GLATTHORN
Cooperative Professional
Development:
Peer-Centered Options
for Teacher Growth
When districts provide supporting
conditions, teachers can work together in
small teams, using a variety of collaborative
methods, for their professional growth.
n encouraging development in
instructional supervision is the
widespread interest in peercentered options such as "cooperative
development" (Glatthorn 1984), "col
league consultation" (Goldsberry
1986), and "peer coaching" (Brandt
1987). Cooperative professional devel
opment is the inclusive term used
here to embrace these and other
forms of peer-oriented systems. My
experience in helping numerous
school districts implement such pro
grams convinces me of the need to
clarify the concept, systematize the
approaches, and synthesize what has
been learned about effective
implementation.
Professional Dialogue
Professional dialogue occurs when
small groups of teachers meet regular
ly for the guided discussion of their
own teaching as it relates to current
developments in education. The ob
FOCUS
1.
Professional
dialogue
2.
4.
Curriculum
development
Peer
supervision
Peer coaching
5.
Action research
3.
Reflection
about
practice
Production
of materials
Analysis of
teaching
Mastery of
skills
Solving of
problems
DISTINGUISHING FEATURES
Guided discussion, focusing on teaching as
thinking
Collaborative development of curriculum, using
naturalistic processes
Observation of instruction, followed by analysis
and feedback
Development of specific skills, usually based on
models of teaching and supported with staff
development
Development and implementation of feasible
solutions to teacher-identified problems
Curriculum Development
Curriculum development, as the term
is used here, is a cooperative enter
prise among teachers by which they
modify the district curriculum guide
While there is obviously a need for a
district curriculum guide developed
by curriculum specialists and expert
teachers, there is also a need for teach
er-generated materials that extend the
district guide and in the process make
it more useful.
Teachers' collaborative work can
take three forms. First, when teachers
operationalize the curriculum, they
develop yearly and unit plans for
teaching. They take the general district
guide, which ordinarily includes only
lists of objectives and recommended
teaching methods, and turn it into a set
.NAj. UAI>KRMIIF>
Peer Supervision
Peer supervision is a process by which
small teams of teachers use the essen
tial components of clinical supervision
to help each other grow professional
ly. Although there are several models
of peer supervision, Gojdsberry's
(1986) "colleague consultation" ap
proach seems to be the most systemat
ic (He rejects the term peer supeniNOVEMBER 1987
"Students of coached
teachers had greater
achievement on a
model-relevant test
than did students of
uncoached
teachers."
Peer Coaching
"Collaborative
research ... can
close the gap
between 'doing
research' and
'implementing
research findings.'
34
Action Research
Action research is a collaborative effort
by teams of teachers to identify an
important problem and to develop a
workable solution. As a means of solv
ing school problems, action research
was first recommended by Stephen
Corey (1953). After languishing for a
few decades as a research approach, it
seems to be enjoying a revival of
interest.
As with most collaborative ap
proaches, action research takes several
forms. A very useful model has been
Implementing Cooperative
Professional Development
How can a school district implement a
cooperative development program?
The answer involves both a general set
of supportive conditions and a specific
process of implementation The gen
eral conditions needed for successful
implementation, summarized in Fig
ure 2, have been drawn from a review
of literature on the several forms of
cooperative development. Since the
research has been limited in extent
and uneven in quality, those condi
tions should be viewed as tentative
guidelines.
If these conditions are generally
present, then what specific process
should be used? Clearly, several im
plementation strategies can work. The
process explained below derives from
my experience in working with nu
merous school districts in establishing
such programs.
EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP
References
1 A district planning team com
posed of district administrators, super
visors, principals, and classroom Branch, R S. "On Teachers Coaching
Teachers: A Conversation with Bruce
teachers establishes guidelines to ap
Joyce " Educational Leadership 44. 5
ply to all district schools. Those guide
(1987): 12-1T
lines specify such matters as: which Buchmann, M. "Improving Education by
the
at
offered
be
may
program options
Talking: Argument or Conversation?"
school level; which teachers will be
Teachers College KecordSd ( 1985): 441eligible to participate in the coopera
453.
Clark, C M , and P. L Peterson. "Teachers'
tive programs; how schools may pro
Thought Processes' In Handbook of
vide time for the cooperative pro
Researd) on Teacljing. 3d ed., edited by
grams; how the programs may be
M C Wittrock. pp 255-296 New York:
evaluated; how the program will be
Macmillan, 1986
administered and coordinated at the
Cores', S. M. Action Research to Improve
district level.
Sdx>ol Practices New York: Teachers
2 Under the leadership of their
College Press. Columbia University,
principal, each scrKxils faculty mem
1953
bers review the guidelines and analyze Glatthorn. A. A Differentiated Supervision
the various collaborative options. They
Alexandria, Va.: Association for Supervi
sion and Curriculum Development.
determine how many and which of the
1984.
collaborative programs they wish to
undertake, then work out the specific Glatthorn. A A. Curriculum Renewal Alex
andria, Va.: Association for Supervision
details of implementing those pro
and Curriculum Development, 198~.
grams. One school might decide to
Goldsberry, 1. F "Reality Really?" Educa
begin with only peer coaching. Anoth
tional Leaderstiip 4 1. 10 (1984)
er might chcx)se to have some teach
Goldsberry, L F "Colleague Consultation:
ers experience professional dialogues,
Another Case of Fools Rush In Paper
while others collaborate in action re
presented at the annual meeting of the
search. These decisions are summa
American Educational Research Associa
tion, San Francisco. April 1986
rized in a proposal submitted to the
Lieberman, A "Collaborative Research:
district planning team.
Working With. Not Working On
3 The district planning team re
Educational Leaders/yip 43 (February
views the proposals, suggests modifi
1986): 28-32
cations, develops a budget to support
McFaul, S. A., and I M Cooper "Peer
the school-based proposals, and
Clinical Supervision: Theory vs. Reality."
makes appropriate plans for any re
Educational Leadersltip 4 1 (April 1984):
quired districtwide staff development.
4-9
4. Each school implements its own Roper. S. S. and D. E lloffman Collegial
program, providing the specific staff
Support for Professional Improvement:
TI.W Stanford Collegial F.ialuation Pro
development needed for the options
gram. Eugene: Oregon School Study
chosen and conducting its own
Council, University of Oregon. 1986
evaluation
The implementation process, like Schon. D A. Tix Re/lean? Practitioner:
Hou' Professionals Tlrink in Action. New
the programs themselves, is collabora
York: Basic Books, 1983
tive, involving ax>peration between Showers, B Peer Coaclnng: A Strategy for
schools
member
the
the district and
Facilitating Tranter of Training Eu
and between administrators, supervi
gene: Center for Educational Policy and
sors, and teachers.
Management, University of Oregon,
1984.
Tikunoff, W, B Ward, and G Griffin "In
teractive Research and Development on
Teaching: Final Report." San Francisco:
Far West Laboratory for Educational Re
search and Development, 1979
Allan A. Glatthorn is Visiting Professor at
North Carolina State University and Profes
sor of Education at East Carolina Universi
ty. He can be reached at 102A Speight. East
Carolina University, Greenville, NC 2^834.
Practical Strategies
for the Teaching
ofThinking
Barry K. Beyer
Including...
Proven strategies
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-David N. Perkins, Harvard University
(from the Foreword)
1987 300pp. S30.95
ISBN 0-205-105440
35