W]
• In high schools, extensive-PD schools started with significantly lower rigor and teacher support but closed the gap by early implementation, while academic demand and clarity improved at rates comparable to limited-PD schools [~W]
• Math course passing rates improved significantly more in elementary schools with extensive professional development, while course grades improved at similar rates across PD levels [+W]

Related Elements¶

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Julia A. Gwynne and Sarah Cashdollar. (2018). Changes in Math Instruction and Student Outcomes since the Implementation of Common Core State Standards in Chicago. UChicago Consortium working paper. https://consortium.uchicago.edu/publications/changes-math-instruction-and-student-outcomes-implementation-common-core-state