Peer Interaction Strengthens ECE Professional Development
Using Data to Improve Quality:Formal and Informal Mechanisms Supporting Professional Development in NYC’s Pre-K for All by Elise Cappella, Travis Cramer, C. Cybele Raver, LaRue Allen & Pamela Morris, NYU Steinhardt: Institute for Human Development and Social Change
This report provides a comprehensive look at early childhood educators' professional development in PreK for All programs. The mixed methods study explores three aims. The first aim investigates how teachers with different levels of teacher qualifications are distributed across UPK classrooms. The second aim examines the social networks that educators and other staff rely on to acquire and activate professional learning. The third aim delves deeper into social networks to examine the ways that administrators and teachers understand and use data about classroom quality to inform professional development and classroom practice. The findings suggest that teachers value training that use active learning principles and opportunities to plan how to implement professional development in classrooms. Additionally, the report provides information on the formal and informal channels used by teachers for knowledge dissemination.
