不同层级教师专业发展道路的个案研究

新课程改革以来,教师发展研究从理论论述迅速发展到实践层面,受到广大教师群体的重视。教师专业发展的不同层级的个案研究显示,校本教研是教师群体专业成长的最好途径,而教师个体也可以通过适合自己的研究,达致教师专业发展的良好状态。参与教师专业发展的各种力量,对于教师发展具有不同的作用。教研员应立足于地区性的教师专业发展的促进,校长在教师专业发展中应起到引领和管理的作用,学科教研组是教师专业知识交流和成长的核心地带,教师个人通过行动研究可以达致专业发展的目的。     

Occupying a ‘third space’: research trained professional staff in Australian universities

Despite the expansion and professionalisation of university administration over the past 20 years there has been no scholarly study on the extent to which universities, which promote the value of generic skills from research degrees to prospective research students and their employers, capitalize on the research and transferable skills of PhD graduates later employed in the university sector as professional staff. Findings from this study of research-trained professional staff at one research-intensive Australian university suggests that these professionals are using their research and generic skills in management roles, to the benefit of the university. In the context of the knowledge based economy, this study suggests that universities could benefit from actively targeting the products of their own system for professional roles.     

Supported reflective practice: a programme of peer observation and feedback for academic teaching development

The outcomes of the evaluation of a structured, peer-supported teaching development programme for academic staff are reported. Supported reflective practice forms the conceptual framework for the programme, which includes feedback on observed teaching and feedback on reflection. Key themes identified are the effectiveness of the supported reflective practice process, improvements to teaching practice, developing confidence and congruent espoused theory and theory-in-use, ongoing professional development and developing collegiality. Factors that facilitate the programme are explored, including the support triangle, the role of the educational developer in providing feedback and monitoring, and the role of the support colleague. Suggestions for implementation of similar programmes are offered.     

The impact of intensive ‘value for money’ performance auditing in educational systems

The starting point for this article is the authors' ongoing collaborative enquiry into professional practice, which primarily aims to improve and develop our roles in Staff and Educational Development in Higher Education (HE). Part of this action research cycle includes an empirical study carried out in the authors' institution to find out how academic colleagues view their work practices. They identify the major difficulties faced in supporting the professional development of these staff and argue that to be effective within a culture that encourages individualism, and that is driven by a disciplinary-research agenda, those who have responsibility for academic professional development should promote the idea of teachers as researchers. They argue that a research approach to development, centred on individual practice and learning, should be considered by those who engage in professional learning. Beyond these issues, the study also provides a snapshot of academic values in a research-led Higher Education Institution in Britain in the late 1990s.     

Staff development by stealth

An innovation in staff development in 1985 at Birmingham Polytechnic (now the University of Central England) led to the introduction of staff developers in all faculties. The faculty staff developers were ascribed a product-oriented model of practice. The model emphasises the delivery of material resources to enhance professional competence. To illuminate the model of practice implied by the innovation, a multiplicity of research methods were used, including participant observation. The faculty staff developers formed and promoted Faculty Learning Centres for which they had the support of the deans of faculties. Academic staff made mixed use of the facilities of the Faculty Learning Centres; on average they were satisfied with them, but they consulted the faculty staff developers very little. The author concludes that the product-oriented model of practice offers a limited contribution to the process of staff development. He prefers the eclectic model (Boud and McDonald 1981) which features negotiation between staff developer and client. This requires a broad range of expertise in the developers and carries implications for their selection, training and continuing support.     

Modelling a learning environment: Towards a learning organization

Abstract

The role of the academic developer mirrors that of the current day academic. It is increasingly diverse and complex. Staff employed in academic development units are expected to respond to the needs of individual academics and are also expected to provide leadership in teaching and learning, conduct research into higher education, contribute to policy on a broad range of issues, and undertake community service. In addition they are expected to take responsibility for their own professional development. They are constantlyjuggling priorities of personal, professional and organizational commitments. To maintain competence in the face of multiple demands there must be significant overlap between work and learning. The learning opportunities inherent in working within a large multi‐dimensional organization must be acknowledged and embraced through the concept of a ‘learning organization’. It is important that the organizational culture of the Academic Development Unit (ADU) values learning, encourages reflection and fosters collaborative practice. This paper outlines an organizational model of academic development highlighting the opportunities for intervention at the level of organizational culture, staff development and student learning. It also suggests strategies for organizing and managing an ADU that provides a positive model of an effective working and learning environment.     

The Birmingham Outreach Programme: The continued training of nursery nurses beyond NVQ III

Some of the recent debates and discourses about higher education have embraced the development of shared aims and values within the professional context. The opportunity to engage in critical reflexive pedagogy is being widely acknowledged as an important element in the continuing professional development in the sector. In this paper a case study model of professional development practice is outlined: the Teaching Development Group at the University of Gloucestershire. As part of a review of its own organizational structure for some aspects of professional development, a multi‐method research project was undertaken during 2001. The first phase was a questionnaire survey of the university's academic staff to establish some baseline data and to plot general patterns and trends. This generated a database of 101 returns; a response rate of 31%. The second phase was a series of four ‘focus group’ meetings to develop a more nuanced understanding of the key themes and issues that emerged from the survey. These highlighted the positive spirit in which the scheme was received in the first instance, the difference of opinion over the direction taken by different groups and agenda setting, and some perceptions about a formal framework for teaching observation as part of on‐going professional development. From the perceptions of preferences and/or optimal practice identified in the two phases of the research, a scheme of this kind has the potential to contribute effectively to professional development when appropriately resourced, small, cognate groups have autonomy and when there is a clear differentiation between on‐going staff development and formal appraisal activities.     

论教研员在促进教师专业发展中的角色与作用

教研员的工作职责是"研究、指导、服务"。教研员在促进教师专业发展中充当的角色与发挥的作用是:行家的角色,发挥对教师专业发展的指导作用;组织的角色,发挥对教师专业发展的服务作用;研究的角色,发挥对教师专业发展的引领作用。     

Communication Intervention for Students with Severe Disability: results of a partner training program

This paper reports on the evaluation of a professional development program designed for communication partners of students with severe disability. The program aimed to facilitate the translation of reported best practice in the area of communication to classroom practice. A model of case application was used to enhance partner acquisition of targeted skills and knowledge, thereby addressing perceived concerns in this area. Participants including teachers, teacher aides, and speech pathologists completed pre‐ and post‐intervention questionnaires measuring skills, knowledge, and concerns. Data were analysed on the basis of participant role to determine the significance of change between groups. Results suggest that the professional development program was effective. Teachers and teacher aides reported increased skills and knowledge, accompanied by reduced concerns. Speech pathologists indicated minimal change in either area. These findings are explored in the context of the current research literature on partner training in communication intervention.     

Future and changing roles of staff in distance education: a study to identify training and professional development needs

Abstract

The roles of distance education teaching staff are changing, necessitating role clarity and the development of appropriate competency frameworks. This article investigates the perceptions of the teaching and research staff at the University of South Africa, regarding the current and future roles of distance educators, their own competencies in each role and training that they require in order to address competencies required in these future roles. This research forms part of a larger project that focuses on capacity and continuous professional development processes that are necessary to train staff to be prepared for these changing roles. A quantitative web-based survey was sent to all academic (teaching and research) staff at the University of South Africa. Key results indicate that competencies in the roles of technology and instructional design have emerged as crucial for distance educators, and that future training programmes need to be developed to support these areas.     

Sustainability policy and sustainability in higher education curricula: the educational developer perspective

Various studies have investigated the views of higher education staff and students about sustainability, yet educational developer perspectives are under-represented in the research. This project gathered educational developer perspectives about sustainability in the curriculum. It sought to capture their views about a national sustainability policy; about the relationship between educational development and sustainability curriculum change; and whether sustainability should form part of their own roles. It was informed by the ‘theory of the second-best’ and involved nine interviews. Educational developers raised concerns about the policy, whilst opinions about their own involvement varied. It is argued that policy should provide clearer statements about curriculum, and educational developers should be involved in its development.     

The Morphing of Academic Practice: Unbundling and the Rise of the Para‐academic

Teaching, research and service are the three conventional elements of academic practice, recognised on an international basis. However, evidence suggests that academic practice is rapidly disaggregating, or ‘unbundling’, as a result of a variety of forces including the massification of national systems, the application of technology in teaching and increasing specialisation of academic roles to support a more centralised and performative culture. This article will present an analysis of these changes linked to the emergence of the ‘para‐academic’: staff who specialise in one element of academic practice. This includes the ‘up‐skilling’ of professional support staff and the ‘deskilling’ of academic staff. The implications of this change for the quality of the student experience and the sustainablity of academic citizenship are considered.     

Creating partnerships for generative learning and systemic change: Redefining academic roles and relationships in support of learning

The adoption of information and communications technologies (ICT) is a catalyst for innovation and evaluation of teaching, and are driving many tertiary institutions towards a reconsideration of the nature of quality learning. While the technology of online delivery receives most attention, it is arguably the management of teaching and learning that requires new approaches. Universities which have been engaged in traditional forms of distance education are considering how best to integrate communications technologies that offer alternative forms of course delivery, communication, flexible pedagogies and new roles for teachers and learners. Institutional change issues are also linked to ICT adoption: developing students' generic skills, fostering lifelong learning and catering for greater flexibility in delivery of educational services is now core business in tertiary institutions across Australia. This paper argues that such changes require tertiary teaching staff to adopt a different mindset, that of facilitating and supporting learning while assuming new roles as managers, motivators, mentors and mediators of learning. The rationale for each of these roles within Web-based learning environments is presented within a constructivist framework, which affirms and extends good teaching practice. In addition to highlighting aspects of teaching and learning that are supported and transformed by constructivist, Web-based delivery, this paper proposes that professional development is essentially about establishing partnerships for renewal of teaching values, and that staff developers need to learn the craft of supporting change at various levels: at the individual level, at the course and unit level and at the institutional level through systemic contextualized affirmation of constructivist values. Professional development for adoption of Web-based teaching requires multi-dimensional thinking. Rather than acting as a driver of top-down change, effective staff development is participatory and supportive, seeking action research partnerships where more profound changes in teacher conceptions of learning must take place before online pedagogies become part of tertiary teaching culture.     

Models of information technology teacher professional development that engage with teachers' hearts and minds

Abstract

The willingness and ability of teachers to integrate information technology (IT) into their teaching is largely dependent on the professional development they receive. However, it is not clear which models of IT professional development result in transformative and effective practice. This article reports on interviews in three countries with ‘exemplary’ IT users who also have professional development roles. It identifies ideas such as the change of teacher role, home-grown experts, comfortable shoes approach, let them struggle and killer applications as part of the repertoire of successful approaches employed by these IT professional developers     

The work of an academic: Jack of all trades,or master of one?

Abstract

This paper stems from conversations between the authors who recently came to work together in staff and educational development. Having pursued different academic careers in Higher Education (HE), we questioned whether we had a common understanding of our academic community. In particular, we discussed two aspects. First, the extent to which our different disciplinary backgrounds influenced our perspectives on academic practice and our attitudes and approaches to staff and educational development. If we held different views on academic practice, how many other variations were we likely to encounter? Second, we felt it important to be sensitive to the needs of our colleagues in terms of their practices. The research that emanated from our discussions began with an empirical study, reported in this paper. We explore tensions between the various work activities performed by academics at the University of Sheffield. Eighty staff maintained a diary over a specified week early in the academic year 1997‐98. They recorded time spent on the activities of research, teaching, administration, external work, and professional development. Biographical data, including staff grade, length of service in HE, and length of service at the University were collected via a questionnaire attached to the diary. It would appear that the majority of academics surveyed support a role in both teaching and research, with a preference to spend more time on research at the expense of administration but not at the expense of teaching. These empirical data help us to understand more about the role of academics in changing times, and how we, as staff and educational developers, might become more effective and efficient.     

The role of a professional learning community in teacher change: a perspective from beliefs and practices

This longitudinal study aimed to examine the role of a professional learning community (PLC) in changing teachers’ beliefs and practices. Teachers of a Chinese department in a Hong Kong secondary school were interviewed and observed. The findings indicate that the features of a PLC-facilitating teacher change are development of a coherent structure, a collaborative culture, and effective learning activities. These help teachers to overcome initial difficulties and induce their motivation for transformation. Teacher change in five dimensions (curriculum, teaching, learning, roles of teachers, and learning to teach) and three patterns (change in practice but not in belief, change in belief but not in practice, change in practice and belief) were detected. It is argued that cultivating an effective PLC is significant to teacher development.     

教师叙事研究：教师专业发展的一条有效路径

作为教育叙事研究重要内容的教师叙事对教师专业发展起着重要的作用,教师专业发展要求教师成为研究者,对实践进行自觉反思,要求教师以自己的经验为背景来建构对事物的理解。因此,教师叙事研究是教师专业发展的一条有效路径,它能促进教师向研究者的转型,促进教师问题意识的觉醒,促进教师对实践的不断反思,促进教师间的合作与交流。     

VET leadership for the future – characteristics,contexts and capabilities

This paper examines leadership in Australia’s vocational education and training (VET) sector. VET leaders make a vital and growing contribution to learners, industry and society, yet research on their work is limited. This has direct implications for ensuring leadership is most effective, and for framing evidence-based capacity development. The current research draws together reviews of complex and often competing contexts, analyses of prior research, and results from a national survey of 327 practising VET leaders. Analysis of what VET leaders report doing in their jobs suggests that while they are attuned to the education-focused demands of their roles, they now need new capabilities to respond to internal and external developments. To identify the powerful forces which shape leadership, the study established criteria seen to mark out effective performance in each role. It highlighted a set of indicators identified by VET leaders as those most important in making judgements about the effective delivery of each role. Identifying indicators of effective performance is important, as it is these which, ideally, drive leaders’ aspirations and behaviours. The future capacity of VET in Australia will be underpinned by the capability and regeneration of its leadership. New programmes need to focus on concrete ‘change management’ skills, working through complex real-world problems and leading change in ambiguous environments. The more authentic and active modes of learning were advocated by VET leaders, who expressed an overwhelming preference for practice-based and self-managed, as opposed to formal, forms of professional learning.     

Collaborative action research between schools,a continuing professional development centre for teachers and the university: a case study in Spain

This article describes a collaborative action research project developed over the course of the 2011/12 academic year in the Faculty of Education at Cordoba University (Spain). The RIECU school–continuing professional development centre for teachers–university learning network is part of this research process. The aim is to create and consolidate a community of practice made up of continuing professional development advisers to teachers, infant education teachers, university students who are training to become infant education teachers and university teaching staff. The most relevant findings, which respond to the questions raised, are: the action research conducted indicates that teamwork between teacher, adviser, researcher and university student is an effective strategy to facilitate the acquisition of professional competences among student teachers; and student-teachers involved in the case study have evolved in their conception and approach to childhood and have had the opportunity to learn by modelling the professional conduct of their mentor teachers.     

学校变革中的“教师领导”

依靠源自学校内部的力量而进行的持久的学校革新,应该采取不同于以往的革新方式;促成教师基于角色转型和职业生活方式改变的专业力量的兴起,是决定学校变革成败的关键因素。教师领导这一新的角色被视为教师增权、促进变革和教师专业社群建设的必然选择。教师领导意味着教师要成为促进学生学业发展的领导者,要推动其他教师改进教育教学实践,促进学校内部领导群体的形成。教师领导的途径包括"参与"、"互动"和致力于生成"合作文化"。