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A Study of the Impact of Transformative Professional Development on Hispanic Student Performance on State Mandated Assessments of Science in Elementary School

  • Elementary Science Teacher Education
  • Published:
Journal of Science Teacher Education

Abstract

This paper reports the findings of a study of the impact of the transformative professional development (TPD) model on student achievement on state-mandated assessments of science in elementary school. Two schools (one intervention and one control) participated in the case study where teachers from one school received the TPD intervention across a 2-year period while teachers at the other school received no program and continued business as usual. The TPD program includes a focus on the core conceptual framework for effective professional development (Desimone in Educ Res 38:181–199, 2009) as well as an emphasis on culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP) and other effective science instructional strategies. Findings revealed that participation in TPD had a significant impact on student achievement for Burns Elementary with the percentage of proficient students growing from 25 % at baseline to 67 % at the end of the 2-year program, while the comparison school did not experience similar growth. Implications for future research and implementation of professional development programs to meet the needs of teachers in the realm of CRP in science are discussed.

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Acknowledgments

The research reported in this manuscript was supported by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, through Grant number R305A090145 to The University of Cincinnati. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent views of the U.S. Department of Education.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Education, Purdue University, 100 N. University St., West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA

    Carla C. Johnson

  2. Department of Psychology, Utah State University, 2810 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT, 84322-2810, USA

    Jamison D. Fargo

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  1. Carla C. Johnson
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  2. Jamison D. Fargo
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Correspondence to Carla C. Johnson.

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Johnson, C.C., Fargo, J.D. A Study of the Impact of Transformative Professional Development on Hispanic Student Performance on State Mandated Assessments of Science in Elementary School. J Sci Teacher Educ 25, 845–859 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10972-014-9396-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10972-014-9396-x

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