HORIZONTALLY AND VERTICALLY INTEGRATED PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS FOR SCHOOLTEACHERS

Formal professional development is integral and mandatory for most schoolteachers in the United States. Princeton and Rider Universities in New Jersey collaborate in offering QUEST and CONNECT-ED, two programs that are research-based models of effective professional development. Both are designed to enhance teachers' knowledge of science and mathematics through hands-on experiments and/or fieldwork, to develop skills for teaching inquiry-based instruction, and to support teachers with ideas and lessons for classroom use. Participating teachers work in small groups and establish close ties to their colleagues and to the faculty.

QUEST, administered by Princeton University’s Program in Teacher Preparation, offers subject-specific summer workshops led by faculty who focus on content at an adult level. Faculty are assisted by “lead teachers” who help participants transform the content into inquiry-based classrooms lessons. QUEST continues during the school year with follow-up activities.

CONNECT-ED is administered by Rider University’s Teaching and Learning Center, and is a response to calls for improvement in the coherency of K-12 science and mathematics education. To emphasize the vertical connections between grade levels, CONNECT-ED offers Big Idea Modules (BIMs) developed by teams comprised of three teachers (representing elementary, middle and high school levels), a district administrator and a consortium scientist. BIM workshops are presented to other K-12 teachers in a variety of settings. In a BIM workshop, participants explore how concepts from different grade levels build understanding of selected big ideas in math and science. BIMs provide a rich, integrated learning experience that 1) models effective inquiry-based instruction, 2) addresses prior learning and builds towards future learning, 3) facilitates deeper understanding of concepts and connections, and 4) encourages reconsideration of teaching strategies and district curricula.

Financial support comes from the lead universities, outside grants, and the school districts of participating teachers. This broad base and the stability provided by Princeton and Rider University administrative support, has sustained 25 years of effective professional development for K-12 schoolteachers.