Higher education teachers’ professional learning: Process and outcome

In this paper, we first offer an analytic perspective on the papers in this volume, framing our discussion within the context of academic development as a discipline and highlighting common lines that cut across the nine contributions. We then offer insights about the current state of research on the evaluation of academic development and suggest directions that are likely to advance our theoretical and empirical knowledge in this area and anchor us firmly in evidence-based practice. We suggest that clarifying the mechanisms of change when professional learning occurs and measuring the changes in student learning outcomes that are associated with professional learning are important avenues for future research.     

Prospective Turkish primary teachers’ views about the use of computers in mathematics education

The use of computers and technology in mathematics education affects students’ learning, achievements, and affective dimensions. This study explores prospective Turkish primary mathematics teachers’ views about the use of computers in mathematics education. The sample comprised of 129 fourth-year prospective primary mathematics teachers from two different universities in Turkey. Data consisting of participants’ written responses were qualitatively analyzed and categorized according to TPACK. Results show that the prospective teachers’ views about computers and their use in mathematics are usually positive. They enjoy working with computers, even though they are only able to perform relatively minor calculations with computers. They stated that improved use of computers can help them to learn and teach mathematics more effectively. However, they did not feel confident about their ability to teach mathematics using computers.     

Mathematics teachers’ knowledge and skills about questioning in the context of modeling activities

Asking effective questions has been considered to be one of the most important indicators of good teaching since questioning is an important instructional tool and the ability to ask effective questions requires sophisticated pedagogical reasoning. Teachers can facilitate students’ higher-level thinking through effective questions. However, teachers’ utilization of effective and higher-level questions is usually limited in traditional settings. The goal of this study is to investigate how secondary mathematics teachers’ knowledge and skills of questioning change when they are engaged in professional development activities based on the modeling perspective. The program included five cycles each of which lasted a month. Each cycle consisted of meetings before and after the implementation of a model-eliciting activity and its implementation. The results showed that the professional development program had a positive effect on teachers’ ability to ask qualitatively different questions in order to move students’ thinking forward.     

Principled practical knowledge in bridging practical and reflective experiential learning: case studies of teachers’ professional development

Asia Pacific Education Review - “Heuristic approach” is a teachers’ professional development (TPD) method supported by principled practical knowledge (PPK) which focuses on...     

On constructs and the construction of teachers’ professional knowledge in a post-Soviet context

This paper examines the understandings (‘constructs’) of teachers’ professional knowledge and its sources that underpin current practice in initial teacher education in Kazakhstan and in particular the way in which pedagogika contributes to these. Drawing on empirical data collected over four years, the paper illustrates the ways in which professional knowledge and professional preparation of teachers in pre-service institutions are constructed within the Kazakh and Soviet pedagogical traditions, albeit with some reference to international scholars. Teachers’ professional knowledge is formed from pedagogic theory mediated by academic staff in what is seen by many from outside and inside the country who are engaged in educational ‘reform’ in Kazakhstan as a largely didactic style with little or no critical engagement or exploration of the implications for practice. This stands in contrast with two recent professional development programmes: the Collaborative Action Research and Center of Excellence, which are focused on interactive learning and teaching, reflective practice, classroom action research, and teachers’ collaboration as sources for teachers’ professional knowledge. This paper highlights this contrast and begins to explore what happens when these two different approaches to the construction of teachers’ professional knowledge encounter each other.     

Understanding primary teachers’ professional learning and practice: an activity theory lens

In this study, the author reports on the professional learning of three primary teachers who engaged in three cycles of collaborative action research over a three-year period from 2013 to 2016. Case study was chosen as a methodology to gain insight into the context of the teachers’ work as they interacted with others and adopted multiple tools. Data collection and analysis were on-going over a three-year period, using several sources, including classroom observations, interviews, portraits and teacher-created multimedia artefacts. Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) and its activity system unit of analysis (subject, object, tools, norms, community and division of labour) was used by the author to describe changes in the professional learning of the three teachers, the contradictions or tensions they addressed, and how they transformed the aspects of their professional knowledge and classroom practice.     

Hindu,Muslim and Sikh religious education teachers’ use of personal life knowledge: the relationship between biographies,professional beliefs and practice

The article reports the findings of a qualitative study of Hindu, Muslim and Sikh teachers of religious education and the relationship between their biographies, professional beliefs and use of personal life knowledge in English, secondary school classrooms. This relationship was explored through a study of five beginning teachers and provided evidence of the role that their personal knowledge played in enabling them to support the learning of pupils in white majority and Muslim majority state schools. It also indicated the need for teacher education courses to provide opportunities for teachers to explore the relationship between their personal and professional lives and the potential dilemmas and dangers of sharing their personal knowledge and experiences with pupils. In the context of international concern to identify criteria for selecting beginning teachers, the article highlights the importance of initiatives aimed at increasing the ethnic/religious diversity of the teaching force.     

Signature pedagogies in support of teachers’ professional learning

Signature pedagogies [Shulman, L. 2005 Shulman, L. 2005. “Signature Pedagogies in the Professions.” Daedalus 134 (3): 52–59. doi: 10.1162/0011526054622015[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]. “Signature pedagogies in the professions.” Daedalus 134 (3): 52–59.] are a focus of teacher educators seeking to improve teaching and teacher education. The purpose of this paper is to present a preliminary common language of signature pedagogies for teacher professional development (PD). In all, 24 papers from the study of physical education PD projects with clearly articulated pedagogical objectives and documentation on achieving those objectives were included in the analysis. In total 479 teachers and 48 facilitators across the US and Europe were interviewed and/or surveyed. Three discrete PD signature pedagogies holding potential to enhance teacher growth and learning within the context of PD were identified: critical dialogue (process of acquiring knowledge through communicative interactions), public sharing of work (testing out practices in classrooms and share ideas with larger audiences), and communities of learners (collective learning around a shared concern or a passion). It is our hope in providing the beginnings of a common vocabulary for pedagogies of teacher professional learning we have encouraged additional steps toward developing signature pedagogies for learning across different PD settings and content areas.     

Challenges for teachers’ professional learning for inclusive education in Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States

Efforts to prepare teachers and other professionals for inclusive education in the Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS/CEE) region are heavily influenced by the legacy of Soviet defectology (the study of children with disabilities) and Soviet traditions of teacher education. The authors identify some challenges facing those concerned with preparing teachers for inclusive education and provide examples of current projects in the region that address the complex problems associated with providing inclusive education for children identified as having disabilities. The changing role of defectologists in inclusion policy and practice is also discussed. Case examples from Armenia, Latvia, the Czech Republic, Azerbaijan, and Serbia reflect current innovations in teacher education and professional development in the region.     

The contribution of non-formal learning in higher education to student teachers’ professional competence

This article reports a mixed methods study on the contribution of various aspects of pre-service student teachers’ learning in initial teacher education (ITE) to their professional competence in a Five-year Bachelor of Education Programme in Hong Kong. Special attention is given to how student teachers’ non-formal learning in higher education contributes to their professional competence, an under-researched area in teacher education. A total of 282 student teachers participated in the quantitative survey, 18 of whom were interviewed. Although  Undergraduate Learning Experience: Formal Learning and Non-formal Learning was not the most highly rated factor, multiple regression indicated that it was the only ITE professional learning factor that significantly predicted all dimensions of professional competence. This supports the hypothesis that non-formal learning as a part of learning in higher education makes a significant contribution to student teachers’ professional competence. The qualitative findings showed that non-formal learning provided opportunities for service learning, co-curricular activities, and student exchange programmes with different objects of engagement. Student teachers constructed pedagogical content knowledge, general pedagogical knowledge, and knowledge of context through hands-on experiences, professional dialogue with practitioners, and observations of others’ practice. Such knowledge contributed to their competence in classroom teaching and to work in schools. Implications for ITE are discussed.     

Mathematics teachers’ learning: a conceptual framework and synthesis of research

How do practicing mathematics teachers continue to develop the knowledge and habits of mind that enable them to teach well and to improve their teaching over time? The question of how (and what) teachers learn lies at the crux of any effort to provide high-quality mathematics teaching for all students. This article reviews 106 articles written between 1985 and 2008 related to the professional learning of practicing teachers of mathematics. We offer a synthesis of this research, guided by Clarke and Hollingsworth’s (Teach Teach Educ 18(8):947–967, 2002) dynamic model of teacher growth. Their model emphasizes the recursive nature of teachers’ learning and suggests that growth in one aspect of teachers’ knowledge and practice may promote subsequent growth in other areas. We report the results in six major areas of teacher learning, identify several crosscutting themes in the literature, and make recommendations for future research aimed at understanding teachers’ professional learning.     

Mathematics and science teachers’ pedagogical orientations and their use of ICT in teaching

The key concern driving policy and community interest in the pedagogical integration of ICT is the premise that ICT is important for bringing changes to classroom teaching and learning, so as to foster the development of students’ 21st century skills. An important concept underpinning the design of the SITES 2006 study is the pedagogical orientation of the teacher, which can be broadly conceptualized as traditionally important or 21 ^st century oriented. The latter can be further differentiated into lifelong learning and connectedness oriented. Indicators were created to measure teachers’ pedagogical orientation based on their espoused curriculum goals, teacher practices and student practices. Results from this study shed light on whether there is evidence that 21st century pedagogy as identified in the literature and in innovative practices can be found more generally in random samples of teachers in countries participating in SITES 2006. Relationship between ICT use and pedagogical practice in mathematics and science classrooms is reported and the associated policy implications are discussed.     

Evaluating teachers’ self-perceptions of their knowledge and practice after participating in an environmental education professional development program

Building teachers’ confidence in their understanding of nature and encouraging the use of field experiences with students are important factors in increasing environmental awareness in students. A River Runs Through It (ARRT) is an integrated environmental education professional development program, immersed practicing teachers in hands-on field inquiry while providing them with valuable experiences, tools, and support necessary for raising teacher enthusiasm and self-confidence. The authors begin by taking a broad look at environmental education. They then narrow the focus to their environmental education professional development program – ARRT – and the positive knowledge and attitudinal impacts found from allowing teachers to explore local outdoor environments with a support system that aided them in bringing their ARRT experiences into their own classrooms.     

A large-scale implementation of predictive learning analytics in higher education: the teachers’ role and perspective

By collecting longitudinal learner and learning data from a range of resources, predictive learning analytics (PLA) are used to identify learners who may not complete a course, typically described as being at risk. Mixed effects are observed as to how teachers perceive, use, and interpret PLA data, necessitating further research in this direction. The aim of this study is to evaluate whether providing teachers in a distance learning higher education institution with PLA data predicts students’ performance and empowers teachers to identify and assist students at risk. Using principles of Technology Acceptance and Academic Resistance models, a university-wide, multi-methods study with 59 teachers, nine courses, and 1325 students revealed that teachers can positively affect students’ performance when engaged with PLA. Follow-up semi-structured interviews illuminated teachers’ actual uses of the predictive data and revealed its impact on teaching practices and intervention strategies to support students at risk.

     

Promoting children’s participation: the role of teachers in preschool and primary school learning sessions

The aim of this study is to provide insights into the social construction of participation in joint activities in Finnish preschool and primary school classrooms. The article deals with two issues: How do teachers promote participation in a preschool classroom as compared with a primary school classroom? What similarities and differences are found? It also considers the question of how the similarities contribute to the continuity from preschool to primary school in terms of participation. Based on observation data insights are provided into the interactions between teachers and children by using extracts from teacher‐led learning sessions. The teachers used a diversity of strategies to promote participation in both contexts. In the preschool the focus was on participation and interaction as such, whereas in the primary school the emphasis was more clearly on academic learning. The findings suggest that teacher support of active participation and friendly relationships, together with creative and playful activities in the preschool, enrich children’s curiosity, and nourish children’s motivation for and interests in academic learning.     

Collaboration and the growth of teachers’ knowledge

Studies of teachers working together have exposed the capricious nature of collaborative activity: sometimes it seems to work well; at other times collaboration actually works against improvement. Success in collaborative relationships is best understood through an appreciation of how teachers form and use knowledge. The teachers’ knowledge perspective is used in this paper to interpret qualitative data from two successful collaborative relationships in schools. Evidence supports the contention that personal qualities, underscored by mutual trust and respect for knowledge, form the basis for successful relationships in teaching, operating in different ways, for different purposes, for different people. Providing that teachers are approached with respect, collaboration holds promise as a slow (but powerful) path towards educational change.     

Exploring teachers’ and students’ conceptions of learning in two further education colleges

The Learning to Learn in Further Education Research Project (L2L) is coordinated by the Campaign for Learning and run by researchers at Newcastle and Glasgow Universities. The project involves teachers at two further education (FE) colleges, Lewisham and Northumberland, using practitioner enquiry methodologies to explore and share what works in learning and teaching in their context.

This article uses data collected as part of the larger project to explore how the combination of societal, political and economic forces that have shaped provision in this sector impact on students’ and teachers’ views of learning when compared with the compulsory sector. The authors sought to establish whether factors such as an ethos of performativity and instrumentalisation of the curriculum were indeed at play in shaping understandings of teaching and learning, and what it means to learn in an FE context.

Telephone interviews with 16 teachers provided evidence that such pressures were impacting on teaching despite the ambitions of the teachers that their practice be responsive to student need rather than curricular imperatives. Involvement with the university and the L2L project was seen by many as a way of countering perceived constraints on their freedom to exercise professional judgement. Face-to-face mediated interviews with 64 learners drawn from a number of qualification routes revealed a simplistic model for learning based around listening and the practising of skills. The authors discuss the extent to which students appear to understand this as building the necessary foundations for later, more sophisticated learning rather than as requirements of their courses per se.     

Authentic game-based learning and teachers’ dilemmas in reconstructing professional practice

Teachers who attempt pedagogical innovation with authentic digital games face significant challenges because such games instantiate open systems of learner activity, inviting enquiry learning rather than knowledge acquisition. However, school environments are normatively sanctioned cultural spaces where direct instruction and high-stakes tests are de riguer. In this paper, we draw on the conceptual frame of dilemmatic spaces to illuminate the dilemmas teachers encounter when attempting to reconstruct professional practice in the classroom. We worked with nine teachers who enacted the Statecraft X social studies curriculum. Drawing on coded interview data, our findings suggest that teachers are forced to wrestle with tensions engendered by misalignments that emerge from the innovation's tacit requirement for change and the system's inherent gravitation towards maintaining the status quo. A school culture that cultivates innovative practice based on greater teacher agency is needed for authentic game-based learning to find traction in the classroom.     

Mathematics teachers’ self-captured video and opportunities for learning

Numerous video-based programs have been developed to support mathematics teachers in reflecting on and examining classrooms interactions without the immediate demands of instruction. An important premise of such work is that teacher learning occurs at the time that the video is viewed and discussed with teachers. Recent advances in technology, however, offer new approaches for the use of video with teachers. We claim that these new technologies provide important opportunities for teacher learning prior to the viewing and discussion of video with colleagues. In particular, we believe that important teacher learning can occur from the activities of (1) capturing video from one’s own classroom and (2) selecting clips to share with others. The goal of this article is to introduce key strategies that three groups of middle and high school mathematics teachers use prior to, during, and after instruction as they engage in this work. We believe that increased attention to these strategies is necessary in order to better understand how to support teacher learning in the context of new digital technologies.