The Role of Staff Development in the Improvement of Reading Instruction

More is known about the effective teaching of reading than is reflected in classroom practice. The critical link in the chain from research findings to classroom practices is staff development. A staff development model was designed, based upon the notions that change is a gradual and difficult process for teachers; that teachers vary widely in the competencies and readiness to learn; that a relationship should exist between staff development and school goals; that teachers are involved in identifying, planning, and providing staff development; and that effective staff development uses the best of what we know about effective teaching. The model used a direct instructional approach involving six steps: (1) theory presentation; (2) demonstration; (3) guided practice; (4) classroom practice; (5) feedback; and (6) coaching. A reading strategy, Semantic Feature Analysis, is used to demonstrate application of the staff development model. (One table of data is included.) (SR)