Teachers have access to a wide variety of professional development (PD) opportunities that can be pursued both individually and collaboratively, depending upon teacher or school needs. Examples include informal dialogue and reading professional literature; conferences, courses, workshops, and additional qualification programs; or participation in research, mentoring, or peer observation. In Canada, most school boards or districts schedule professional development days that address specific school or district issues and initiatives.
Across 23 participating countries in the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS), the three areas most frequently reported by teachers as areas of high professional development need include teaching students
526 526 525 522
16 19
Average scorei n science
Science Percentage
with special learning needs, information and communications technology (ICT) teaching skills, and student discipline and behaviour problems (OECD, 2009). In that study, the most frequently reported PD activities that teachers identified were informal dialogue to improve teaching, courses and workshops, and reading professional literature.
The relationship between teacher professional development and student achievement has been widely studied in education policy research. High‑achieving countries tend to place a relatively significant value on teacher professional development in hopes of improving student outcomes (Darling‑Hammond, 2014‑15). While some results suggest a positive, yet largely inconclusive, relationship between professional development and student achievement (Blank & de las Alas, 2009; Yoon, Duncan, Lee, Scarloss, & Sharpley, 2007), other studies point to a relative lack of evidence connecting such development to student outcomes (Opfer &
Pedder, 2011).
Mathematics and science teachers were asked whether they participated in PD activities in several areas, as shown in Tables 3.7 and 3.8. Mathematics teachers were asked about improving students’ problem‑solving skills while science teachers were asked about improving students’ inquiry skills. Science teachers were also asked about PD related to integrating science with other subjects. Teachers from both domains were asked about improving students’ critical thinking skills.
The most common areas of PD for students’ mathematics teachers were mathematics content and
mathematics pedagogy and instruction, for Canada overall and across countries. Students’ science teachers were much less likely than mathematics teachers to participate in subject‑related PD. In science, higher proportions of students were taught by teachers who participated in professional development related to improving students’ critical thinking or inquiry skills and addressing individual student needs, although this was the case for less than a quarter of students. Across countries, approximately equal proportions of students were taught by teachers participating in each of the eight professional development categories (Appendix B.3.11 and B.3.12).
Table 3.7 Percentage of students by teachers participating in mathematics-related professional development in the last two years
Mathematics content
Mathematics pedagogy /
instruction
Mathematics curriculum
Integrating technology
into mathematics
instruction
Improving students’
critical thinking or
problem-solving skills
Mathematics assessment
Addressing individual
student needs Newfoundland
and Labrador 24 31 19 25 21 18 32
Quebec 38 50 20 22 34 44 27
Ontario 81 81 66 49 76 61 68
Manitoba 62 67 49 37 62 43 48
Alberta 60 66 48 35 57 46 59
Canada 62 68 47 37 58 52 52
International 45 45 41 35 44 37 43
Table 3.8 Percentage of students by teachers participating in science-related professional development in the
Note: U – too unreliable to be published.
The teacher questionnaire also asked whether teachers needed additional subject‑specific PD. Responses were similar between students’ mathematics and science teachers in Canada overall, and across countries.
Approximately 70 percent of students’ teachers identified the need for more professional development for integrating technology into instruction and more than 60 percent of students’ teachers identified a need for additional development for improving students’ critical thinking and problem‑solving skills (mathematics) and inquiry skills (science) (Tables 3.9 and 3.10; Appendix B.3.11 and B.3.12).
Table 3.9 Percentage of students by teachers expressing a need for mathematics-related professional development
International 45 55 44 72 69 54 64
Table 3.10 Percentage of students by teachers expressing a need for science-related professional development
Science content
Science pedagogy/
instruction
Science curriculum
Integrating technology into science instruction
Improving students’
critical thinking or inquiry
skills
Science assessment
Addressing individual
student needs
Integrating science into other
subjects Newfoundland
and Labrador 39 46 43 73 65 51 52 59
Quebec 52 59 39 66 57 53 45 61
Ontario 49 58 38 76 63 50 50 63
Manitoba 36 45 36 77 71 49 48 63
Alberta 51 53 57 63 62 47 47 60
Canada 50 56 41 70 62 50 48 62
International 54 57 49 69 65 54 57 62
The relationship between PD and student achievement in Canada overall shows some significant differences for specific professional development categories. A negative relationship was found between PD related to mathematics content and achievement but no further significant differences were found between teacher participation in PD and student mathematics scores at the Canada level. Higher mathematics achievement was found for students whose teachers identified a need for PD in mathematics curriculum. Higher
achievement scores were attained by students whose teachers participated in PD related to science curriculum and the integration of technology into instruction. Few significant relationships were found between PD and achievement at the international or provincial level (Appendix B.3.13, B.3.14).
In addition to subject‑specific PD questions, the TIMSS 2019 teacher questionnaire asked teachers how many total hours of formal professional development they attended over the past two years. As shown in Table 3.11, a higher proportion of students in Canada overall were taught by teachers who participated in mathematics professional development that those who participated in science professional development (88 percent vs. 40 percent, respectively). Further, the number of hours of mathematics PD attended was much higher than the number reported for science. No significant relationship was found between student achievement and hours of professional development in either mathematics or science in Canada overall, except in the comparison of the “6‑15 hours” and the “more than 35 hours” categories where a negative relationship was found between mathematics scores and the highest number of hours of PD (Appendix B.3.15).
Table 3.11 Percentage of students by number of hours of professional development over past two years reported by teachers
None Less than
6 hours 6–15 hours 16–35 hours More than 35 hours Mathematics
Newfoundland and Labrador 38 26 30 U U
Quebec 24 37 30 8 U
Ontario U 16 36 20 24
Manitoba 14 21 31 21 13
Alberta 12 28 27 26 7
Canada 12 25 32 17 13
International 24 22 25 15 13
Science
Newfoundland and Labrador 42 23 32 U
--Quebec 71 19 U U U
Ontario 60 20 10 U U
Manitoba 61 23 11 U U
Alberta 40 36 18 U U
Canada 60 23 11 U U
International 37 23 20 11 10
Note: -- Data not available; U – too unreliable to be published.