Understanding Teachers' Knowledge and Perceptions on Writing Through a Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) Professional Development Opportunity

Introduction

It is critical teachers be equipped with the skills necessary to effectively deliver quality evidence-based instruction. Teaching a subject often requires content knowledge that goes beyond what is learned in initial teacher education programs (Goldschmidt & Phelps, 2010) and targeted ongoing professional development (PD) plays a key role in helping teachers attain the required knowledge and skills (Ochsendorf & Taylor, 2016). There is a plethora of research documenting the continued need for effective PD opportunities for practicing teachers, especially PD that equips teachers with the skills to implement evidence-based practices (Harris, Graham, & Atkins, 2015; McKeown, FitzPatrick, & Sandmel, 2014; Plotner, Mazzotti, Rose, & Carlson-Britting, 2016).

Evidence-based practices are those instructional techniques with an adequate number of high-quality studies supporting their effectiveness at improving outcomes for a range of students (Cook & Odom, 2013; Cook, Smith, & Tankersley, 2012). While numerous evidence-based practices have been identified through research and their implementation is supported through federal law (i.e., Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Every Student Succeeds Act), there is a critical and vast divide between research and classroom implementation of identified evidence-based practices (Cook & Cook, 2011; Cook, Tankersley, Cook, & Landrum, 2008). Implementing evidence-based practices requires systemic change (Fixsen, Naoom, Blase, Friedman, & Wallace, 2005), change in teacher instructional routines and methods, as well as improved content and pedagogical knowledge (Cook, Tankersley, Cook, & Landrum, 2008; Torres, Farley, & Cook, 2012). Effective PD advances teacher knowledge, increases teacher skills, and improves teacher attitudes toward new practices, including routines and methods. In other words, effective PD can increase teachers’ willingness to implement specific procedures, leading to positive student outcomes (Desimone, 2009; Klinger, Boardman, & McMaster, 2013).

This study focuses on evidence-based PD on writing. Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) is an evidence-based instructional model often used to improve students’ writing. SRSD includes scaffolded and explicit instruction in the writing genre as well as in the self-regulatory behaviors needed to persist through the difficult task of writing. While there are hundreds of studies focusing on the effectiveness of SRSD on students’ writing quality (Lane, Harris, Graham et al., 2008), studies of PD for SRSD are limited. While there are studies on practice-based PD for SRSD (Harris, Lane, Graham et al., 2012b; Festas et al., 2015; McKeown, FitzPatrick, & Sandmel, 2014), their effect on teachers’ intention to implement and develop teachers’ views on writing are not known. Therefore, this study examines the effect PD addressing the SRSD instructional model has on inservice teachers’ understanding and views of the SRSD instructional model including their intention to implement SRSD, quality writing, and quality writing instruction.

The research questions guiding this investigation were: (1) Does a professional development opportunity on SRSD affect inservice teachers’ perceptions of quality writing and quality writing instruction? (2) Does a professional development opportunity affect inservice teachers’ knowledge and perceptions of and intention to implement the SRSD model of writing instruction?