Can Literacy Professional Development be Improved with Web-based Collaborative Learning Tools: A Randomized Field Trial

The purpose of this four-year research project funded by the U.S. Department of Education is to examine the effectiveness of Literacy Collaborative on the quality of teaching and learning in kindergarten through grade 3.  Dr. Anthony S. Bryk of Stanford University is the Principal Investigator of this research project. The study will also examine whether teaching can be improved through the use of web-based professional development resources to enhance teachers' learning about and use of the Literacy Collaborative instructional materials and methods. Data on literacy coordinators, teachers and students will be collected to examine the impact on students' literacy learning, literacy coordinators, on the professional development of teachers whom these literacy coordinators support in their schools. Eighteen schools in eight states, nine schools using the web-based tool and nine schools not using the tool, are participating in this randomized field trial. Value-added analysis of student outcomes will allow researchers to determine the value added to student learning in each classroom within each school over a three-year period. Differential effects by race/ethnicity or income status will also be explored.