Designing capacity building of educators in open educational resources integration leads to transformational change

Abstract

While there is growing recognition and acceptance of Open Educational Resources (OER) and Open Educational Practices (OEP) in teaching and learning, designing for their integration remains very challenging for educators. Adopting OER and OEP in their profession requires significant changes in practitioners’ pedagogical thinking and practices, which can be supported by the design of appropriate professional development experiences. At the Open University of Sri Lanka (OUSL), significant successes in addressing this challenge have been achieved with the design and development of a rigorous approach and a robust model to support adoption of OER and OEP by practitioners using Scenario-based Learning (SBL). In this paper we explore the efficacy of a scenario-based approach to learning in the integration of OER by practitioners, reflecting on how the SBL approach was tested and refined over three continuing professional development (CPD) interventions conducted at the OUSL over 2013–2017. Based on the findings, we discuss what design strategies of the three CPD interventions best supported the adoption of OER and OEP by practitioners, how effective have been the theoretical constructs and the strategies adopted in the design of CPD interventions, the impacts of the CPD interventions and implications of these experiences for the future.     

Systematic educational change and teacher skill-building in developed and developing countries: the importance of teacher peer learning groups

Many developed and developing countries are seeking to systematically transform their education processes through Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The aim of this paper is to present findings from one aspect of a larger ICT study in a particular location in a developing country, with the specific focus presented here being ICT professional development and impacts. Research methods in the study included teacher and school leader surveys, targeted interviews and also case studies. Findings at a systems level generally indicated insufficient coordination of training and minimal follow-up occurring. In case study situations in which the school leader ensured a schoolwide approach to the professional learning of teachers, ICT was more embedded into student learning processes in classrooms. Considering ICT and other professional learning relevant to education, this paper has relevance for policy developers and school leaders in developed and developing world contexts. The need exists for using coordinated professional development processes, with more centralised ‘one-off’ training supplemented by schools and districts. The establishment of peer learning groups or mentors to support skill-building over time is also needed. Through these ongoing processes, teachers can more effectively make changes in their teaching practices, with potential impacts on student learning.     

基于工作过程的学习领域课程体系的开发与实践——以高职物流管理专业为例

基于工作过程的学习领域课程体系的开发,是高职教育内涵建设的前沿课题。本文以学习领域课程体系开发的基本理念为指导,分析当前高职物流管理专业职业岗位和培养目标;然后结合我校实际,以国际物流、金融物流方向的工作流程为主线,确定各方向的学习领域课程体系,并对物流采购管理学习领域课程开发进行实践;最后对学习领域课程的教学实施进行探讨。     

Towards a more systematic approach to continuing professional development in vocational education and training

Vocational education and training (VET) teachers and trainers have a key role in ensuring that workers in business and industry are upskilled and up-to-date in a rapidly changing industrial, economic and technological environment. It follows that the VET practitioners should themselves keep up to date, not only with industry developments but also with the pedagogical skills needed to embrace technology and adapt to new sites for learning. However, in Australia and other Western nations, continuing professional development for VET practitioners has been spasmodic and not always well supported, in contrast to the ways it has been established and accepted in other professions. This paper examines the professional development approaches of some of those other professions and identifies the key features that might be adopted in any genuine attempt to develop a more purposeful and systematic provision of ongoing learning for teachers and trainers in VET. The paper concludes with a number of recommendations aimed at Australian VET practitioners in particular, but which might be applicable to VET in any developed country.     

Teaching about sustainability through inquiry-based science in Irish primary classrooms: the impact of a professional development programme on teacher self-efficacy,competence and pedagogy

Abstract

Research suggests that innovative and engaging professional development is instrumental in supporting teachers in developing their competence and confidence in teaching sustainability. An international initiative was developed to explore whether a competencies-oriented Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) professional development model was transferable across three different international contexts (Ireland, Germany and Mexico). This paper reports on the adaptation of this model within the Irish context, through the development of an innovative professional development programme for primary teachers. Through a mixed-methods approach which gathered data via pre- and post-programme surveys, teachers’ reflective journals and post-programme group interviews, the paper explores Irish primary school teachers’ experiences of, and attitudes towards, teaching sustainability through science education after participation in a professional development programme. The findings suggest that this programme, structured around the existing evidence for effective professional development in science education and ESD, positively influences teachers’ self-efficacy, supports teachers’ critical engagement with sustainability competencies and promotes the development of transformative pedagogies for sustainability through Inquiry-Based Science Education.     

西部少数民族女教师职业发展及其教育政策支持研究

西部少数民族地区女教师相对较少，这对该地区的女童、妇女教育及其女教师自身发展等都产生了不利影响。因此，客观认识和分析西部少数民族女教师的职业发展现状，探讨影响女教师职业发展的相关因素，并提出相应的教育政策建议，将有助于促进西部民族地区教育的良性发展。     

Contribution of a professional development programme to the quality and retention of teachers in an urban environment

This study examined the effects of a professional development programme aimed at equipping teachers for the challenges of teaching in urban schools. The contribution of the programme to teacher quality and teacher retention was evaluated using a mixed research design in which both quantitative (N?=?133) and qualitative (N?=?42) approaches were used. The results showed a significant effect of the programme on teacher knowledge and self-efficacy. Furthermore, teachers greatly appreciated the programme and they perceived a positive impact on their competences, self-efficacy and professional orientation. The opportunity to share experiences within a network of teachers was considered the most valuable element of the programme.     

Policy implementation within the frame of school-based curriculum: a comparison of public school and Islamic private school teachers in East Java,Indonesia

This paper describes research on how curriculum reform provides novel conditions for influencing teacher professionalism. It draws on Bernstein’s theories of the ‘classification and framing’ of curriculum and theories of teacher professionalism to investigate the impact of curriculum reform on teacher professionalism. The research was conducted in Indonesia during the implementation of a school-based curriculum that grants teachers greater autonomy to develop curricula appropriate to their context. A second concurrent reform introduced a character education policy that requires all teachers to address a specific set of values in all classes. Teachers working in public and Islamic private secondary schools were interviewed to investigate the degree of professionalism they exercised when implementing these reforms. Although theories of curriculum reform suggest that the higher degree of autonomy offered by a school-based curriculum has the potential to re-professionalise teachers, this study observed different outcomes for teachers in different workforce environments in Indonesia.     

The Hermeneutics of Learner-Centered Approaches and Initiatives in the Philippine Basic Education Sector

This paper highlights how a developing country like the Philippines incarnates a learner-centered approach in its overall education framework. Specifically, key policies and strategies relative to curriculum development, pedagogical issues, educational innovation and evaluation, professional development of teachers and school-community dynamics are discussed on the basis of the platform of hermeneutics of retrieval, the hermeneutics of the actual and the hermeneutics of the potential.

相似文献   

把握高职教育本质 培养适应经济社会发展需要的职业技术人才

从高职教育的诸多特征中把握其职业技术教育的本质属性,其本质属性在不同的经济社会发展过程和阶段有不同的表现形式。高职教育要适时研究经济社会发展对人才需求的变化趋向,培养出适应产业结构和技术结构要求的技能型人才。     

Delivering reading intervention to the poorest children: The case of Liberia and EGRA-Plus,a primary grade reading assessment and intervention

As governments, donors and implementation organisations re-focus Education for All Goals in terms of quality of education, increasing concerns have been raised over low literacy levels in developing countries. This paper provides key learning from the application of an early reading intervention applied in post-conflict Liberia, which included a robust assessment tool (Early Grade Reading Assessment) to measure the impact of the programme on students’ reading levels. A rationale for the design and methodology applied by the two implementing organisations (Research Triangle Institute (RTI) and Concern Worldwide) is provided, situated within the Liberian education context. The paper demonstrates the positive impact on programme quality, contextual relevancy and scale-up that a diagnostic baseline assessment has when linked to a tailored literacy intervention. Lessons learnt are presented to guide the identification of best practice in early literacy interventions at national-level and internationally.     

Continuity and change in teacher education in Scotland-back to the future

Abstract

The paper examines the changes which have taken place in the delivery, content and validation and accreditation of teacher education in Scotland. Particular attention is paid to the impact of external and internal changes on the development of new course structures and the strengthening of linkages between the initial stage of a teacher’s professional career and on continuing professional development. The impact of these changes on those who are teacher educators are also explored.     

The spectacle of global tests in the Arabian Gulf: a comparison of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates*

Although scholars have examined the effects of global tests on national and regional educational governance, few researchers have studied their impact on education in the Arabian Gulf. This research fills the knowledge gap by studying the international spectacle of PISA, TIMSS and PIRLS results in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) – two small rich states at the periphery of knowledge production processes. I argue that an analysis of these narratives reveals how global accountability discourses are translated into the Arabian Gulf context as truth claims that performance in league tables is an accurate and objective representation of educational quality. Four themes emerge from the analysis: integration of test results into national visions; measurement of educational progress based on test results; ranking of student performance; and policy changes to improve test results. In conclusion, I suggest that the over-dependence on global tests in defining educational quality in Qatar and the UAE erodes educational sovereignty and restricts the capacity of small states to develop and nurture alternative, indigenous and localised solutions for guiding educational reforms.     

Mixed methods,mixed outcomes? Combining an RCT and case studies to research the impact of a training programme for primary school science teachers

A randomised controlled trial (RCT) and a series of case studies were used to determine the impact of two variants of an intervention (a professional development programme) aimed at improving primary school science teachers’ subject and pedagogic content knowledge, and enhancing their subject leadership ability. Ninety-six schools were randomly assigned to full or partial treatment groups or a ‘business-as-usual’ control group. Quantitative data were collected from teachers and pupils through an assessment of scientific knowledge based on standardised assessment items. Qualitative data were collected through interviews and lesson observation initially in thirty case study schools. There were three data collection points: pre- and post-intervention, and one year later.

[Guskey, T. (1986). Staff development and the process of teacher change. Educational Researcher, 15(5), 5–12.] Levels of Professional Development Evaluation model was used as the analysis framework. The quantitative data from the teachers’ subject knowledge assessment indicated neither the full nor the partial training programmes had a statistically significant impact on teachers’ performance. In contrast, the qualitative data suggested that many teachers in the full treatment group believed that their subject knowledge had improved and reported increased confidence in their teaching of science. Lesson observations provided corroborating evidence of change in teachers’ practice, and some modest evidence of wider change in schools. There was no statistically significant improvement in pupil performance in subject knowledge assessments when teachers had participated in the intervention. In the context of research methods, the study suggests that a mixed-methods approach to evaluation is likely to yield a more rounded and nuanced picture of the overall impact of an intervention.     

Who takes the cake in community and economic development? ‘Going along' with metaphor to problematize the collective impact of a place-based promise programme

ABSTRACT

Linguists understand metaphors to be shortcuts to an individual’s tacit knowledge about the world. As ethnographers and planners building a university-school partnership and seeking to understand residents’ perceptions of their urban neighbourhood, attention to use of metaphor allowed us insight into an insider’s mental model of who is in the community. In this article, we describe how, in our interview-based ethnographic needs assessment, one of our project participant’s metaphors helped us discern the lived nature of social stratification as racialised economic inequality. This insight not only informs our partnership work but subverts some important assumptions about programme impact. Our experience suggests metaphor analysis contributes an important tool for ethnographic interpretation.     

Developing a collaborative pilot programme to promote innovation in higher education focusing on the reward and recognition of teaching

This paper provides a commentary on a significant collaborative international project to set up an effective system for promoting innovation in the Australian higher education sector. This project was the pilot Transforming Practice Programme (TPP), which was run in Australia in 2014. A sophisticated knowledge translation methodology, the TPP was influenced by the UK’s Higher Education Academy’s (HEA’s) thematic change programmes and focused on enhancing the reward and recognition of quality teaching in Australian higher education. The paper explains the intentions of the TPP and how it was run in conjunction with the HEA in both Australia and the UK. Thirteen Australian universities took part in the pilot, and nine UK universities took part in the UK version of the programme. Having detailed the content and process of the pilot TPP, this article also presents details of feedback received via surveys and interviews with participants, and closes with some evidence-informed conclusions on what worked in the pilot and why. Alongside these conclusions, recommendations are outlined regarding what people in other higher education sectors might learn from the pilot TPP.     

A Little Learning is a Dangerous Thing: Factors Influencing the Increased Identification of Special Educational Needs from the Perspective of Education Policy-makers and School Practitioners

This article considers the increased identification of special educational needs in Australia’s largest education system from the perspectives of senior public servants, regional directors, principals, school counsellors, classroom teachers, support class teachers, learning support teachers, and teaching assistants (n = 30). While their perceptions of an increase generally align with the story told by official statistics, participants’ narratives reveal that school-based identification of special educational needs is neither art nor science. This research finds that rather than an objective indication of the number and nature of children with special educational needs, official statistics may be more appropriately viewed as a product of funding eligibility and the assumptions of the adults who teach, refer, and assess children who experience difficulties in school and with learning.     

Speaking and listening across the primary curriculum: an entry to improved learning and a focus for CPD

This paper reports on the initial stage of an exploratory project based in six primary schools in Newcastle upon Tyne (UK) – and on plans for its extension. The potential value of the project as a curricular initiative is set out, from both practical and research perspectives. Its framing as a vehicle for the continuous professional development (CPD) of the teachers involved is also outlined. The first phase of the project itself is then described in some detail and its results discussed. Outcomes are also identified in order to provide pointers to the continuation stage. Finally, the value of the CPD model adopted is discussed, with particular regard to the choice of the present specific curricular focus.     

Family, Friend, and Neighbor Child Caregivers: Results of a Statewide Study to Determine Needs and Desires for Support

Family, friend and neighbor (FFN) child caregivers represent a significant proportion of caregivers for young children. Yet, these caregivers receive little support for their services. In 2003, the First 5 California Children and Families Commission (First 5 California) began a study to determine the work-related needs of FFN caregivers in California. This paper reports on the results of all study activities, including focus groups and interviews with caregivers and parents. It details the specific needs related to licensing, materials and equipment, education and training, and support systems that were identified by FFN caregivers, parents, and other stakeholders as being important to improve the quality and working conditions of FFN care. It also discusses needs of agencies that provide services to FFN caregivers, including awareness of and knowledge about the population, funding and other resources, and professional development topics.