Laboratory Approach to Secondary Teacher Professional Development: Impacting Teacher Behavior and Student Engagement

Abstract

The Literacy Lab Professional Development provided a laboratory approach to professional development for 42 high school teachers in two schools. Three main activities included: (1) planning and professional development days, (2) lab and professional development days, and (3) individual coaching. The targets of the Literacy Lab Professional Development and its associated guiding questions focused on student engagement and understanding, teaching students how to make meaning from text, teaching students to write, and the structures, systems, routines, and rituals needed to create a classroom culture of thinking and learning. Results from this study point to positive differences between participating and matched-nonparticipating teachers in their instruction, student grouping, nature of tasks, task demands, types of knowledge expectations, personalization, tone, and authority structures.     

Speaking and listening in the primary curriculum: some themes and their impact

In a previous phase of a project based in a group of UK primary schools, speaking and listening was found to be an effective focus for improved learning across the curriculum and for teachers’ professional development. At the project's second stage and in the light of recently changed Department for Education guidelines, these findings have been extended to exploration of strategies in the development of pupils’ communicative skills and the potential value of these when transferred to other, cross-curricular contexts. Teachers’ perspectives have again been considered, in terms of their ability to manage the strategies but also of the impact on their views of themselves and their role. Data in the form of transcribed classroom recordings, observations and interviews, plus teachers’ diaries and pupils’ work, have been analysed for these purposes. They show that the skills in question can indeed be taught and will transfer across contexts when teaching is of a ‘dialogic’ character.     

Teachers’ beliefs about inquiry-based learning and its impact on formative assessment practice

ABSTRACT

Background

Inquiry pedagogy has been advocated as means to engage and motivate students to learn science. The development of teacher formative assessment practice in inquiry is key for a successful implementation of student-centred inquiry pedagogy in the classroom.     

The WIL to learn: students’ perspectives on the impact of work-integrated learning placements on their professional readiness

ABSTRACT

Work-integrated learning (WIL) has assumed life as a central feature of higher education curriculum design in a wide range of disciplines with the ultimate goal of producing work-ready graduates. Under recent Australian government initiatives affecting teacher education, placement forms of WIL have been touted as the panacea for perceived problems with graduate teacher quality; resulting in the national regulation of placement design and length in this discipline. This article reports the findings of a qualitative study into the perspectives of fifteen teacher education students from one regional Australian university. The study investigated these students’ placement experiences and the impact of these experiences on their perceptions of readiness for a career in the teaching profession. Thematic analysis is the method used to identify two key themes in the data collected through semi-structured interviews. Despite recognising the benefits of real-world opportunities for skill development and practice inherent in WIL placement experiences, the study highlights important limitations of these forms of WIL on the development of professional readiness arising from the contextual features of particular placement sites; relationships with workplace supervisors and performance pressure associated with assessment during placements. These findings not only confirm the importance of social processes in the preparation of work-ready graduates but question reliance on placement forms of WIL learning for nurturing graduates’ readiness for professional work.     

Environmental education professional development for teachers: A study of the impact and influence of mentoring

Rivers2Lake helps teachers learn to provide watershed educational experiences for students through a summer institute followed by mentoring. Teacher focus groups were conducted to investigate the impact of mentoring, as well as toward understanding what was influential in bringing about those impacts. Mentoring impacted teachers in affective ways and helped them use what they learned at the institute. The influential nature of the mentoring may be due to the mentors providing a sense of accountability, personalized support, as well as encouragement of reflection and assistance with navigating barriers. Teachers also articulated qualities of effective mentors: invested, flexible, and responsive. With teachers varying in the degree to which they felt they could continue R2L implementation without the support of mentors, implications are discussed.     

国际视野中的教师专业学习与发展模式走向

教师专业学习与发展对提升教育质量具有重要作用。对于发达国家的教师专业学习与发展模式的理念、机制、措施和成效的整体性分析与走向判断,有助于我国教师教育改革与发展的借鉴和决策参考。     

教师专业性学习现状调查研究——以上海中小学教师为例

本研究采取整体分层抽样的办法,对上海中小学教师的专业性学习现状进行调查研究．研究结果表明,上海中小学教师的专业性学习状态较好,即教师比较认同学习应与外部关联、建立了教师学习共同体、开展了专业性学习以及积极寻求自我改变等。但教师学习的专业性还不强、教师自主学习的状态不佳。差异性检验结果显示,除自主学习外,女教师明显好于男教师;在教师学习的外部关联、教师学习共同体、教师专业性学习和自主学习等方面,小学教师的专业性学习明显好于初中教师和高中教师,初中教师也好于高中教师。     

教师学习:本质、影响因素与路径特征——基于近十年研究的阐释

教师学习是教师专业发展的核心路径.对教师学习的本质、影响因素与路径特征等三个根本性问题的探究,是实现高质量教师专业发展与教师队伍建设的逻辑起点.采用文献分析法,对最近十年的93篇相关文献进行编码分析后发现,教师学习是系统中的和交互下的,其本质是个体与系统多重互动中教师整体变化的过程,它受到教师所在整个系统的复杂影响,呈现出三个面向与三重取向的路径特征:面向复杂教育教学实践,实践取向的教师学习成为趋势;面向差异化教师,个性化教师学习正在发育;面向多变环境,线上线下混合式学习或将成为教师学习新常态.复杂性、整体性、系统性、交互性、实践性、差异性等是当前理解教师学习的关键词,日常化、校本化、团队化、高科技化等成为教师学习实践的发展趋势.     

农村幼儿教师学习共同体培育研究——以“国培短期集中培训”项目为例

自2011年始,教育部、财政部实施了"农村幼儿教师国家级培训计划"。培训实践发现存在培训时间与内容、理论研修与实践需求、城市文化与乡村文化等不和谐现象。为此,在培训中引入了重视协商对话与交流的学习共同体作为对策,并结合培训实践工作探讨了农村幼儿教师学习共同体的培育逻辑。     

The role of feedback in teacher mentoring: how coaches,peers, and students affect teacher change

ABSTRACT

Our study contributes to understanding teacher mentoring by exploring impacts of feedback from multiple mentoring sources as teachers with varying levels of experience learned to implement student-centered instruction. Mentees in our study learned to implement a student-centered model, supported by mentoring from students and teachers experienced in the model. We employed qualitative methods to collect and analyze data from two summer schools, with 22 STEM teachers and 47 student-instructors from 15 non-selective, public high schools. Findings include: (a) teachers had positive attitudes towards feedback, (b) feedback from multiple sources changed practice, (c) effective feedback required structure, (d) experienced teachers benefited most from feedback, and (e) student feedback was most valuable. These findings provide strategies to shape future mentoring, informing teachers, administrators, professional development coaches, and teacher educators about critical factors in the use of feedback to improve teaching through mentoring.     

Teacher collaboration and professional development in the workplace: a study of Portuguese teachers

This article reports on findings from research aimed at investigating teacher collaboration and professional development in the workplace. It draws upon a broader study carried out in a school in Northern Portugal. Data were collected through questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and written reflective accounts. In total, 80 teachers participated in phase 1, 11 key informants participated in phase 2 and 10 teachers participated in an intervention/training project (phase 3). Findings suggest that problems and limitations in relation to collaborative work are situated at the organisational level, such as time and working conditions. Lack of training in collaboration, and issues such as motivation and personal difficulties, also emerged from the data. Teachers tend to stress the importance of interpersonal relationships at school, but they also identified formal meetings when they described the contexts and opportunities to work collaboratively in the workplace, namely department meetings and projects driven by central government or school administration initiatives. Implications for teacher collaboration and professional development are discussed.     

The honourable road and its impact on teacher practice: an analysis of China's national honour system in cultivating professional development

China's national teacher honour system, initiated in 1949, is designed to recognise the academic and pedagogical performance of individual teachers and professional collectives at national, provincial, municipal, and school-based levels. This study employs grounded theory analysis to examine the phenomenon of China's teacher honour system by analysing documents, narrative stories of 11 award recipients and five non-recipients, and interviews with four government officials who manage the system. The paper discusses sociocultural aspects of this honour system by exploring the impact of three types of professional honours on teacher professional development. This system aims to balance government leadership in conferring honour with individual pursuit of professional development in one's local setting. Contextualised in a Confucian culture, the teachers immersed in this honour system benefit from collegial support in engaging in professional growth activities. Challenges with this system include the need to enhance teacher efficacy by engaging teachers in shaping the policy, as well as the possibility of political – rather than professional – criteria determining honour conferral, discouraging rigorous pursuit of professional growth.     

Addressing the complexities of literacy and urban teaching in the USA: strategic professional development as intervention

This study was undertaken in order to get some sense of the role of life experiences in preservice and inservice teachers' conceptions of the purpose(s) and practices of education. Content analysis of narratives written by graduate students in education at one college was utilized to ascertain how they view the field and their (current or prospective) role as teachers. We found that the majority of students saw teaching as an opportunity to make a difference, and as reflective of who they were rather than as "just a job". This finding provided the opportunity to address the strengths and vulnerabilities of such an idealistic conception of teaching, and the corresponding possibilities vis-à-vis teacher educators' roles. We conclude by noting the study's limitations and making several recommendations for future action and research based on our findings.     

课堂教学视频的力量——网络时代教师群体学习的新渠道

网络技术与数字视频技术的成熟使得课堂教学视频研究焕发出新的生命活力,从而成为教师群体学习的新渠道。本文选择国内外八个运用教学视频为主要分析对象的研究项目,采用内容分析法,从群体学习的研究方法、研究目的、支持材料、技术支持、沟通与共享、组织与经费投入、后续发展等七个角度,归纳网络时代基于课堂教学视频分析与共享的教师群体学习新渠道的主要特点,并对适合我国中小学教师的群体创新学习与持续性专业发展提出了建议。     

基于学习动力的教师培训策略探析

当前,教师学习已成为教师专业成长的必然趋势,教师培训作为教师学习的载体也备受瞩目.基于教师学习动力的机制分析可以深入把握教师学习的深层次动机,从而有针对性地改进教师培训策略,保证教学的高效能和高效率.     

略论幼儿教师学习的基本特征及其价值

幼儿教师学习指的是幼儿教师在职场生涯中,立足于教育教学工作而开展的旨在不断促进自身专业发展,从而使自己成为一位成熟的专业人员的各种认识和实践活动。幼儿教师学习是属于非正式学习,学习价值取向的功利性,学习操控程度的自主性和学习内容性质的问题性是幼儿教师学习的基本特征。幼儿教师学习的价值体现在:是幼儿教师适应时代挑战之本,是幼儿教师促进幼儿发展之基,是幼儿教师体验职业幸福之源。     

A Professional Learning Community for the New Teacher Professionalism: The Case of a State-Led Initiative in Singapore Schools

ABSTRACT

This paper seeks to explore the empirical fit of two PLC models, using Singapore as a case. Insights emerged from documentary analyses and interviews with state-affiliated agents from the Academy of Singapore Teachers. The proposed DuFour–Fullan model, despite policy aspirations, remains largely DuFour-predominant in practice. Aspirations for a Fullan-inspired approach are evident, but still rest in the stage of conceptualization.     

转化学习理论及其对成人教师专业发展的启示

转化学习理论对建构主义理论、哈贝马斯的社会学理论和弗莱雷的解放理论等进行消化和吸收,同时又以生活情境下丰富多彩的成人学习现象为现实基础,形成了较为系统和完善的理论体系。转化学习理论对成人教师的专业发展提供了重要的启示,即专业发展是持续不断的过程,营造专业发展氛围,增强专业发展意识,注重批判性反思,走进生活世界。     

Current trends and missing links in studies on teacher professional development in science education: a review of design features and quality of research

This review provides an overview of the the current state of research on professional development in science education. An analytical frame was used, based on what is known about PD from educational research. Clarke and Hollingsworth’s model for teacher professional growth was also used to categorise the studies according to their aims and outcomes. Exemplar studies in each category are highlighted. In total, 44 recent studies were selected, all referring to science PD. The results show an increase in the number of PD studies in science education in recent years. Most PD programmes are aimed at enhancing teacher cognitions as well as classroom practice. Most recently, there seems to have been an increase in programmes that also aim at improving student outcomes through PD. All studies applied most of the characteristics drawn from research on what makes PD effective. However, school organisational conditions were not usually taken into account. Moreover, there has been a very little research on the role of facilitators and their impact on the outcomes of a PD programme.