PD That Works: Customizing Learning for Educators by What, Who, and How

Meta-analytic data illustrate it is easier to impact teachers’ skills than beliefs when professional development (PD) is intense, content-focused, and includes active participation. This panel applies findings and recommendations for designing PD for special education teachers across content and grade levels. Creating coaching relevant to teacher needs will be discussed.Participants will be able to: 1. Design and implement high-quality PD programs. 2. Gain the ability to integrate the high-quality components of effective PD, such as active participation, sustained duration, content focus, and relevance to teachers’ needs. 3. Learn to apply coaching strategies to systematically provide feedback to teachers. 4. Learn what PD elements are most effective for teacher learning in both reading and mathematics. 5. Learn more about effective PD and gaps in our knowledge to consider for future PD research, specifically related to special education. 6. Develop persuasive communication and advocacy skills to promote the adoption of research-based PD practices relevant to the students they teach.