Patterns of Teacher Professional Development in Florida Florida Joint Center for Citizenship October, 2008

Patterns of Teacher Professional Development in Florida Professional development resources are not distributed evenly across instructional areas Resources appear to be concentrated in areas where a teaching endorsement requires a specific number of hours of training and in areas that are tested by the FCAT Between 2004 and 2007, districts reported An average of 1.7 million hours of reading professional development An average of 1.2 million hours of bilingual education/ESOL professional development Both of these areas require a teaching endorsement

Patterns of Teacher Professional Development in Florida Between 2004 and 2007, districts reported an average of Over 500 thousand hours of computer education professional development Just under 300 thousand hours of mathematics professional development About 268 thousand hours of language arts professional development About 190 thousand hours of science professional development Reflecting the important relationship between assessment and professional development, science training increased by more than 47 percent in anticipation of a science FCAT Only about 79 thousand hours of social studies – which is not assessed – professional development

Professional Development: The Big Picture Source: Florida Department of Education. Data reflect all professional development reported by districts

Professional Development by Subject Source: Florida Department of Education. Data reflect all professional development reported by districts