Quality Talk and dialogic teaching—an examination of a professional development programme on secondary teachers’ facilitation of student talk

This study used the Quality Talk and dialogic teaching approach with a group of secondary school teachers (N = 7) to train their facilitation of dialogical discussions by small groups of students. The study used video and audio analysis to assess the teachers’ observable behaviours during these discussions, before and after professional development; for example, types of Quality Talk questions asked. The study also used face‐to‐face interviews, held before and after the professional development, to investigate the teachers’ beliefs about learning through discussion. Results show that although the number of high‐quality questions from the teachers did not increase, the quality of the questions students asked of each other did improve, and resulted in extended periods of dialogic spells. Positive developments were found for teachers’ beliefs about the use of dialogue to foster deeper thinking with their secondary school‐aged students.     

Two secondary teachers’ understanding and classroom practice of dialogic teaching: a case study

Dialogic Teaching (DT) is effective in fostering student learning; yet, it is hard to implement. Little research focused on secondary teachers’ learning of DT and on the link between teachers’ understanding and practices, although these two are usually strongly intertwined. Using a wide range of evidence, this case study systematically investigated and compared two secondary teachers’ understanding and practice of DT during their participation in a continuing professional development programme (CPDP). The CPDP appeared effective to some extent. The History teacher’s understanding of DT, i.e. being a co-learner, appeared highly effective in implementing DT, whereas the Mathematics teacher’s understanding of DT, i.e. creating a democratic learning environment, seemed only effective to some extent. Focusing on both teachers’ understanding and practice when developing DT seemed fruitful in explaining differences in practice. Future research could further explore to what extent understanding DT as being a co-learner facilitates professional development.     

The multi-paradigmatic character of contemporary educational action research: a promising perspective or an underlying threat?

From the very first moment action research started to be used in the social research field until now, it has presented significant variations. Action research looks like a mosaic of theoretical and methodological approaches, named differently from time to time and/or from place to place: for example, practitioner inquiry, practitioner research, teacher research, participatory action research, and so forth. The basic aims of this article are to find the reasons for this and to discuss the implications of the phenomenon. Starting with the first issue, we could ask ourselves: why do we today find so many and considerable variations in action research approaches in the literature? The evident reason is because action research draws upon many theoretical paradigms that – in some circumstances – are not only different, but also contradict each other. Hammersley states characteristically that action research draws upon positivism, pragmatism, hermeneutics, critical theory and postmodernism! After such claims, we can easily wonder: how can such a multi-paradigmatic approach compose cohesive methodological proposals? We can also pose another crucial question: although we can easily understand that this multi-paradigmatic nature is a real advantage which gives action research a pluralistic essence, is it really ‘a strong indicator of the power of action research to reinvent itself according to local needs’ as Somekh stated, or might it at the same time conceal serious risks?     

Scaffolding teachers to foster inclusive pedagogy and presence through collaborative action research

Teachers can be influential change agents in transforming their schools if they regularly reflect on their pedagogical practices, looking for improvements that will help all learners reach their full potential. However, in many sub-Saharan African countries, teachers seldom get an opportunity to collaboratively reflect on their practices. Action research, as an in-service professional development strategy, can be an ideal means of empowering teachers to collaboratively reflect on and improve their pedagogy to be more inclusive. Drawing from collaborative action research projects conducted by teachers in two primary schools in Zanzibar, Tanzania, this article explores the role of collaborative action research in developing the capacity of teachers to inform improvements in their pedagogical practices. The findings show how the participating teachers, with scaffolding influence from a critical friend (research facilitator), developed professionally along their zones of proximal development by promoting their pedagogical and research skills to enhance the presence, participation and achievement of all learners in their schools. Based on the findings, the article shows both the advantages and disadvantages of using collaborative action research in teacher professional development in the study context. The article also discusses the significance of organisational learning in in-service professional development in order to foster inclusive pedagogy through collaborative inquiry among teachers.     

If I experience formative assessment whilst studying at university,will I put it into practice later as a teacher? Formative and shared assessment in Initial Teacher Education (ITE)

The aim of this article is to analyse whether having experience of formative assessment during their initial teacher education courses (ITE) influences graduates’ subsequent practice as teachers. That is, if the assessment methods that university students are subject to during their learning process are then actually employed by them during their professional practice as schoolteachers. To address this issue, questionnaires were issued and focus groups were held with a sample of ITE graduates. The main results of the study are that: (1) formative and shared assessment (FSA) is not used a great deal during ITE, but is highly valued; (2) some graduates have implemented FSA in their practice as teachers, following their experience on their ITE course; and (3) significant variables are found regarding the implementation of FSA in schools (possible resistance from colleagues and/or pupils’ parents, etc.).     

The importance of environment for teacher professional learning in Malta and Scotland

Current reforms in the Maltese and Scottish educational contexts can only be fully implemented if teachers radically transform the way they teach. Teacher professional learning is an important mechanism that policy-makers, school leaders and administrators have to achieve this. Teacher professional learning is, above all, situated within the specific social workplace environment of teacher practice. Thus, schools need to be recognised as important sites of professional learning for teachers. In Malta and Scotland teachers were asked about their professional learning to identify how the learning environment within individual schools affects professional learning. In both countries, collaboration and school leadership were key components in determining a school’s learning environment. Data analysis led to the production of examples of expansive and restrictive features. Policy-makers, school leaders and administrators can use these features to examine how schools operate in terms of helping or hindering professional learning in the school environment.     

Negotiating the teaching of history in times of curriculum reform: the narrative accounts of four Australian primary teachers

This research investigates the understandings of four teachers who teach history in primary and early childhood settings. Data were gathered from participants through semi-structured interviews. The participants were experienced teachers who were in the process of curriculum change – from teachers of studies of society and environment to teachers of history, under the auspices of the Australian Curriculum: History. The focus of the study was on their understandings of content knowledge and the pedagogies involved in classroom teaching, using a pedagogical framework, which sought to identify and categorise the nature of their knowledge base in the implementation phase of the Australian Curriculum: History. The study used narrative inquiry to show how temporality, sociality, and place play out in the lives of these teachers of history. The findings from this study indicate the challenges and opportunities for teachers’ professional knowledge landscapes in times of curriculum reform. Whilst there are a small number of participants in this study, their stories provide insight into how teachers responded to the challenges and opportunities of teaching history and how these teachers have shaped the implementation of the history curriculum.     

Moral authorship of novice teachers in primary education

This article focuses on moral authorship as an element of the professional development of novice teachers in the Netherlands. Moral authorship refers to the ability of teachers to observe, identify, verbalize and reflect on the moral aspects of their work in a proactive and dialogical manner. We elaborate on moral authorship by theoretically exploring six interdependent tasks of moral meaning making: moral commitment, awareness, orientation and positioning, moral performance and evaluation. Narratives of 19 novice teachers were analyzed to explore moral authorship in teachers’ talk. The results show the opportunities of moral authorship to support, navigate, and reinforce the professional development of novice teachers. This study suggests professional self-dialogs for enhancing the development of moral authorship.     

Identifying pathways of teachers’ PCK development

This paper describes a method of analysing teacher growth in the context of science education. It focuses on the identification of pathways in the development of secondary school teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) by the use of the interconnected model of teachers’ professional growth (IMTPG).The teachers (n = 12) participated in a one-year action research project focused on their individual concerns related to teaching science. The use of the IMTPG revealed that teachers use different pathways of learning to develop different aspects of their PCK. For each PCK component, three distinct pathways could be identified, two of which clearly were associated with professional growth. When examining these two pathways in detail, it was found that (1) teachers learned about new instructional strategies and assessment methods mostly through literature reviews and discussions with peers and (2) teachers who analyzed and reflected on student learning as it happened in their classrooms developed understandings that helped them to select and apply instructional strategies to further promote student learning. Both the analytical method as well as the identification of the different developmental pathways help to better understand teacher development in the context of classroom practices.     

Understanding students’ experiences of professionalism learning: a ‘threshold’ approach

Professionalism is a core element of curricula in many disciplines but can be difficult to teach and learn. This study used audio-diary methodology to identify professionalism threshold concepts in a small group learning setting in undergraduate medicine and to understand factors that might facilitate students to ‘get’ such concepts. Fifteen students and seven tutors kept audio-diaries over two terms. Data were analysed qualitatively for content. The key themes were then cross referenced to threshold concept criteria (e.g. where language indicated that learning was troublesome, integrative or transformative). Seven potential threshold concepts were identified which centred on students’ developing professional identities including working with uncertainty, considering the bigger picture, not needing to know everything and professional culture. Reflection on workplace experiences within a small group helped students ‘get’ these concepts. The study concludes that threshold concepts and audio-diaries are useful tools for understanding lived experiences of professionalism learning.