The Mountain Lake Colloquium and the Mountain Lake Reader

2019 ◽  
pp. 160-187
Author(s):  
Janet R. Barrett ◽  
Diane Persellin ◽  
Janet Robbins ◽  
Sandra L. Stauffer
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Community Of Practice ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Music Teacher ◽  
Mountain Lake ◽  
Biennial Conference

The Mountain Lake Colloquium, a biennial conference held since 1991 in Virginia, has become a robust and dynamic site for the professional learning of music teacher educators. The colloquium aspires to serve as a welcoming space for new colleagues, a seedbed of ideas, a forum for dialogue, a venue for disseminating scholarship, and a community of practice. This chapter captures the dimensions of the scholarship, practice, conversation, inquiry, reflection, and collegiality that have come to characterize participation in this community. It also describes the parallel creation and publication of six issues of the Mountain Lake Reader, a journal for disseminating related examples of practice and scholarly essays in artistic forms. The playful and polyvocal qualities of experience integral to the colloquium may inspire those interested in the professional development of music teacher educators and colleagues who are on the search to integrate scholarship and practice more fully and imaginatively.

scholarly journals Reimagining Music Teacher Collaboration: The Culture of Professional Learning Communities as Professional Development Within Schools and Districts

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-23
Author(s):  
Sharyn L. Battersby
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Professional Learning Communities ◽  
Learning Communities ◽  
Student Learning ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Teacher Collaboration ◽  
Music Teachers ◽  
Music Educators ◽  
Music Teacher ◽  
Collaborative Community

Music educators are continually seeking new ways to better their practice and improve student learning. Professional learning communities are a type of collaborative community that when administered successfully provide a forum for music educators to become active participants in both their own learning and that of their students. While the notion of professional learning communities has been around since the 1990s, they have received renewed attention more recently due to the adaptation and implementation of Danielson’s popular Framework for Teaching, which has been implemented in many school districts across the country. Teachers facing the challenge of reshaping the culture of their music programs and seeing their initiative sustained will devise elements that will become embedded in that (school) culture. Supportive and shared leadership, shared values and vision, and collective learning are just some of the attributes that can contribute to student learning and the professional development of music teachers.

scholarly journals Mathematics teachers’ learning on Exploratory Teaching: analysis of a Multimedia Case in a Community of Practice

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 112-133
Author(s):  
Cristina Cirino de Jesus ◽  
Marcia Cristina de Costa Trindade Cyrino ◽  
Hélia Margarida de Oliveira
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Classroom Management ◽  
Community Of Practice ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Mathematics Teachers ◽  
Lesson Planning ◽  
Audio Recording ◽  
Teachers Professional Development ◽  
Multimedia Resource

This article aim is to investigate what professional learning regarding Exploratory Teaching (ET) perspective was revealed by Mathematics teachers, in a Community of Practice (CoP). In a context intended to promote teachers’ professional development, a multimedia resource integrating real classroom situations was used to promote discussion and learning. Qualitative research has been carried out with an audio recording of the group meetings and the written productions elaborated by the teachers. The learning related to the Exploratory Teaching perspective revealed by the teachers is associated to the actions and roles of the teacher, the student’s role, classroom management and the relevance of lesson planning in teacher’s practice. The involvement in the CoP favored teachers to rethink and question some of their actions during the lessons and to notice essential aspects of ET perspective and to connect them with their experiences from the classroom. The results show that the constitution of a CoP around the exploration of a multimedia case in professional development contexts can be a facilitator for the learning of its members.

Teaching Ambition Realized: Paul’s Beginning Music Teacher Identity

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-55
Author(s):  
Tami J. Draves
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Identity Development ◽  
Student Teachers ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Teacher Identity ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Music Teacher ◽  
School Senior ◽  
Music Teacher Identity ◽  
Beliefs About Teaching

The purpose of this particularistic case study was to explore Paul’s teacher identity in his first year as a music educator. I chose Paul purposively because, while a high school senior, he had participated in previous research about teacher socialization. Using Olsen’s sociocultural view of teacher identity as a lens, I examined Paul’s teacher identity including personal beliefs about teaching, how those interacted with professional learning and teacher education experiences, and how Paul made sense of himself as a teacher. Through data analysis I revealed three themes: Becoming Student Focused, Learning to Be Myself as a Teacher, and Taking Ownership. I recommend making preservice and cooperating music teachers more aware of teacher identity models and suggest activities to promote teacher identity development in music teacher education programs. Music teacher educators would benefit from having more teacher identity scholarship focused on music student teachers and beginning music educators.

Teachers Are Adult Learners

2020 ◽  
pp. 20-42
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Adult Learning ◽  
Community Of Practice ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Learning Theory ◽  
Situated Learning ◽  
Adult Learning Theory ◽  
Learning Groups ◽  
Joint Activities ◽  
Values And Beliefs

This chapter will expose the reader to adult learning theory, with particular emphasis on situated learning and discourse theory. Adult learning theory should inform the design of professional development sessions, with particular attention devoted to context and collaborative settings. Professional learning of teachers within the classroom is influenced by situated learning theory and has the potential for sustained professional development. Situated learning proposes that learning involves a process of engagement in a community of practice. People who share a concern or passion for something they do, involving members in joint activities and discussions as they build relationships that enable them to learn from each other, form communities of practice. The concept of community of practice is further discussed as it pertains to teacher professional learning groups. In education, teachers come to professional development sessions with espoused platforms, already equipped with values and beliefs about instruction in the classroom. Therefore, professional development cannot be a one-size-fits-all opportunity.

Becoming music teacher educators: Learning from and with each other in a professional development community

2014 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 462-477 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristen Pellegrino ◽  
Bridget Sweet ◽  
Julie Derges Kastner ◽  
Heather A. Russell ◽  
Jill Reese
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Music Teacher

scholarly journals "She didn't know much about English teaching": planning classes together in the teachers' room as a practice of professional development

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 59-78
Author(s):  
Simone Sarmento ◽  
William Kirsch
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Community Of Practice ◽  
Teacher Development ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Data Generation ◽  
Semistructured Interviews ◽  
South Of Brazil ◽  
The Coordinator

This paper is a part of a larger research project, which focused on investigating the teacher development practices in a Languages without Borders community of a large university in the south of Brazil. The research is affiliated with the paradigm of Practice Theory (Young, 2009; Young, 2010) and relied on qualitative methods of data generation and analysis (Erickson, 1990; Gumperz, 2005; Mason, 2002; Tannen, 2014), as well as on semistructured interviews with focal participants. The data revealed that the practices that culminate in teacher development could be divided into two: (1) formal practices, that is, the ones consciously planned and carried out by the coordinator; and (2) informal ones, that is, practices that emerged from everyday life in this community of practice, chiefly in the teachers' room. In this paper, we focus on a specific informal practice - that of planning classes together. Planning classes together was considered a productive practice in terms of professional learning both in the interviews and in the data obtained through participant observation.

scholarly journals COURSERA ONLINE COURSE: A PLATFORM FOR ENGLISH TEACHERS’ MEANINGFUL AND VIBRANT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arnis Silvia
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
School Administrators ◽  
Development Program ◽  
English Teachers ◽  
Online Course ◽  
Learning Platform ◽  
Online Platforms

This article reports on English teachers‘ attitudes towards a professional development program run by Coursera (coursera.org). Theseteachers were participants of Foundation of Teaching for Learning 1: Introduction online course. Using a survey case study, the findings reveal that most of the participants perceive the course as a well-organized and effective platform to engage in professional learning. Coursera is an online learning platform offering various courses for teacher educators which are meaningful (closely related to their daily teaching practice) and vibrant (involves active collaboration among peer participants to review and assess their projects). Albeit this nature, another finding shows that the participants lament that their institutions do not provide professional development (PD) support. In fact, PD programs are not constrained to face-to-face encounters, since it can be designed using online platforms such as Coursera, a massive open online course (MOOC). Accordingly, the contribution of the article is to show how online platforms make meaningful and vibrant teacher professional development (TPD) possible. The implication of the study is that school administrators and policy makers should provide support for their teachers to take online PD programs. This professional learning should contribute to the best teaching practice and student learning attainment.

Professional Development to Promote Online Communication, Collaboration and Learning Among Faculty

2021 ◽  
pp. 191-224
Author(s):  
Mayela Coto ◽  
Lone Dirckinck-Holmfeld
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Community Of Practice ◽  
Development Strategy ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Online Communication ◽  
Development Program ◽  
Theory Model ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Practice Approach

Based on a critical re-reading of a study of a community of practice approach to professional development, this chapter uses Engeström's activity theory model to highlight the tensions that arise in a professional development program oriented to change teaching practice through the introduction of ICT and a student-centered pedagogical approach. Despite the community of practice potential, there are many tensions that inhibit this type of professional learning. These tensions can be summarized in four broad categories: institutional structures (division of work), the institutional culture (rules), levels of engagement (differentiations within the community), and faculty readiness (in the appropriation of tools and new pedagogy). By analyzing, in greater depth, the tensions, our goal is to reflect again in the design principles and to further elaborate on developing a professional development strategy based on a community of practice approach that can be used in broader contexts.

scholarly journals Using Facebook as an e-portfolio in enhancing pre-service teachers’ professional development

2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Kamarul Kabilan
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Community Of Practice ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Future Teachers ◽  
Online Teacher ◽  
Teacher Portfolio ◽  
Teachers Professional Development

<p class="Body1">This study aims to determine if <em>Facebook</em>, when used as an online teacher portfolio (OTP), could contribute meaningfully to pre-service teachers’ professional development (PD) and in what ways the OTP can be meaningful. Pre-service teachers (<em>n</em> = 91) were asked to develop OTP using <em>Facebook</em> and engage in learning and professional development (PD) activities for 14 weeks. Questionnaires, open-ended items and reflective reports were used to collect data and it was found that many of the pre-service teachers benefitted quite significantly in terms of their development as future teachers through these five facets: (i) community of practice; (ii) professional learning and identity; (iii) relevant skills; (iv) resources; and (v) confidence.</p>

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