On America's Professional Development Schools

Teachers' professional quality is the key factor which advances schools and improves students' learning. To improve teachers' professional quality, schools and colleges need reinforce col'aboration between them. America's Professional Development Schools (PDSs) are just one representative of partnerships between schools and colleges. The purpose of PDS is to improve pre-service teachers' education and advance in-service teachers' professional development by reinforcing the collaboration between schools and colleges. At the same time, teacher education gets renewal in tandem with the reform of public schools. In the long run, students' learning is improved.Firstly, this thesis expounds the rise of PDSs. PDS didn't come into being without foundation. The rise of PDSs can be traced back to Dewey's Laboratory Schools, a partnership between schools and colleges which has a history of more than one hundred years. Moreover, the establishment of PDSs is influenced by the international teacher education reform and advanced by American civil education reform. Secondly, the thesis discusses the establishment and operation of PDSs. There are certain conditions in creating PDSs, such as col'aboration between schcols and colleges, teacheis' professional and general education of high quality, and good policy environinents.Processes of creating PDSs include: making criteria, using the criteria to select sites, signing a formal agreement. There are different models in operating PDSs, such as staff-oriented, student-oriented, task-oriented, institution-oriented and simultaneous renewal-oriented. Assessing is the necessary part in the development of PDSs. This article mainly pays attention to the necessity, contents, data resources, rules of and difficulty in assessing PDSs. Thirdly, this thesis explores the benefits which the PDSs have made and the problems which PDSs are facing. The benefits PDSs have made are as following: pre-service teachers' education has been improved, in-service teachers' professional development has been advanced, collaborative inquiry has been facilitated and students' learning has been improved. However, PDSs are also facing some problems, such as influences of traditional attitudes and prior experiences, resourse problems, structure problems and relationship problems. Lastly, this thesis analyses the enlightenment which PDSs can give to the reform of schools and teacher education in our country:a) We should establish school-based learning group to improve students' learning.b) Educational practice of student teachers of normal universities and colleges should be reformed.c) Patterns of in-service teachers' professional development should be reformed.d) Schools and teacher education should be renewed simultaneously.