Value Added

PDS2 can add value to the work of teachers, professional developers, and institutions committed to providing sustained, evidence-based professional development. PDS2 increases opportunities to observe and reflect on teaching and learning, helps prepare professional developers for their complex role, and increases the efficiency and coherence in school-based staff development work.

PDS2 Increases Opportunities to Observe and Reflect on Teaching & Learning
On-line access to the rich variety of video cases of actual classroom practice greatly increases opportunities for teachers to observe and reflect upon classroom practice. Teacher commentaries support this reflection on practice. A variety of related resources, such as FAQs and annotated bibliographies, help teachers build their content and theoretical knowledge. Sharing these resources and experiences in person and through the PDS2 on-line learning groups supports teacher-to-teacher and mentor-to-teacher communication and collaboration.

PDS2 Helps Prepare Professional Developers for a Complex Role
One of the most challenging aspects of preparing professional developers to take on school-based work is helping them learn to be effective classroom coaches. It takes practice to develop a repertoire of observation, analysis, and coaching skills. Providing them with access to PDS2 resources and tools during and after training classes creates "virtual" opportunities to hone these skills with peers.

PDS2 Increases Efficiency and Coherence in School-based Work
Having the rich library of shared PDS2 resources makes it more feasible for professional developers to plan and provide instructional guidance customized to individual teacher's needs. PDS2 also contains authoring and archiving features that allow professional developers to efficiently set up, organize, annotate, and save their own repository of professional development materials.

Recognized literacy experts carefully select all of the video cases in the PDS2 database and provide commentary, as well as professional development applications. This helps maintain a high level of consistency and quality in professional development activities across schools.