DOMAIN F LITERATURE EARLY EDUCATION PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Literature Review of an
Article Supporting
Early Educator Professional Development

Courtney Burnett
TED690
Professor Johnson
National University
December 2016

DOMAIN F LITERATURE EARLY EDUCATION PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Abstract
I chose to review an article entitled Professional Development for Early
Childhood Educators: Effort to Improve Math and Science Learning
Opportunities in Early Childhood Classrooms. It was found in the Journal of
Educational Psychology and it supported the positivity found in professionally
developing teachers, especially those teaching early learners in the areas of
math and science. This links to the importance of our most recent activity
that had us looking forward to our professional future.

DOMAIN F LITERATURE EARLY EDUCATION PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Introduction
I chose to do a literature review on the importance of professional
development for educators in the early learners. I chose to review a journal
talking about this age group specifically because I teach first grade and this
age group directly applies to the grade level I teach. The journal caught my
attention even further because it stated that US students were lower
performing in math and science, and this is something I see at my own
school site. As a result of these findings the article urged the increase of
professional development for teachers, especially in teaching these areas of
study.
One thing I appreciated about the article, was it talked about math
talks and how they have been an effective teaching practice taught in
professional development for teachers teaching math. I see this
effectiveness in my own professional development courses I have taken. I
began using math talks after we were trained to do so with our new
Common Core curriculum. I agree with the article in suggesting to use these
strategies, because I have seen the effectiveness of this in my own
classroom.
The article went on to talk about the amount of time spent teaching
these subjects varied widely from classroom to classroom; Which could be a

DOMAIN F LITERATURE EARLY EDUCATION PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

reason for the lower performance among US students, in comparison to other

higher performing countries, in these subject areas. I can see this as true in
my own classroom, the longer amount of time I spend in the area of study,
they likely the students are to attain the information.
The article states that opportunities to learn math and science in early
childhood may also be limited by educators knowledge and preparation in
these areas. (Piasts, S. B., Logan, J. A. R., Pelatti, C. Y., Capps, J. L., Petrill, S.
A. 2015 p. 408) The article goes on to say that this could be because early
childhood educators frequently lack specific math and science content
knowledge. This is where the push and need for professional development,
specifically in these two subject areas need to be available for teachers
teaching in these younger age groups.
Conclusion
The article concludes that a sufficient amount of professional
development, especially in areas where students are lacking skill, leads to
teachers reporting positive impacts on their teaching perspectives as a
result of the professional development activities, specifically positive
awareness, morale, and confidence. (Piasts, S. B., Logan, J. A. R., Pelatti, C.
Y., Capps, J. L., Petrill, S. A. 2015 p. 409) What this resonates with me, is the
importance of this looking forward activity. It is having us look, as
professionals, into what can make us a better educator. I, as well as many of
colleagues in this course, have stated that a significant amount of

DOMAIN F LITERATURE EARLY EDUCATION PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

professional development is apart of our 5 year goal plan. This article

supports the ideal that professional development helps us to become better
professionals as educators.

Reference
Piasts, S. B., Logan, J. A. R., Pelatti, C. Y., Capps, J. L., Petrill, S. A. (2015)
Professional

Development for Early Childhood Educators: Effort to

Improve Math and Science

Learning Opportunities in Early Childhood Classrooms. Journal of
Educational
Psychology. 107(2) p.407-422.