澳门跑狗论坛

Teacher Preparation

Panel Says Ed. Schools Overlook Developmental Science

By Stephen Sawchuk 鈥 October 05, 2010 4 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

Education programs should more explicitly train teacher candidates in the rudiments of developmental science, and need policy support from states and the federal government to do so, asserts a released this morning by a panel convened by the .

鈥淭here鈥檚 just been an explosion of knowledge in development science over the last 10 to 14 years,鈥 said Robert Pianta, dean of the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia, in Charlottesville. 鈥淲e know so much more about 4-year-olds鈥 capacity in math, or the skills progression that leads to confident literacy, or the way making material relevant engages an adolescent.鈥

Mr. Pianta co-chaired the panel, commissioned by the Washington-based NCATE, which accredits about half of the nation鈥檚 education schools. It included experts in teacher education, developmental science and early childhood. Developmental science consists of the science underpinning the biological, emotional, ethical, linguistic, psychological, and social development of children and adolescents, and how those fields interact. It also incorporates cognitive science鈥攈ow children learn to think and process information.

The paper contends that a greater emphasis on developmental science in the course of teacher preparation is especially warranted given that research appears to point toward instruction rooted in that field as one way of boosting academic achievement.

A research synthesis of studies on 213 school programs, for example, found that such programs led, on average, to an 11 percentile-point gain in student achievement, the paper states. That study, by J.A. Durlak, a Loyola University Chicago clinical psychology professor, among others, is scheduled to appear in the January 2011 issue of Child Development.

But many preparation programs have yet to catch up to the research, according to James P. Comer, the founder of the Yale Child Study Center School Development Program in New Haven, Conn., which implements developmental science interventions, including the well-known Comer School Development Program.

Such programs, he said, 鈥渇ocus on curriculum, instruction, assessment with the assumption that the rest of it has been taken care of somewhere else in the family, in the community, wherever, that all kids come to school ready to learn,鈥 said Dr. Comer, the panel鈥檚 other co-chair. 鈥淵ou often hear educators say, 鈥楾hat stuff鈥檚 not our job.鈥欌

Avenues for Reform

The report outlines a number of avenues through which policymakers could strengthen the preservice focus on developmental science, including through individual programs鈥 requirements and assessments; the national-accreditation process; state licensing and accreditation regimes; and federal programs and policy governing teacher-preparation and school-turnaround initiatives.

The regular teacher-evaluation cycle in school systems, meanwhile, could serve as one way to encourage a stronger application of developmental science to instruction among the current teaching force. For instance, the Classroom Assessment Scoring System, designed by Mr. Pianta to measure the quality of K-3 student-teacher interactions, is rooted in developmental science.

The popular Framework for Teaching created in 1996 by consultant Charlotte Danielson includes a review of how teachers set and manage a positive classroom environment, a feature that the report鈥檚 authors list as an important application of developmental science. Both of those teacher-evaluation frameworks have received renewed attention of late and are included in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation鈥檚 $45 million study of effective teaching.

There鈥檚 evidence, in the meantime, that colleges of education already require some attention to the developmental sciences, but that those efforts may not be well focused.

In a 2008 NCATE survey of accredited institutions, 90 percent reported requiring candidates to take at least one course in child and adolescent development. But the survey found that such classes were too broad and did not emphasize practical application.

And a previous NCATE analysis also noted that popular textbooks do not always reflect the most up-to-date research on child development or don鈥檛 focus on how to apply such knowledge in classroom settings. (鈥淭eacher Colleges Urged to Pay Heed to Child Development,鈥 May 2, 2007).

The trick may hinge not on adding more course work in the field, but ensuring that the discipline is woven into all relevant course work and in student teaching, Dr. Comer said. But there are likely to be obstacles to that goal.

Daniel T. Willingham, a professor of psychology at the University of Virginia who has written extensively about the application of cognitive science to education, noted that the developmental sciences cover a broad range of areas. Effective integration of the field into teacher preparation will require researchers and teachers to home in on the most important topics and collaborate on the shape of curricula.

鈥淭he researchers really need to be collaborating with the people who are specialists, who know the classrooms,鈥 Mr. Willingham said. 鈥淭hey can鈥檛 just figure out what the most important principles are and hand them off to teachers to implement.鈥

And as scholars point out, the content of teacher education is already highly variable.

鈥淭he teacher-education curriculum is a focus of many competing interests and demands, and it could easily be overwhelmed by any number of more demands,鈥 Mr. Pianta acknowledged. 鈥淭he biggest challenge is not to see this as one more thing to do but as a vehicle for reconceptualizing and redesigning.鈥

One push for that could be coming soon from the accreditation system.

In a release, NCATE president James G. Cibulka promised that the body will consider developmental science as it works on an upgrade of its own standards for accrediting teacher education programs.

A version of this article appeared in the October 13, 2010 edition of 澳门跑狗论坛

Events

Artificial Intelligence K-12 Essentials Forum Big AI Questions for Schools. How They Should Respond鈥
Join this free virtual event to unpack some of the big questions around the use of AI in K-12 education.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of 澳门跑狗论坛's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School & District Management Webinar
Harnessing AI to Address Chronic Absenteeism in Schools
Learn how AI can help your district improve student attendance and boost academic outcomes.
Content provided by 
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of 澳门跑狗论坛's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Science Webinar
Spark Minds, Reignite Students & Teachers: STEM鈥檚 Role in Supporting Presence and Engagement
Is your district struggling with chronic absenteeism? Discover how STEM can reignite students' and teachers' passion for learning.
Content provided by 

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide 鈥 elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

Teacher Preparation Some Teacher-Prep Programs Will Prioritize Foundational Math Skills. What It Looks Like
Math knowledge is cumulative, experts say鈥攁nd mastery of early skills is critical.
4 min read
A illustration of a man in a suit and tie holding a broken chain link and walking toward a woman who is holding the other part of that broken link.
DigitalVision Vectors
Teacher Preparation Q&A How This Teacher-Prep Program and District Aligned on the Science of Reading
In Tennessee, a small network of schools and universities are aligning future teachers' coursework with evidence-based literacy practices.
8 min read
Illustration of two cliffs with a woman on one side and a man on the other. Both of them are holding a half of a cog wheel and bringing the two pieces together to bridge the gap between them.
iStock/Getty
Teacher Preparation Then & Now Why We Still Haven't Solved Teacher Shortages (Despite Decades of Trying)
The teacher-shortage discourse has a long history鈥攁nd no perfect solutions.
6 min read
Conceptual image of drawing new graduates to the teaching workforce.
Laura Baker/澳门跑狗论坛 via Canva
Teacher Preparation Opinion Ed. Schools Face a Choice: Reform or Fade Away
If schools of education are to be revitalized, it will likely be red states leading the way, an education professor argues.
Robert Maranto
5 min read
Illustration of a college campus fading away.
澳门跑狗论坛 + iStock