Professional development tune-up.

NATIONAL Science Foundation (U.S.); CAREER development; TEACHER development; ELEMENTARY school teachers; PREPAREDNESS; SCIENCE education

Given the time and resources invested in teacher professional development, it is important to find ways to extend positive outcomes over the long term. Judith Haymore Sandholtz, Cathy Ringstaff, and Jessica Triant investigated whether modest follow-up supports influenced the sustainability of outcomes for elementary school teachers who had previously participated in science education professional development programs. Results indicate that follow-up supports reversed declines (in the years after the professional development ended) in teachers' sense of preparedness to teach science, use of selected instructional strategies, and implementation of inquiry-based student activities in science. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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