Professional Development Survey results point to ways to attract and retain high quality Oregon teachers
Contact:
Liesl Wendt
Chalkboard Project
503.542.4325
liesl@chalkboardproject.org
Courtney Vanderstek
Oregon Education Association
503.684.3300
cvanderstek@oregoned.org
Portland - October 15, 2008 - Results from a recent large-scale survey of more than 2,000 teachers from around the state indicate overwhelming support for robust professional development as a central tenet to improving teaching and learning in the classroom. The Oregon Education Association (OEA) and the Chalkboard Project jointly sponsored the survey, conducted May 2008 by researchers from the Teaching Research Institute at Western Oregon University. The two organizations share a common goal to strengthen professional development opportunities for teachers.
Research has shown that educators get better results from their students after engaging in learning opportunities with other educators in classes, seminars and workshops on how to learn and grow in their profession. Research also shows that providing quality professional opportunities help attract and retain quality educators in the profession.
“This survey confirms what we’ve suspected for quite some time: Oregon teachers place a high value on improving their professional expertise in the classroom. We need to do everything possible to give every teacher the support they need to be a world-class educator,” said Courtney Vanderstek, assistant executive director at the OEA.
More than 75 percent of the teachers responding said they implemented what they had learned from professional development opportunities and their students benefitted from their training. More experienced teachers value professional development focused on teaching methods. When professional development is focused on content, high school teachers found it more valuable while elementary school teachers found development in the areas of reading, writing, critical thinking and problem solving as having the most impact on student learning.
Oregon has been tapped to host a statewide policy forum on “The Future of Teaching”. The Chalkboard Project, OEA and statewide education partners will be hosting the forum on teaching November 18th at Oregon Public Broadcasting. The National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future (NCTAF) and the MetLife Foundation sponsor the forums across the country to call attention to quality teaching including providing opportunities for professional development and teacher collaboration.
“Chalkboard believes educators have unlimited power to grow and excel. The upcoming forum gives Oregon an opportunity to highlight the importance of teaching. We know teachers need support and time to collaborate so they can more actively engage students in powerful teaching and learning. The survey results highlight how important teacher professional development is in order to make significant strides in student learning,” said Sue Hildick, Chalkboard Project president.
Click to view the survey results
About OEA
The Oregon Education Association represents nearly 48,000 elementary and secondary teachers, community college faculty, education support professionals, retired educators and students preparing to become teachers. The purpose of the OEA is to assure quality public education for every student n Oregon by providing a strong, positive voice for school employees and to help members achieve professional experience. For more information, check out www.oregoned.org.
About Chalkboard Project
Launched in early 2004, Chalkboard Project exists to inspire Oregonians to do what it takes to make the state’s K-12 public schools among the nation’s best, while strengthening our school system’s financial accountability to taxpayers. Chalkboard aims to help create a more informed and engaged public who understand and address the tough choices and trade-offs required to build strong schools, and to enable statewide programs that can be applied at the local level to improve school quality, accountability, and funding. To date, Chalkboard has connected with about 100,000 Oregonians, asking for their best ideas to strengthen the state’s K-12 public schools. It also has partnered with other education organizations to create the Open Book$ Web site (www.openbooksproject.org) to track school district spending.
Chalkboard – an initiative of Foundations for a Better Oregon – is sponsored by a growing list of independent foundations. The founding five foundations are: The Collins Foundation, The Ford Family Foundation, Jeld-Wen Foundation, Meyer Memorial Trust, and The Oregon Community Foundation. For more information about Chalkboard and to learn how to get involved, call (877) YOUR-K12 or visit www.chalkboardproject.org.
