When planning professional development for in-service teachers, it is critical to select a provider who prioritizes delivering knowledge about the science of reading. Understanding how the brain learns to read, what causes reading difficulties, and how to prevent and remediate them, is necessary for teachers to effectively apply professional development to instructional practices, programs, and assessment.
It is also important to select a provider that is “curriculum-neutral,” so educators can build their professional knowledge separate from instructional materials, which will ultimately change as time moves on.
Finally, professional development should focus on Tier 1, whole-class instruction. Of course, educators must ensure that interventions are grounded in the science of reading and align with Tier 1 instruction. However, to achieve successful reading outcomes for up to 95% of students, core classroom instruction must result in 85% of students becoming proficient readers, so that only 10% require supplemental instruction. When professional development providers prioritize Tier 1 instruction and assessments are delivered with maximum effectiveness, the majority of students will benefit.
Other important considerations include the following:
- School administrators must understand the science of reading to appreciate its potential to improve low reading performance. Purchasing curricula alone has long been a common but ineffective, short‑lived response.
- School administrators should attend the same professional development as their educators to model commitment, make evaluations and decisions about materials more effective, and ensure systems support evidence-aligned reading instruction across grades.
- All school staff—administration, classroom teachers, and specialists—must join interactive professional development so instruction across tiers is cohesive and consistent. Virtual modules can introduce the science of reading, but sustained, hands‑on learning with all staff is required to build a lasting professional culture; single, one‑off sessions are ineffective and should be avoided.
- Professional development training is most successful when knowledgeable coaches or experts can support educators in implementing the newly learned practices in their classrooms.
- Professional development should cover the full instructional system—not just phonemic awareness or phonics. Schools must implement evidence-aligned assessment, materials, instruction, and systems to support word recognition, language comprehension, English‑learner development, content knowledge, and writing.