Dr. Katherine Taylor
(202) 245-6716
Katherine.Taylor@ed.gov

PURPOSE
The Professional Development for Educators and School-Based Service Providers (Professional Development) topic supports research that contributes to the identification of effective strategies for improving the performance of teachers and other school-based service providers (e.g., related services) in ways that improve the educational outcomes of students with or at risk for disabilities from kindergarten through Grade 12.

This topic was developed to address a critical need for research on teachers and other school-based service providers who work with students with or at risk for disabilities. According to the most recent Schools and Staffing Survey, nearly two-thirds of public school teachers have not received professional development related to teaching students with disabilities in the past year. To help close the research-to-practice gap in special education, research is needed to better understand the knowledge and skills these professionals need to improve student outcomes as well as research to develop and test effective professional development programs. Research projects funded by this program have aimed to address this need and have resulted in professional development programs targeting a wide range of teacher knowledge and skills and subsequent student outcomes, including data-based decision-making to promote student achievement and instructional strategies to support student language, reading, and math outcomes.

PORTFOLIO SUMMARY
Since first released in 2007, NCSER has invested over $44 million in the Professional Development program to support projects across four research goals.

Exploration Projects
Development and Innovation Projects
Efficacy and Replication Projects
Measurement Projects

• Effective Teachers and Effective Teaching (NCER)
• National Center for Teacher Effectiveness: Validating Measures of Effective Math Teaching
• Teacher Effectiveness Evaluation Studies in the National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance
• Schools and Staffing Survey
• National Teacher and Principal Survey

RELATED PUBLICATIONS

• A Summary of Professional Development Research
• What Works Clearinghouse Practice Guide: Using Student Achievement Data to Support Instructional Decision Making
• Does Content-Focused Teacher Professional Development Work? Findings from Three Institute of Education Sciences Studies (NCEE Evaluation Brief)
• Focusing on Mathematical Knowledge: The Impact of Content-Intensive Teacher Professional Development (NCEE Report)

For a summary of NCSER-funded projects in Professional Development research, click here.