PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN SPARSELY POPULATED REGIONS OF OREGON

No Child Left Behind funding provides for locally delivered professional development for teachers in sparsely populated regions of eastern Oregon. Many districts in Harney and Grant Counties operate multi-grade classrooms and in many cases one-room schools (K-8). In Harney County, professional development incorporates field/classroom-based workshops, face-to-face interactions with staff from Malheur Field Station, and online opportunities to build professional community among widely dispersed schools.

Workshop activities integrate themes from Earth/space, life, and physical science content for 4-8 grades organized around the role of water in shaping high steppe landscapes of this region. In Grant County, professional development in the Dayville, Monument, and Long Creek districts focuses on building multi-year curriculum that integrates programs offered through Hancock Field Station with natural resources themes within the districts.

Professional development activities are embedded with student opportunities. The two approaches to professional development draw on the cultural and physical resources of the landscapes in which these districts operate and models the multi-grade, subject integrated classroom environments in which most teachers work.