Theorizing about components of teacher professional development: supports and barriers

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Richelle Marynowski ◽  
Amber Darroch ◽  
Asta Gregory ◽  
Molly James
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Teacher Professional Development ◽  
Middle School Teachers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
School Division ◽  
Coaching Model ◽  
Practical Support ◽  
Individual Participant ◽  
Teacher Professional ◽  
Small Rural School

PurposeThis paper reports on a study exploring a sustained coaching model of teacher professional development (PD). The study was undertaken with middle school teachers in a small rural school division in Alberta, Canada. The goal of the study was to theorize about the components of the sustained coaching model of PD that supported or was a barrier to teachers engaging in a year-long PD series.Design/methodology/approachA grounded theory methodology was used to theorize about the components of a teacher PD model that participants viewed as being a support or barrier to their engagement in the PD. Data were collected from two individual participant interviews: one interview at the beginning of the year and one interview at the end of the year.FindingsFindings indicate that teacher PD should include a constant community, accountability to other participants in that community, and a balance of theoretical and practical support and be provided over multiple sessions. In addition, in order for the PD to be sustainable, barriers to engaging in the PD should be minimized.Originality/valueA recognition of the complexity of the factors influencing a teacher's interaction with PD provides a lens with which to consider the potential for a teacher's engagement with PD.

MOOCS for teacher professional development: exploring teachers’ perceptions and achievements

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 74-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikolaos Koukis ◽  
Athanassios Jimoyiannis
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Teacher Professional Development ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Peer Interaction ◽  
Collaborative Writing ◽  
Active Engagement ◽  
Supportive Evidence ◽  
Design Features ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Teacher Professional

PurposeThis paper aims to report on a study concerning a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), designed to support Greek-language teachers in secondary-education schools in implementing collaborative writing activities with Google Docs (GDs) in their classrooms. Data recorded from a post-survey were used to investigate teachers’ views and perceptions about MOOC design features, their personal achievements and the overall outcomes for their professional work and development.Design/methodology/approachThe design framework of the particular teacher professional development MOOC was determined by the connectivist principles and addressed three main dimensions of teachers’ active participation: a) individual engagement; b) peer interaction and mutual support; and c) collaborative creation of educational scenarios and artefacts. The analysis used a mixed method that combines data from teachers’ active engagement through the MOOC platform records and quantitative and qualitative data from their responses to a post-survey questionnaire.FindingsThe analysis of the research data provided supportive evidence that the design framework was effective towards promoting teachers’ active engagement, peer interaction and support and development of learning design abilities to integrate collaborative writing with GDs in their classrooms. The findings showed that the majority of participants conceptualized this MOOC as an efficient environment to enhance their pedagogical knowledge and classroom practices and to support continuous professional development.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings of this study may be limited by the specific sample and the context of implementation. Future research is expected to critically analyse existing results in combination with qualitative data from detailed interviews of participants in this teacher professional development MOOC.Practical implicationsThe results provided supportive evidence that successful MOOCs for teacher professional development are determined by four key design features: a) connecting course content and teacher learning practices to the educational reality of the classroom; b) defining concrete learning objectives of the course; c) promoting teachers’ collaborative learning; and d) creating a learning community among peers.Originality/valueThis paper presents a systematic analysis of teachers’ engagement in a teacher professional development MOOC, designed to support collaborative and self-directed learning. The results are expected to be significant and valuable for wider educational contexts, as MOOCs for teacher professional development is a new, ambitious topic for both research and educational policies.

“School banding”

2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (6) ◽  
pp. 686-701 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daphnee Hui Lin Lee ◽  
Chi Shing Chiu
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Teacher Professional Development ◽  
Principal Leadership ◽  
School Context ◽  
Effective School ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Leadership Attributes ◽  
School Based ◽  
Teacher Professional ◽  
School Based Management

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how principals’ leadership approaches to teacher professional development arise from school banding and may impact upon teacher professional capital and student achievement. Design/methodology/approach The case study is situated within the context of school-based management, comprising reflective accounts of nine school principals selected by stratified sampling from a sample of 56 Hong Kong schools to represent Bands One, Two, and Three schools. The reflective accounts were triangulated with observations of teachers and analysis of school websites. Findings First, under school-based management, principals remain obliged to recognize the power of state-defined examinations in determining the schools’ future priorities. Second, the exercise of school autonomy in response to this obligation varies, depending upon the competitive advantage schools have in the school banding system. Ideally, effective school-based management is dependent upon the principal’s capacity to facilitate good instructional practices. However, principals need to adjust their leadership practices to school contextual demands. Third, adaptations to contexts result in the varied developments of teacher capacities in schools, corresponding with the types of principal leadership adopted. Originality/value While statistical studies have identified attributes of exemplary principal leadership, few studies have examined the qualitative reasons for the exemplification of these attributes, and the influence of the school context in shaping these attributes. Departing from assumptions that leadership attributes are intrinsic to individuals, this paper considers how principals contextualize leadership in teacher professional development to the schools’ student academic achievement.

scholarly journals Digital tools to support teacher professional development in lesson studies: a systematic literature review

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Hrastinski
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Teacher Professional Development ◽  
Teacher Collaboration ◽  
Lesson Study ◽  
Digital Tools ◽  
Journal Articles ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Teacher Professional ◽  
Support Teacher ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeLesson study is one of the most adopted models of teacher professional development. However, as education has become increasingly digital, this study aims to investigate the use of digital tools to support teacher professional development in lesson studies.Design/methodology/approachThis article systematically reviews journal articles on the use of digital tools to support teacher professional development in lesson studies.FindingsWhile the lesson study model is typically based on the premise that teachers prepare and observe a lesson at a school, the reviewed research suggests that digital tools open new ways to conduct lesson studies. Six themes on the use of digital tools to support teacher professional development in lesson studies are identified: analyzing videos from the teachers' classrooms, analyzing external video resources, fictional animations as a complement to videos, structured digital lesson study work, hybrid teacher collaboration and digital teacher collaboration. Opportunities for further research are suggested.Practical implicationsThe identified themes can inspire practice on how to use digital tools to support teacher professional development in lesson studies.Originality/valueLittle attention has been paid to the use of digital tools to support teacher professional development in lesson studies.

Cost-Effectiveness of Instructional Coaching: Implementing a Design-Based, Continuous Improvement Model to Advance Teacher Professional Development

2020 ◽  
pp. 105268462097204
Author(s):  
David S. Knight ◽  
Thomas M. Skrtic
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Cost Effectiveness ◽  
Teacher Professional Development ◽  
Continuous Improvement ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Instructional Coaching ◽  
Student Outcome ◽  
Coaching Model ◽  
Teacher Professional ◽  
The Cost

Schools devote substantial resources to teacher professional development each year. Yet studies show much of this investment is directed toward ineffective short-term workshops that have little impact on instructional change or student outcomes. At the same time, more intensive job-embedded forms of professional learning, such as instructional coaching, require substantially more resources than traditional professional development. We report the results of a two-year study assessing the cost-effectiveness of instructional coaching through a design-based, continuous improvement research model. We study iterative, inquiry cycles in which educators collect data and make changes to the coaching model based on multiple rounds of implementation. We determined the effectiveness of coaching during each iteration by tracking the number of times teachers and coaches reached student-outcome based goals set during the coaching cycle. We assess the cost of implementing the coaching model for each of the three iterations by monitoring staff time allocations and other resource use. Results show that across five schools, the cost of the coaching intervention decreased substantially from the first iteration to the second iteration but increased moderately during the third iteration. Our findings suggest that coaching programs can become more cost-effective over time, as coaches and teachers refine their work together. While specific design features of the study limit generalizability of our findings, the study demonstrates how improvement science or design-based research can be combined with cost-effectiveness research to improve practice in local settings.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document