COLLABORATIVE PARTNERSHIP HELPS TEACHERS LEARN TO USE STANDARDS-BASED LESSONS AND ANALYZE DATA.

This qualitative case study documented the presentation of a standards-based workshop to three groups of teachers. Collaboration of business, government and education groups created these professional development workshops for teachers. The sites for the workshops included one urban setting and one suburban setting. Three workshops composed of three once a month sessions were presented (two in the urban district, one in the suburban district) and analyzed to reveal the beliefs teachers held regarding: standards-based lessons, the use of technology for lesson plans and data analysis. The most glaring needs of these teachers were the abilities to collect and record data from student work, analyze the data, and reporting the conclusions reached from those analyses. Recommendations were made for incorporating more opportunities for teachers to engage in collaborative planning and examinations of teaching methods. The information gained from this study should be useful to any districts that are trying to answer the question “What is quality professional development and what are some creative ways to fund it?”