Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Professional development in a pandemic: transforming teacher knowledge of reading comprehension instruction

  • Research Article
  • Published:
Educational technology research and development Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

One of the most critical factors for improving the quality of instruction provided by classroom educators is teacher professional development. However, the recent COVID-19 pandemic and shift to virtual instruction impacted how teachers access and engage in professional development as well as how teacher trainers support new learning. The present research analyzed the association of reading comprehension practice-based professional development (PBPD) provided in a virtual setting during the COVID-19 pandemic with the changes in teachers’ understanding of using top-level structures to support reading comprehension. We used latent transition analysis to analyze the pre-and posttest scores of teachers (N = 409) participating in a 2-day web-based PBPD, which combined synchronous and asynchronous instruction through a Massively Open Online Virtual (MOOV) learning platform. We identified three classes of teachers: Poor Overall Understanding of top-level structure, Poor Understanding of Organization and Solution, and Good Overall Understanding of top-level structure. Transitioning from a class with Poor Overall Understanding at the pretest to a class with a deeper understanding at the posttest was associated with those participants who had better scores on asynchronous MOOV activities choreographed to support synchronous instruction. We discuss implications for future research and teacher training, especially those provided in a virtual environment.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

Data Availability

Not applicable.

References

  • Aaron, P. G., Joshi, R. M., Gooden, R., & Bentum, K. E. (2008). Diagnosis and treatment of reading disabilities based on the component model of reading: An alternative to the discrepancy model of LD. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 41(1), 67–84. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022219407310838

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Akaike, H. (1987). Factor analysis and AIC. Psychometrika, 52, 317–332.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ball, D. L., & Cohen, D. K. (1999). Developing practice, developing practitioners: Toward a practice-based theory of professional education. In G. Sykes, & L. Darling-Hammond (Eds.), Teaching as the learning profession: Handbook of policy and practice (pp. 3–32). San Francisco: Jossey Bass.

  • Beerwinkle, A. L. (2018). A quasi-experimental study of an intervention using the text structure strategy in grade 7 science (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from https://oaktrust.library.tamu.edu/handle/1969.1/174033

  • Beerwinkle, A. L., Wijekumar, K., Walpole, S., & Aguis, R. (2018). An analysis of the ecological components within a text structure intervention. Reading and Writing, 31(9), 2041–2064. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-018-9870-5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bembry, K., Jordan, H., Gomez, E., Anderson, M., & Mendro, R. (1998). Policy implications of long-term teacher effects on student achievement. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berlin, K. S., Williams, N. A., & Parra, G. R. (2014). An introduction to latent variable mixture modeling (part 1): Overview and cross-sectional latent class and latent profile analyses. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 39, 174–187.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boegaerds-Hazenberg, S. T. M., Evers-Vermeul, J., & van den Bergh, H. (2020). A meta-analysis on the effects of text structure instruction on reading comprehension in the upper elementary grades. Reading Research Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1002/rrq.311

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cain, K., Oakhill, J., & Elbro, C. (2020). Reading comprehension: From research to practice. The Reading League Journal, 1(3), 32–40.

    Google Scholar 

  • Celeux, G., & Soromenho, G. (1996). An entropy criterion for assessing the number of clusters in a mixture model. Journal of Classification, 13, 195–212.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Connor, C. M. (2016). A lattice model of the development of reading comprehension. Child Development Perspectives, 10(4), 269–274. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12200

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Conroy, M. A., Sutherland, K. S., Granger, K. L., Marcoulides, K. M., Huang, K., & Montesion, A. (2022). Preliminary study of the effects of BEST in CLASS—Web on young children’s social-emotional and behavioral outcomes. Journal of Early Intervention, 44(1), 78–96. https://doi.org/10.1177/10538151211018662

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Darling-Hammond, L., & McLaughlin, M. W. (2011). Policies that support professional development in an era of reform. Phi Delta Kappan, 92(6), 81–92. https://doi.org/10.1177/003172171109200622

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Desimone, L. M. (2009). Improving impact studies of teachers’ profes- sional development: Toward better conceptualizations and measures. Educational Researcher, 38, 181–200. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X08331140

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Desimone, L. M. (2011). A primer on effective professional development. Phi Delta Kappan, 92(6), 68–71. https://doi.org/10.1177/003172171109200616

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Desimone, L. M., & Garet, M. S. (2015). Best practices in teachers’ professional development in the United States. Psychology, Society and Education, 7, 252–263.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ehri, L. C., & Flugman, B. (2018). Mentoring teachers in systematic phonics instruction: Effectiveness of an intensive year-long program for Kindergarten through 3rd grade teachers and their students. Reading and Writing, 31, 425–456. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-017-9792-7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fishman, B., Konstantopoulos, S., Kubitskey, B. W., Vath, R., Park, G., Johnson, H., & Edelson, D. C. (2013). Comparing the impact of online and face-to-face professional development in the context of curriculum implementation. Journal of Teacher Education, 64(5), 426–438. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022487113494413

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garet, M. S., Cronen, S., Eaton, M., Kurki, A., Ludwig, M., Jones, W., Uekawa, K., Falk, A., Bloom, H. S., Doolittle, F., Zhu, P., & Sztejnberg, L. (2008). The impact of two professional development interventions on early reading instruction and achievement (NCEE 2008–4030). Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance.

  • Garet, M. S., Porter, A. C., Desimone, L., Birman, B. F., & Yoon, K. S. (2001). What makes professional development effective? Results from a national sample of teachers. American Educational Research Journal, 38, 915–945. https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312038004915

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goldfeld, S., Snow, P., Eadie, P., Munro, J., Gold, L., Orsini, F., Connell, J., Stark, H., Watts, A., & Shingles, B. (2021). Teacher knowledge of oral language and literacy constructs: Results of a randomized controlled trial evaluating the effectiveness of a professional learning intervention. Scientific Studies of Reading, 25(1), 1–30. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888438.2020.1714629

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harris, K. R., Lane, K. L., Graham, S., Driscoll, S. A., Sandmel, K., Brindle, M., & Schatschneider, C. (2012). Practice-based professional development for self-regulated strategies development in writing: A randomized controlled study. Journal of Teacher Education, 63(2), 103–119. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022487111429005

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hartshorne, R., Baumgartner, E., Kaplan-Rakowski, R., Mouza, C., & Ferdig, R. E. (2020). Special issue editorial: preservice and inservice professional development during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Technology and Teacher Education, 28(2), 137–147.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hebert, M., Bohaty, J. J., Nelson, J. R., & Brown, J. (2016). The effects of text structure instruction on expository reading comprehension: A meta-analysis. Journal of Educational Psychology, 108(5), 609–629. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000082

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holzinger, A. (2004). Rapid prototyping to the user interface development for a virtual medical campus. IEEE Software, 21(1), 92–99. https://doi.org/10.1109/MS.2004.1259241

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hudson, A. K. (2022). Upper elementary teachers’ knowledge of reading comprehension, classroom practice, and student’s performance in reading comprehension. Reading Research Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1002/rrq.491

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hudson, A. K., Moore, K. A., Han, B., Wee Koh, P., Binks-Cantrell, E., & Joshi, R. M. (2021). Elementary teachers’ knowledge of foundational literacy skills: A critical piece of the puzzle in the science of reading. Reading Research Quarterly, 56(S1), S287–S315. https://doi.org/10.1002/rrq.408

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karchmer-Klein, R., & Pytash, K. E. (Eds.). (2020). Effective Practices in Online Teacher Preparation for Literacy Educators. IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-0206-8

  • Kendeou, P., & van den Broek, P. (2007). The effects of prior knowledge and text structure on comprehension processes during reading of scientific texts. Memory and Cognition, 35, 1567–1577. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03193491

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lantz-Andersson, A., Lundin, M., & Selwyn, N. (2018). Twenty years of online teacher communities: A systematic review of formally-organized and informally-developed professional learning groups. Teaching and Teacher Education, 75, 302–315. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2018.07.008

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lo, Y., Mendell, N. R., & Rubin, D. B. (2001). Testing the number of components in a normal mixture. Biometrika, 88, 767–778.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Masters, J., De Kramer, R. M., O’Dwyer, L. M., Dash, S., & Russell, M. (2010). The effects of online professional development on fourth grade English language arts teachers’ knowledge and instructional practices. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 43, 355–375. https://doi.org/10.2190/EC.43.3.e

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCutchen, D., Harry, D. R., Cunningham, A. E., Cox, S., Sidman, S., & Covill, A. E. (2002). Reading teachers’ knowledge of children’s literature and English phonology. Annals of Dyslexia, 52, 205–228. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11881-002-0013-x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McKeown, D., Fitzpatrick, E., & Sandmel, K. (2014). SRSD in practice: Creating a professional development experience for teachers to meet the writing needs of students with EBD. Behavioral Disorders, 40(1), 15–25. https://doi.org/10.17988/0198-7429-40.1.15

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McLachlan, G., & Peel, D. (2000). Mixtures of factor analyzers. In In Proceedings of the Seventeenth International Conference on Machine Learning.

  • Meyer, B. J. F. (1975). The organization of prose and its effects on memory. North-Holland.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meyer, B. J. F., Brandt, D. M., & Bluth, G. J. (1980). Use of top-level structure in text: Key for reading comprehension of ninth-grade students. Reading Research Quarterly, 16(1), 72. https://doi.org/10.2307/747349

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meyer, B. J. F., & Poon, L. W. (2001). Effects of structure strategy training and signaling on recall of text. Journal of Educational Psychology, 93(1), 141–159. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.93.1.141

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meyer, B. J. F., Wijekumar, K., Middlemiss, W., Higley, K., Lei, P., Meier, C., & Spielvogel, J. (2010). Web-based tutoring of the structure strategy with or without elaborated feedback or choice for fifth- and seventh-grade readers. Reading Research Quarterly, 45(1), 62–92.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moats, L. C. (2009). Knowledge foundations for teaching reading and spelling. Reading and Writing, 22, 379–399. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-009-9162-1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • National Research Council. (2007). Enhancing professional development for teachers: Potential uses of information technology: Report of a workshop. The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/11995.

  • Pearson, P. D., & Cervetti, G. N. (2015). Fifty years of reading comprehension theory and practice. Research-based practices for teaching Common Core literacy, 1–24.

  • Piasta, S. B., Connor, C. M., Fishman, B. J., & Morrison, F. J. (2009). Teachers’ knowledge of literacy concepts, classroom practices, and student reading growth. Scientific Studies of Reading, 13(3), 224–248. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888430902851364

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pittman, R. T., Zhang, S., Binks-Cantrell, E., Hudson, A., & Joshi, R. M. (2020). Teachers’ knowledge about language constructs related to literacy skills and student achievement in low socio-economic status schools. Dyslexia, 26, 200–219. https://doi.org/10.1002/dys.1628

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pyle, N., Vasquez, A. C., LignugarisKraft, B., Gillam, S. L., Reutzel, D. R., Olszewski, A., Segura, H., Hartzheim, D., Laing, W., & Pyle, D. (2017). Effects of expository text structure interventions on comprehension: A meta-analysis. Reading Research Quarterly, 52(4), 469–501. https://doi.org/10.1002/rrq.179

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reutzel, D. R., Jones, C. D., Clark, S. K., & Kumar, T. (2016). The informational text structure survey (ITS2): An exploration of primary grade teachers’ sensitivity to text structure in young children’s informational texts. The Journal of Educational Research, 109(1), 81–98. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220671.2014.918927

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ryoo, J. H., Wang, C., Swearer, S. M., Hull, M., & Shi, D. (2018). Longitudinal model building using latent transition analysis: An example using school bullying data. Frontiers in Psychology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00675

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schmalhofer, F., McDaniel, M. A., & Keefe, D. (2002). A unified model for predictive and bridging inferences. Discourse Processes, 33, 105–132. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15326950DP3302_01

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schwarz, G. (1978). Estimating the dimension of a model. The Annals of Statistics, 6, 461–464.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sclove, S. L. (1987). Application of model-selection criteria to some problems in multivariate analysis. Psychometrika, 52, 333–343.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Snow, C. E., Barnes, W. S., Chandler, J., Goodman, I. F., & Hemphill, L. (1991). Unfulfilled expectations: Home and school influences on literacy. Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wijekumar, K., Beerwinkle, A. L., Harris, K. R., & Graham, S. (2019). Etiology of teacher knowledge and instructional skills for literacy at the upper elementary grades. Annals of Dyslexia, 69(1), 5–20. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11881-018-00170-6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wijekumar, K., Beerwinkle, A. L., McKeown, D., Zhang, S., & Joshi, R. M. (2020). The “GIST” of the reading comprehension problem in grades 4 and 5. Dyslexia, 26(3), 323–340. https://doi.org/10.1002/dys.1647

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wijekumar, K., Meyer, B. J. F., & Lei, P. (2012). Large-scale randomized controlled trial with 4th graders using intelligent tutoring of the structure strategy to improve nonfiction reading comprehension. Educational Technology Research and Development, 60(6), 987–1013. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-012-9263-4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wijekumar, K., Meyer, B. J. F., & Lei, P. (2013). High-fidelity implementation of web-based intelligent tutoring system improves fourth and fifth graders content area reading comprehension. Computers and Education, 68, 366–379. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2013.05.021

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wijekumar, K., Meyer, B. J. F., Lei, P., Lin, Y., Johnson, L. A., Spielvogel, J. A., Shurmatz, K. M., Ray, M., & Cook, M. (2014). Multisite randomized controlled trial examining intelligent tutoring of structure strategy for Fifth-Grade Readers. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 7(4), 331–357. https://doi.org/10.1080/19345747.2013.853333

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wijekumar, K., Meyer, B. J. F., & Lei, P. (2017). Web-based text structure strategy instruction improves seventh graders’ content area reading comprehension. Journal of Educational Psychology, 109(6), 741–760. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000168

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wijekumar, K., Meyer, B. J. F., Lei, P., Hernandez, A. C., & August, D. L. (2018). Improving content area reading comprehension of Spanish speaking English learners in Grades 4 and 5 using web-based text structure instruction. Reading and Writing, 31(9), 1969–1996. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-017-9802-9

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The research reported here was supported by the U.S. Department of Education Supporting Effective Educator Development (SEED) Grant (U423A180074) to Texas A&M University. The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not represent the views of the U.S. Department of Education.

Funding

Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, U423A180074, Kausalai (Kay) Wijekumar

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. American Institutes for Research, Arlington, USA

    Alida K. Hudson

  2. Texas A&M University- College Station, College Station, USA

    Kacee Lambright, Kausalai Wijekumar & Debra McKeown

  3. University of Saint Joseph, West Hartford, USA

    Shuai Zhang

  4. University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Knoxville, USA

    Julie Owens

Authors
  1. Alida K. Hudson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Kacee Lambright
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Shuai Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Kausalai Wijekumar
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Julie Owens
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Debra McKeown
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alida K. Hudson.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors have not disclosed any competing interests.

Ethical approval

The authors report that there are no conflicts of interest. The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose. This study, which involved human participants, was in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. The project was approved by the internal review board (IRB) at Texas A&M University (IRB2015-0583D). Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Hudson, A.K., Lambright, K., Zhang, S. et al. Professional development in a pandemic: transforming teacher knowledge of reading comprehension instruction. Education Tech Research Dev 71, 1965–1991 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-023-10267-4

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-023-10267-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation