ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the authors draw on the K-12 and adult literacy education research literature to examine two topics: what is known about what makes teacher professional development effective, and how teachers change as a result of professional development. They begin to frame a review of how teacher professional development can promote student learning by first summarizing the state of professional development in ABE and grounding their discussion in those realities. Short-term or one-session workshops, trainings, seminars, lectures, and conference sessions are the mainstay of the traditional professional development model. Given its prevalence in education, however, recent K-12 reviews and studies have outlined the design elements and conditions under which the traditional professional development model can be most successful at promoting change or affecting student achievement. Professional development under the job-embedded model is located within a school, program, or other local context as part of an effort to create ongoing professional communities.
