Effective Teacher Professional Development
New Theory and a Meta-Analytic Test
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21381035 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sam Sims (0000-0002-5585-8202, University College London, corresponding author), Harry Fletcher-Wood (0000-0001-7016-8704, Independent researcher), Alison O'Mara‐Eves (0000-0002-0359-6423, University College London), Sarah Cottingham (Ambition Institute), Charles Stansfield (0000-0002-0718-0409, University College London), Claire Stansfield (University College London), Josh Goodrich (Steplab), Jo Van Herwegen (0000-0001-5316-1818), Jake Anders (0000-0003-0930-2884, University College London) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 95 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 213-254 |
| Publication date | 2025-04-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Review of Educational Research (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0034-6543 • E-ISSN: 1935-1046 |
| Publisher | American Educational Research Association (AERA) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.3102/00346543231217480 |
| OpenAlex | W4390270914 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 49 |
| References cited | 125 |
Multiple meta-analyses have now documented small positive effects of teacher professional development (PD) on pupil test scores. However, the field lacks any validated explanatory account of what differentiates more from less effective in-service training. As a result, researchers have little in the way of advice for those tasked with designing or commissioning better PD. We set out to remedy this by developing a new theory of effective PD based on combinations of causally active components targeted at developing teachers’ insights, motivating change, developing teaching techniques, and then embedding these changes in teachers’ practice. We test two important implications of the theory using data identified through a systematic review and meta-analysis of 104 randomized controlled trials, finding qualified empirical support for the theory. The main contribution of the article is to provide a testable theory of what makes PD more effective, which can be used to guide future empirical research on this topic
Development theory · Empirical research · Epistemology · Field (mathematics) · Mathematics education · Meta-analysis · Pedagogy · Professional development · Set (abstract data type) · Test (biology) · Collaborative Teaching and Inclusion · Computer Science · Mathematics · Medicine · Parental Involvement in Education · Psychology · Teacher Education and Leadership Studies
Global insights on lesson study in initial teacher education
How and why do teachers’ participation in professional development and collaboration with colleagues differ across countries
Teacher Professional Development for Reading
STEM Faculty Professional Development
Liderazgo directivo escolar para el aprendizaje profesional docente en tiempos de cambio
Understanding the heterogeneity of effects of teacher professional development
Bridging policy and practice
Exploring Self-Study as Professional Development
Designing pedagogical AI agents as digital twins of teachers
The Powerful Teacher
Design and effectiveness of professional development programmes to support teachers in promoting students’ scientific inquiry competencies
Simplism in Education or Why ‘Rocket Science’ Isn’t a Good Analogy
Does literacy intervention program impact pupils' learning outcomes? evidence from the unlock literacy program in Handeni district, Tanzania
From workshop to classroom
Teacher training and curriculum implementation in universities in Somaliland
The Impact of Online Video-Based Teacher Professional Development on Instructional Practices and Student Achievement in Biology
Lesson Study as a Professional Development Model for Teaching Spatial Ability in Primary STEM
From Online Video-Based Professional Development to Differentiated Teaching
Promoting Effective Vocational Education and Training Teacher’s Professional Development and Its Transfer to Practice
Investigating the STEM Teacher Professional Development and Learning Path Towards Changes in Student Spatial Ability
Searching for Stages of Effective Teaching in the Maldives
Assessing Complex Skills in a Virtual Reality Context
Developing Inclusive Educators
Transferring Results of Professional Development into Practice
Rethinking Professional Development
Professional Development and Teacher Research in Initial Teacher Education
Teachers’ trajectories of technology integration during participation in an online professional development program
Deradicalization Strategy
Heterogeneity in teacher knowledge growth across reading comprehension dimensions following professional development
A systematic review of teacher engagement in digital multimodal composing
Professional development through the lens of educator well-being
Decomposition and recomposition
Patterns of engagement with professional development among in-service primary music teachers in China and their associations with teaching readiness, school identification, and job satisfaction
How Principals' Systems Thinking Shapes Teacher Team Effectiveness
Transforming Teacher Education
Modelling evidence-based practice in initial teacher training
Generative AI for Teachers’ Self-Directed Professional Development
A critical review and meta-analysis of studies investigating the effects of the professional development teachers typically receive
Exploring the Influence of a STEM CPD Programme on the STEM Self-Efficacy of Northern Irish Primary Teachers
Nested networks and neighbour interactions
Potentials and pitfalls of design-based research on lesson study
Navigating professional growth in rural China
Teacher continuing professional development in formative assessment
How can AI be integrated into teacher professional development programs? A systematic review based on an adapted technology-based learning model
A scoping review of the components of effective teacher in-service professional development in inclusive education
Why do people choose to enter and exit the teaching profession? An interdisciplinary quantitative synthesis
The AI 3 Model
Effectiveness Research for Teacher Education
Assessing Professional Development on Experimentation as a Method of Inquiry‐Based Science Teaching Framework and Principal Results
Cognitive Architecture and Instructional Design
Contour-enhanced meta-analysis funnel plots help distinguish publication bias from other causes of asymmetry
Effects of Feedback in a Computer-Based Learning Environment on Students’ Learning Outcomes
Working Memory
Unveiling Professional Development
The Effect of Teacher Coaching on Instruction and Achievement
Implementation Intentions and Goal Achievement
Is It a Challenge or a Threat? A Dual-Process Model of Teachers' Cognition and Appraisal Processes During Conceptual Change
Cognitive load theory in health professional education
Toward an Instructionally Oriented Theory of Example‐Based Learning
How Does Professional Development Improve Teaching?
Multicultural Education Professional Development
The Icap Framework
Robust variance estimation with dependent effect sizes: practical considerations including a software tutorial in Stata and spss
P-curve
Can Instructional and Emotional Support in the First-Grade Classroom Make a Difference for Children at Risk of School Failure?
Strengthening the Research Base That Informs STEM Instructional Improvement Efforts
Self-Monitoring in Weight Loss
Teacher learning in the context of educational innovation
What Makes Professional Development Effective?
"How Does It Work?" versus "What Are the Laws?"
Does Simulation-Based Medical Education With Deliberate Practice Yield Better Results Than Traditional Clinical Education? A Meta-Analytic Comparative Review of the Evidence
P -Curve and Effect Size
Measuring the Impacts of Teachers II
Identifying the characteristics of effective teacher professional development
Conceptualizing Teacher Professional Learning
Robust variance estimation in meta‐regression with dependent effect size estimates
Rethinking the Use of Tests
Eight Ways to Promote Generative Learning
Cognitive Load and Classroom Teaching
Mathematical Knowledge for Teaching and the Mathematical Quality of Instruction
Reframing Professional Development Through Understanding Authentic Professional Learning
Impact of In-Service Professional Development Programs for Early Childhood Teachers on Quality Ratings and Child Outcomes
Distribution Theory for Glass's Estimator of Effect size and Related Estimators
What is a mechanism? Thinking about mechanisms across the sciences
Better reporting of interventions
Why Minimal Guidance During Instruction Does Not Work
Effective Teacher Professional Development
Why Hypothesis Testers Should Spend Less Time Testing Hypotheses
Theory Construction Methodology
The Theory Crisis in Psychology
So Useful as a Good Theory? The Practicality Crisis in (Social) Psychological Theory
Short, Heavy and Underrated? Teacher Assessment Biases by Children's Body Size
At-scale, state-sponsored language and literacy professional development
The Essential Tension
Those Who Understand
Testing (quizzing) boosts classroom learning
How Methodological Features Affect Effect Sizes in Education
Immediate Changes, Trade-Offs, and Fade-Out in High-Quality Teacher Practices During Coaching
Professional Development Research
Interpreting Effect Sizes of Education Interventions
The Gifts of Athena
Praise
Capturing Teachers’ Generative Change
Connections Between Teachers’ Knowledge of Students, Instruction, and Achievement Outcomes
The Influence of Teachers’ Knowledge on Student Learning in Middle School Physical Science Classrooms
Using Knowledge of Children’s Mathematics Thinking in Classroom Teaching
Measuring Usable Knowledge
Improving Impact Studies of Teachers' Professional Development
The Behavior Change Technique Taxonomy (v1) of 93 Hierarchically Clustered Techniques
Teachers' Mathematical Knowledge, Cognitive Activation in the Classroom, and Student Progress
Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation
Networks as Learning Communities
Does Teacher Learning Last? Understanding How Much Teachers Retain Their Knowledge After Professional Development
Transforming Your Life
| Unique citing works | 49 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 24,5 |
| Citation span | 2024 - 2026 (3) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 45 |