Examining a Large-Scale Professional Development Program’s Impact on Reading Achievement
February 2013
Kevin Gee, assistant professor in the UC Davis School of Education, recently helped complete a large-scale study of the impact of a professional development program on reading achievement in Hawaii for the Institute for Educational Sciences.
This study examines the impact of the Pacific Communities with High Performance in Literacy Development (Pacific CHILD) professional development program on student achievement in reading comprehension and on teacher pedagogical knowledge and instructional practice in English language arts classes. Pacific CHILD is a two-year professional development program that trains fourth and fifth grade teachers in research-based reading comprehension strategies and instructional practices for enhancing student reading comprehension.
The study, which used a randomized design and involved 45 elementary schools across three entities in the Pacific region, found positive impacts of Pacific CHILD on reading comprehension and on teachers’ instructional practices and knowledge of theories and strategies related to effective reading instruction. Download the study here.
