Preparing teachers for professional learning: is there a future for teacher education in new teacher induction?

Today the quality of teachers is held to be increasingly important yet there continue to be doubts about whether teacher education programs graduate teachers ready to meet the challenges of their initial years of teaching. In some jurisdictions, other agencies (Ministries of Education, school districts, and private providers) are supplementing the work of teacher education through the introduction of new teacher induction programs which have become favoured policy initiatives to enhance new teacher transition, retention and quality. Evidence suggests that induction and mentoring increase teacher retention and ensure more effective socialisation of new teachers into the school culture. In spite of their growing popularity, the degree to which induction programs complement teacher education and/or impact new teacher professional learning remains unclear. In this paper the authors report a secondary analysis of data from an evaluation of the New Teacher Induction Program in Ontario, Canada to consider the implications for the future of teacher education by asking: What are the challenges facing new teachers? In what ways does the induction program support new teacher professional learning? What are the major implications for the future of teacher education?     

Public reflection within learning communities: an incessant type of professional development

This article is based on a study focusing on how structured learning communities can promote reflective awareness and professional development, through collaborative analysis of professional experience. As participant–observer, the researcher used recorded observations as well as individual participants’ reflective writing as data. Of importance is the fact that all seven participants argued that they developed professionally and started to dig deeper into their experiences as the five-month study progressed. They also pointed out that this type of professional development was immediately relevant to their present needs, and this was what motivated them to further engage in reflection as a tool for professional development. Aspects such as conflict and uncertainty in teacher learning, and how collaboration promotes further reflection will also be discussed.     

新课程改革背景下培养教师反思能力的尝试

本文针对中学教师在教学反思中存在的问题,尝试在教师培训过程中应用培养反思能力的教学策略,如根据教师不同成长时期的特点与专业需求,确定培养反思能力的重点;运用反思线索,进行个人反思和集体反思;通过完成不同类型的反思作业,从教学实践活动、个人经验、教学关系和教学理论等四个层次深刻反思;充分利用Blog的机制,在网络环境下开展反思活动等。通过教学实践表明：教师的反思意识与反思能力是可以通过培训得以提高的。但如何有效提高教师反思能力,还有许多问题有待进一步探讨与解决。     

Exploring the link between experienced teachers’ learning outcomes and individual and professional learning community characteristics

The continuous professional development of teachers is crucial in our current knowledge-based society, yet empirical research on experienced teachers’ learning outcomes is scarce. In this study, we examine perceived changes in classroom practices and in competence as outcomes. By making these outcomes measurable, we can relate them to several individual teacher characteristics and professional learning community characteristics. A questionnaire was administered to 490 experienced teachers from 48 Flemish (Belgian) primary schools. Multilevel analyses show that of the professional learning community characteristics, only reflective dialogue is significant for perceived changes in practices. As for individual characteristics, self-efficacy relates positively to both perceived changes in practices and in competence. The relationship between teaching experience and both learning outcomes, however, is negative.     

Exploring the Disciplined Nature of Self-Study Research in Teacher Education

This article reports a study of literacy instruction in our own elementary preservice program. It examines the views and practices of both the preservice faculty who teach literacy and a sample of graduates of the program during their first three years of teaching. The new teachers reported learning many things from their preservice program, including the importance of engaging learners, strategies for developing an inclusive class community, the names of high-quality works of children's literature, and a variety of general teaching strategies. However, there were gaps between what was taught and what the new teachers wanted to learn. The new teachers struggled with program planning, desired more direct instruction on developing a literacy program, and wanted closer links between theory and practice. The teacher educators tried to cover so much material that the new teachers were unable to develop a focused, coherent pedagogy. The authors describe how they are revising their courses in light of these findings, modifying their approach to preservice instruction, and giving priority to certain key aspects of teaching.     

The role of environmental factors in beginning teachers’ professional learning related to differentiated instruction

Little research has investigated factors that facilitate beginning teachers’ participation in professional learning activities related to differentiated instruction (DI). This study examines environmental factors for DI learning activities in a sample of 272 beginning teachers from 72 primary schools. Multilevel analyses show that teacher education, reflective dialogue, deprivatized practice, educational type, and diversity in student population are related to beginning teachers’ use of DI learning activities (i.e., learning in interaction and changes in practice). As such, the findings revealed that beginning teachers’ participation in such activities may depend on a multitude of factors. Several suggestions regarding these factors are made. First, teacher education can provide foundational knowledge of DI applications. Second, schools can enable teachers to have in-depth conversations with colleagues and provide opportunities to observe good teaching practices. Lastly, alternative schools and schools with diverse student populations can inspire other schools to enhance participation in DI learning activities.     

职前教师反思能力培养探析

研究和实践表明,职前教师反思能力的培养是可行的。职前教师反思能力培养的内容包括掌握反思的专业知识,形成对反思的正确认识;掌握反思方法和技巧,培养反思能力;培养反思意识,养成反思习惯,为反思人格的形成奠定基础。培养职前教师反思能力有以下对策:一是调整专业人才培养方案,将反思能力作为培养目标的要求之一,二是采用课程渗透的培养模式,三是发挥教师教育者的示范作用并实施活动化的课程改革,四是重视反思环境的建设,组建学习共同体。     

Student teachers’ perceptions of reading and the teaching of reading: the implications for teacher education

This article reports on research which identified perceptions of reading and the teaching of reading held by trainee teachers and the impact on my provision as a teacher educator. It found that students’ past and present experiences of learning to read and being a reader influenced their perceptions of what reading is and of what it means to teach reading. As a teacher educator, I am not able to give students long experience of seeing children becoming readers, but I am able to give them richer experiences of reading in personally and culturally relevant contexts. This has implications for the nature of subject knowledge required by a student teacher of reading and the curriculum and practice of teacher education.     

实践共同体(CoPs)中教师学习的角色冲突与教师专业发展扎根理论研究

关注教师专业发展的重要方面是理解教师学习,对实践共同体(Co Ps)中教师学习的角色冲突与专业发展的质性研究能够描述和解释促进教师专业成长的过程和原因。研究借助对8名小学数学教师展开叙事访谈收集数据,使用质性分析软件ATLAS.ti8辅助资料分析,采用文献回顾延迟进行的方式建立扎根理论。文中聚焦的角色冲突是发生在教师实践共同体中的一种教师需要面对的真实困境,探讨了教师在学习活动中所经历的角色内冲突和角色间冲突下教师发展困境的诱因;教师角色协调中权威信任和权威服从行为作为突破困境的心理基础;理性对待外部认同是突破教师专业发展框架的重要驱动力;进一步讨论了角色冲突作为教师专业成长重要契机,并针对教师队伍建设提出建议。     

小学教师关于反思日记的认识

反思日记是提高教师反思能力的有效方式。了解教师对反思日记的看法是对教师进行培训干预的基础。通过开放式问卷对北京市8所小学的65名教师进行了调查,结果发现教师认为写作反思日记增强了其反思意识,提高了教育教学能力和理论水平,并积累了丰富的素材。在写作反思日记的过程中遇到的最大困难是没有时间、缺乏理论知识、找不到反思点和需要专家的指导。教师建议加强反思日记的交流,希望学校管理者给予支持和正确的引导。     

教师专业发展的路径分析与支持策略——基于教师学习的研究

教师质量是教育发展的生命线,教师学习则是提高教师质量的基本途径,开展教师学习研究对教师的专业发展具有重要意义。教师学习研究不仅要注重如何激发教师自身学习的积极性和主动性,更要高度关注和重视教师自身的专业发展问题。对教师学习的目的、内容和方法进行研究,必须立足教学反思性实践,关注教师情感需要的诉求与表达,重视对教师人格情感的关怀,通过提高教师的“情”与“行”来应对现实中出现的教师质量问题和突破教师专业发展的瓶颈,使教师成为终身学习的典范,促进教师的成长成才。     

Transitioning to the classroom: reflections of second‐career teachers during the induction year

In recent years teacher educators have witnessed an increase in the number of alternative pathways to university‐based teacher education for prospective teachers. One option is for second‐career teachers to enter post‐baccalaureate programs in education; however, the experiences of second‐career teachers are largely unexplored in the international literature. The purpose of this study was to investigate the teaching beliefs that post‐baccalaureate students brought into a graduate level teacher certification program, and the extent to which those beliefs persevered or changed during their first year of teaching. Written philosophy statements and semi‐structured interviews from the three participants were analyzed to identify emerging themes. Outcomes, presented in the form of vignettes, suggested that second‐career teachers experienced many of the same contextual pressures as baccalaureate teachers and struggled adapting to the teaching profession and implementing their stated teaching beliefs. Implications include continued research on second‐career teachers as they represent a distinct population entering the teaching profession.     

Pre-service teachers undertaking classroom research: developing reflection and enquiry skills

This paper reports on the development of reflectiveness and research skills in eight pre-service teachers, through their participation in a funded research project to develop the handwriting of children with literacy problems. The project aimed to analyse the reflections of the trainee teachers participating in an authentic research study and to consider what this reflection on practice might offer to the education of teachers in the current UK training context. The context for the paper was a project which engaged pre-service trainee teachers in researching the proposition that automaticity in handwriting plays a role in facilitating composing processes and that the automaticity of early writers can be trained. Some outcomes of the project for pupils are reported. The focus in the present paper is, however, on the participating trainee teachers and the paper suggests that conducting research was a significant learning event for these pre-service teachers and that, through working together, they were able to analyse their development as researchers and their learning during the research process. At a time when the English government views teacher training as a method of school improvement and the effectiveness of training is measured through its immediate impact on pupil outcomes, this study offers an example of how shared research can offer positive learning outcomes for pupils, develop the reflective thinking of pre-service teachers through researching a real problem, and develop links across a range of school and university settings.     

Teacher learning： Reflective practice as a site of engagement for professional identity construction

This paper reports a qualitative study in response to the growing research interest in teacher learning. Informed by a sociocultural perspective, teacher learning is considered as a process of identity construction in the paper. This paper taps into the development of teacher identity embedded in teacher learning and views reflection as a social practice for enhancing teacher learning. Through a close analysis of a selected discussion thread, this paper aims to demonstrate that teacher-learners＇ reflective practice in the online learning community provided a site of engagement for developing their professional identity and shaping the practice of teaching in their process of learning to teach.     

反思性教学:教师发展的有效途径

近年来,教师教育开始从单纯对教学方法的探讨与研究转向对教师专业化发展的研究。在这一研究中,反思性教学已成为教师教育所关注的核心问题。因此,研究反思教学及其特点,分析师生问在反思过程中的互动关系,思考开展反思教学途径和方法,是对促进教师专业化发展有重要意义。     

‘These are not the realities I imagined’: an inquiry into the lost hopes and aspirations of beginning teachers

The Program for Excellence in Teaching (PET) conducted in Israel aspires towards training excellent teachers but also towards creating agents of change within the educational system. This qualitative study, focusing on 21 students and beginning teachers who participated in the PET at a certain college of education in Israel, examines their professional expectations and the disparity between intentions and implementations that happens as the beginning teachers encounter the reality in schools. The article suggests three factors that address this disparity: the participants’ positive conception of the educational system, the isolation of the beginning teachers, and the induction process they must undergo. This article proposes various innovative recommendations for coping with this situation.