Peer Teacher Workshops (PTWs)¶

Element · All elements
Evidence · 1 claim (1 for) · 1 study (1 associational), q3 · 1 of 1 report an effect size · 1 claim rests on one study

Description¶

Peer Teacher Workshops were week-long, module-based professional development sessions, each "based on one of the curriculum modules used in the districts," designed to deepen teachers' science content understanding, knowledge of student misconceptions, and ability to use inquiry. Attendance in grade-level teams, school-year follow-up sessions, and district resource support made PTWs vehicles for building professional learning communities. Table 1 shows total enrollment of 2,598 across 141 PTWs from summer 1996 to 2001, with 1,921 individuals, and by 2002 over 80% of the roughly 800 K-8 teachers had participated.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Designed by instructional teams of accomplished teachers and content experts, supported by an annual three-day design retreat
• Led by accomplished teachers who modeled good instructional practice

Constraints¶

• Non-participants initially perceived the week-long length, active style, science/math content, and mid-summer locations as barriers to participation

Target Learners¶

• K-8 teachers of science and mathematics in the four partner districts

Target Learning Goals¶

• Deepen science and mathematics content knowledge
• Use inquiry-centered curriculum modules effectively
• Understand common student misconceptions

Claims¶

• Content familiarity, not teaching experience, predicted reform-based science teaching practice [+W]

Related Elements¶

Examples¶

• Redesign workshop structure, content, timing, and location in response to non-participant barriers

Key Sources¶

• Corcoran, Tom. (2003). The Merck Institute for Science Education: A Successful Intermediary for Education Reform. CPRE Research Report Series RR-052. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED480404 doi:10.1037/e383112004-001