Educator implementation of a professional development program

In order to drive educational reform and improve
student outcomes, attention must be paid to
maximizing the benefits of
teacher staff development. The
present study applied the Levels of Use framework to
examine teachers instructional practices following
a program designed to help educators more effectively
instruct students with learning
difficulties. Teacher implementation was found to
be positively associated with increased
participation in the program, increased number of
colleagues engaged in that same program, and
perceived administrator support for the program.
Further, implementation was not restricted by
teachers'' prior
professional backgrounds related to working with
students with learning difficulties.
Results of this study will be of relevance to
researchers concerned with forces that
influence teachers'' ongoing use of high quality
professional
development experiences, program developers seeking
to translate their programs into educators real
life settings, and administrators concerned with the
most effective ways to support the implementation of
staff development programs in which they have invested.

Autorentext
Tamara A. Nimkoff, PhD. Researcher and Program Evaluator: Degrees in Sociology and Special Education from the University of Georgia at Athens, and Educational Psychology, Measurement and Evaluation from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Klappentext
In order to drive educational reform and improve student outcomes, attention must be paid tomaximizing the benefits of teacher staff development. The present study applied the Levels of Use framework to examine teachers' instructional practices following a program designed to help educators more effectivelyinstruct students with learning difficulties. Teacher implementation was found to be positively associated with increased participation in the program, increased number of colleagues engaged in that same program, and perceived administrator support for the program. Further, implementation was not restricted byteachers' prior professional backgrounds related to working with students with learning difficulties. Results of this study will be of relevance toresearchers concerned with forces that influence teachers' ongoing use of high qualityprofessional development experiences, program developers seeking to translate their programs into educators' real life settings, and administrators concerned with the most effective ways to support the implementation of staff development programs in which they have invested.