Master teachers as system leaders of professional learning: master teacher studios in China

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Meng Zhang ◽  
Allan David David Walker ◽  
Haiyan Qian
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Learning ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Chinese Literature ◽  
Master Teacher ◽  
Effective Teacher ◽  
Central System ◽  
Content Type ◽  
System Leadership ◽  
System Leaders ◽  
Support Teacher

PurposeThis study aims to describe and analyze an innovative mechanism of teacher-led, system-wide professional learning that has been widely adopted since the beginning of the twenty-first century in China – the Master Teacher Studio (MTS).Design/methodology/approachThis paper drew from policy documents, published Chinese literature relating to MTSs and personal fieldwork experience in Shanghai, Guangdong and Zhejiang province.FindingsThe article first outlines the context framing the system change, including its policy background and evolution, and then the MTS's purpose, formative process and structure. It finally examines major teacher learning activities and the leadership roles of the MTS hosts (leaders).Research limitations/implicationsThis study contributed to the knowledge base of system teacher leaders and how they lead cross-school leading.Practical implicationsThe MTS initiative described in this article shows the power of central system leadership to spread and embed effective teacher learning practices at schools.Originality/valueThis article provides implications for understanding and practicing teacher system leadership to support teacher professional learning in different societies.

Improving professional development relationships that support teacher learning

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 365-381
Author(s):  
Danielle Lillge
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Teacher Learning ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
English Teachers ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Literacy Reform ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Need Support ◽  
The Moment ◽  
Support Teacher

Purpose Current top-down literacy reform mandates have reenergized attention to professional development (PD) outcomes. Still, questions remain about why English teachers struggle to apply their learning. Refocusing attention on understanding the complex yet critical relationship between professional development (PD) facilitators and teachers offers one explanation. Design/methodology/approach Using a telling case from an interactional ethnography, this paper illustrates how through their language-in-use teachers and facilitators can productively resolve conflicts that, if left unaddressed, can prevent teachers from acting on their professional learning. Findings A set of discursive moves – flagging, naming, soliciting and processing – provide a toolkit for surfacing and successfully resolving conflict in PD interactions. Research limitations/implications These moves offer a way of prioritizing the importance of teacher–facilitator relationships in future research aimed at addressing the longstanding conundrum of how best to support English teachers’ ongoing professional learning. Practical implications Teaching facilitators and teachers how to collaboratively address inevitable conflicts offers a needed intervention in supporting both teacher and facilitator learning. Originality/value Previous research has affirmed that facilitators, like teachers, need support for navigating the complexity of professional learning interactions. This paper offers a language for uncovering why teacher–facilitator interactions can be so challenging for teachers and facilitators as well as ways of responding productively in-the-moment. It contributes to a more capacious understanding of how these relationships shape diverse English teacher learning.

Focusing on Teacher Learning Opportunities to Identify Potentially Productive Coaching Activities

2017 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 411-425 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynsey K. Gibbons ◽  
Paul Cobb
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Learning ◽  
Science Teachers ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Instructional Coaching ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Improve Instruction ◽  
Support Teacher ◽  
Coaching Activities ◽  
Mathematics And Science Teachers ◽  
Mathematics And Science

Instructional improvement initiatives in many districts include instructional coaching as a primary form of job-embedded support for teachers. However, the coaching literature provides little guidance about what activities coaches should engage in with teachers to improve instruction. When researchers do propose activities, they rarely justify why those activities might support teacher learning. Drawing on the preservice and inservice teacher education literatures, we present a conceptual analysis of learning activities that have the potential to support mathematics and science teachers to improve practice. We argue that our analysis can inform research on mathematics and science coaching, coaching policies, and the design of professional learning for coaches.

A Multi-Perspective Collaborative on Teacher Learning for Teachers of Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder

2012 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth A. West ◽  
Phyllis Jones ◽  
Dianne Chambers ◽  
Teresa Whitehurst
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Teacher Learning ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Practical Experience ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Effective Teacher ◽  
Research Activity ◽  
Service Training

The purpose of this multi-perspective collaborative research activity was to analyze moments of teacher learning as perceived by a group of teachers who educate students with the label of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The researchers in this project acknowledge the value of hearing teachers' perspectives on what works for them in their professional learning. This perspective is generated from surveys distributed to inservice teachers at three Universities (two located within the USA and one situated in Australia) and one Residential School (UK). Five overarching themes emerged at the analysis stage and relate to: practical experience, pre-service training, in-service training, mentoring and assistive technology. The current research generates insight into effective teacher learning aimed to benefit those who develop professional learning programs, with a particular emphasis on ASD. The lessons learned from this collaborative endeavor will assist the global autism community as we inform the development and design of appropriate professional development practices.

Teacher change through cognitive conflicts: the case of an art lesson study

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 383-395
Author(s):  
James Calleja ◽  
Laura Formosa
Keyword(s):  
Professional Learning ◽  
Teacher Change ◽  
Lesson Study ◽  
Lesson Plan ◽  
Collaborative Work ◽  
Cognitive Conflict ◽  
Effective Teacher ◽  
Art Teacher ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Study Process

PurposeThe paper focuses on lesson study, which generally engages the collaborative work of a group of teachers, as implemented with a primary school art teacher who had limited opportunities for collaboration. Through lesson study, the teacher worked closely with a lesson study facilitator and an art education expert to plan a research lesson. The study explores how this collaboration generated cognitive conflicts and eventually teacher change.Design/methodology/approachThis paper presents a case study using a thematic approach to data analysis. The lesson study involved weekly face-to-face meetings and daily online communications over a period of eight weeks. In an attempt to reflect upon and resolve conflicts, the teacher kept a journal in which the teacher wrote down lengthy accounts of the discussions with knowledgeable others, the teacher’s struggles and ways of resolving these. Data were complemented by the different lesson plan versions, the post-lesson discussions and a detailed report documenting the lesson study process.FindingsThe paper provides insights into the role that cognitive conflicts play for teacher change. Through ongoing communication, reflection and support to resolve conflicts, the teacher recognised more collaborative opportunities for professional development, freed from rigid lesson planning practices and reported a new conceptualisation to teaching.Practical implicationsDrawing on the literature about effective teacher professional learning, the paper offers implications for supporting teacher change.Originality/valueThis paper provides insights into how lesson study may provide conditions that enable teachers' cognitive conflict and facilitate their consequent resolution.

Instructional Improvement and Teachers’ Collaborative Conversations: The Role of Focus and Facilitation

2017 ◽  
Vol 119 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-37
Author(s):  
Christine Andrews-Larson ◽  
Jonee Wilson ◽  
Adrian Larbi-Cherif
Keyword(s):  
School Districts ◽  
Teacher Learning ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Teacher Collaboration ◽  
Instructional Quality ◽  
Learning Goals ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Support Teacher ◽  
Support Students

Background/Context School districts are increasingly expected to support students in meeting ambitious mathematical learning goals. Many schools and districts are investing significant resources in the provision of time for teacher collaboration in the hope that this will help teachers improve their instruction in ways that support students in meeting ambitious learning goals. While existing research points to the potential of this collaboration time to support teacher learning, findings from previous work suggest that use of this time varies in ways that are likely to be consequential for teachers’ learning. Research Question In this analysis, we investigate the question: In what ways do focus and facilitation shape teachers’ opportunities to learn during collaborative conversations? Research Design The data for this analysis comes from a 4-year study of 4 large urban school districts that examines what it takes to improve the quality of middle school math instruction at scale. Our analysis draws on the broader data set by first using teacher-level data (observed instructional quality) from 30 schools to identify schools that exhibited the most growth in instructional quality. We then analyze audio recordings of teacher collaborative meetings at those schools to better understand how the conversations that take place in these meetings might function to support teachers’ professional learning. In particular, we examine differences in facilitator questioning and subsequent facilitator press on teachers to elaborate their pedagogical reasoning. Findings/Results We observed two foci in identified sessions: writing learning targets and lesson co-planning. As enacted, the lesson co-planning sessions held greater potential for supporting teachers’ professional learning. Use of an activity-structuring tool was related to higher quality facilitator questions in these sessions but was not related to improved facilitator press on teachers to elaborate on their responses to these questions. These facilitator moves are marked by (1) solicitation of detailed representations of teachers’ classrooms and practice, (2) orientation toward students as sense-makers, and (3) press for teachers to articulate rationales for instructional decisions that are tied to goals for student learning. We provide examples of facilitator questioning and press that are generative for teacher learning. Conclusions/Recommendations This work contributes to the research on the ways collaborative time can support teacher learning. It identifies specific practices that facilitators can draw on to support teachers’ professional learning—which has the potential to inform both teacher learning and the training of facilitators. This work can additionally inform the design and use of tools (protocols) that can help productively structure teacher collaborative time and also reveal the limitations of such tools. Importantly, we offer a coding scheme for analyzing the quality of facilitation through questioning and press that can subsequently be challenged, problematized, and built upon in the field.

Leadership that matters: creating cultures of academic optimism that support teacher learning in Thailand

2020 ◽  
Vol 58 (6) ◽  
pp. 605-627 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dhirapat Kulophas ◽  
Philip Hallinger
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Learning ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
Academic Optimism ◽  
Teacher Professional Learning ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Learning Centered ◽  
Teacher Professional

PurposeResearch on school leadership has confirmed that principals influence teacher and student learning by building an “academic-focused ethos” in their schools. In this study, our objective was to examine if and how the learning-centered leadership of principals influenced academic optimism of teachers and the resulting effects on their engagement in professional learning. More specifically, we examined this hypothesized set of leadership effects among teachers and principals in high schools located in Thailand.Design/methodology/approachThe study was conducted with 1,763 teachers and 152 principals from 159 randomly selected, medium size secondary schools located in Thailand. The research employed multi-level structural equation modeling and bootstrapping analyses in order to test and explore these relationships in a mediation model of school leadership effects on teacher professional learning through academic optimism.FindingsResults of this study reinforce prior research which has found that principal leadership can have significant direct and indirect effects on the professional learning of teachers. This finding is important because, as elaborated earlier, scholars believe that teacher professional learning is a key to sustainable improvement in schools. More specifically, our results extend prior research in two ways. First, as the first study to link Learning-Centered Leadership with Academic Optimism, this study extends findings that point to the role of school leadership in sustaining a culture of academic optimism in schools. Second, this study also established Academic Optimism as a mediator through which school leadership supports Teacher Professional Learning.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough our results support a positive conclusion concerning the effects of school leadership and academic optimism on teacher learning, this was a cross-sectional study. Therefore, caution must be exercised before drawing causal attributions. For example, research has also found that teachers who work in schools that evidence features of a professional learning community are more likely to have a greater sense of collective teacher efficacy, a variable that is also associated with Academic Optimism. Therefore, although our study proposed Academic Optimism as the mediator and teacher professional learning as the dependent variable, it is also possible that this relationship could be reversed or reciprocal (i.e. mutually reinforcing). Future research should continue to examine these possibilities using longitudinal and/or experimental research designs that enable clearer delineation of causal relationships. We also suggest the utility of qualitative and mixed methods studies capable of exploring in greater depth the mechanisms through which school leadership contributes to productive teacher learning.Practical implicationsThere is a need in Thailand, and elsewhere, to redefine the formal roles and professional standards of school leaders to include learning-centered practices. These standards should be embedded into the redesign of pre-service and in-service education programs for teachers and principals. We believe that, at present, relatively few school leaders in Thailand genuinely understand the meaningful impact they can have on teacher learning, and by extension, on student learning. Thus, there is a need for systemic change that recasts the nature of leadership expected from principals as well as the level of lifelong learning expected of teachers.Originality/valueThe findings from this research contribute to an evolving knowledge base on how school leaders influence teacher learning in different national contexts. The research also extends prior research by exploring the role of academic optimism as a mediator of school leadership effects on teacher learning.

Looking for learning in teacher learning networks in Kenya

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 124-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Anderson ◽  
Caroline Manion ◽  
Mary Drinkwater ◽  
Rupen Chande ◽  
Wesley Galt
Keyword(s):  
School Improvement ◽  
Teacher Learning ◽  
Teacher Development ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Network Activity ◽  
Learning Networks ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Student Misbehavior

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to review the findings from a study of teacher professional learning networks in Kenya. Specific areas of focus included network participation, network activities, network leadership, and professional impact on network members and their schools. Design/methodology/approach The research was grounded in the literature on education networks and teacher learning. The research employed a qualitative design and was implemented from September 2015–March 2017, including three two-week field trips to Kenya. Data included network records, 83 personal interviews, 4 focus group interviews, 19 observations of network meetings, and classroom observation of network and non-network teachers in 12 schools. Findings Network participation had positive effects on teachers’ sense of professionalism and commitment to teaching and on their attitudes toward ongoing professional learning and improvement in student learning. Teachers also highlighted network benefits for learning to use new teaching strategies and materials, responding to student misbehavior and misunderstanding, and lesson preparation. Research limitations/implications Research constraints did not permit longitudinal investigation of network activities and outcomes. Practical implications The paper identifies challenges and potential focuses for strengthening the learning potential of network activities, network leadership, and the links between network activity and school improvement. Originality/value Prior research has investigated education networks mostly in North American and similar high income settings. This paper highlights the benefits and challenges for networks as a strategy for continuous teacher development in a low income low resource capacity context.

Addressing the achievement gap

2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (6) ◽  
pp. 717-734 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patnaree Piyaman ◽  
Philip Hallinger ◽  
Pongsin Viseshsiri
Keyword(s):  
Human Resources ◽  
Teacher Learning ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Primary Schools ◽  
Teacher Agency ◽  
Teacher Professional Learning ◽  
Direct Effects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Learning Centered ◽  
Teacher Professional

Purpose Developing countries in many parts of the world have experienced a disturbing trend in the differential pace of economic development among urban and rural communities. These inequities have been observed in education systems in Asia, Africa, and Latin America where researchers have documented differences not only in resource allocation but also in the academic performance among students in urban and rural schools. Recently researchers have shifted their focus from examining financial and physical resources to investigating the nature and impact of differences in human resources. The purpose of this paper is to examine differences in school organization processes associated with learning-centered leadership and teacher learning among urban and rural primary schools in Thailand. Teacher trust and teacher agency were proposed as possible mediators of leadership effects on teacher learning. Design/methodology/approach This study employed a cross-sectional survey design. The authors collected survey data from 1,011 teachers and 60 principals in 30 urban and 30 rural primary schools in Thailand. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modeling, and bootstrapping were used to analyze the proposed model of leadership and teacher professional learning. More specifically, data analysis was aimed at determining the nature of relationships among the constructs in the conceptual model and whether patterns of leadership and teacher learning differed in urban and rural primary schools. Findings The results affirmed a model whereby school leadership exerted significant indirect effects on teacher learning in both urban and rural primary schools. Data analyses determined that the path of leadership effects moved through trust to agency and then to teacher professional learning. Thus, while the authors found a strong direct effect of leadership on teacher trust, there were only small direct effects of leadership on teacher agency and no meaningful direct effects of leadership on teacher professional learning. Thus, the research affirmed a full mediation model of leadership effects on teacher learning. Finally, the study also affirmed that the measured variables were perceived as significantly stronger in the urban schools than in the rural schools. Social implications The research expands on prior research on the “achievement gap” in Thailand by demonstrating the existence of a similar “human resource gap” when comparing urban and rural school leaders and teachers. This study implies that addressing the gap in student achievement will require action aimed at building the capacity of the principals and teachers who work with the rural pupils. Originality/value These results suggest differences in the quality of human resources between urban and rural primary schools in Thailand. There may be potential benefit to be gained from providing training focused on “learning-centered leadership” for principals and middle level leaders, as well as expanding access to quality professional development opportunities for rural teachers.

scholarly journals Enabling adaptive system leadership

2016 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 86-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Boylan
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Teacher Professional Development ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Adaptive Leadership ◽  
Complexity Leadership ◽  
Complexity Leadership Theory ◽  
System Leadership ◽  
System Leaders ◽  
Teacher Professional

Internationally, there is increasing emphasis on teacher leadership of professional development. This provides opportunities for teachers to initiate and facilitate professional learning activities beyond their own schools. There is a need for theoretical tools to analyse their leadership activity and how to support it. Constructs from complexity leadership theory and the concept of teacher system leadership are used to develop a framework to analyse the purposes and practices of teacher professional development leaders supported by a national programme for mathematics teacher professional development in England. I argue that the teachers’ activities constitute a form of adaptive leadership involving innovating and organising professional development within arenas of leadership, through the processes of mobilising, brokering and the creation of networks. This required engaging in ‘system work’ to fulfil purposes connected to both local and system-wide concerns. The teachers were supported by the enabling leadership of headteachers and by national warrants for exercising leadership. The study demonstrates the value of the analytical framework and indicates that a cadre of teacher system leaders can be developed by attending to the interplay of professional development leadership and a wider system-orientated professional identity and by specific support to develop adaptive leadership capacities and skills.

Teacher agency in a multiyear professional development collaborative

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 399-414
Author(s):  
Christopher J. Wagner ◽  
Marcela Ossa Parra ◽  
C. Patrick Proctor
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Teacher Learning ◽  
Instructional Practices ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Classroom Teacher ◽  
Teacher Agency ◽  
Longitudinal Case Study ◽  
Content Type

Purpose This paper aims to report on the decisions two teachers made about how to engage with a five-year school–university collaboration that used professional development (PD) to foster changes in language instruction for teachers of multilingual learners. Design/methodology/approach A longitudinal case study was used to examine the experiences of two teachers to provide insights into classroom-level decisions and changes in instructional practices. Findings Changes in instructional practices occurred when teachers made active, engaged choices about their own learning and teaching in the classroom. Teacher learning did not follow a consistent trajectory of improvement and contained contradictions, and early decisions about how to engage with PD affected the pace and nature of teacher learning. Through personal decisions about how to engage with PD, teachers adopted new instructional practices to support multilingual learners. Positive changes required extended time for teachers to implement new practices successfully. Practical implications This collaboration points to a need for long-term PD partnerships that value teacher agency to produce instructional changes that support multilingual learners. Originality/value PD can play a key role in transforming literacy instruction for multilingual learners. Teacher agency, including the decisions teachers make about how to engage with professional learning opportunities and how to enact new instructional practices in the classroom, mediates the efficacy of PD initiatives. This longitudinal case study contributes to the understanding of effective PD by presenting two contrasting case studies of teacher agency and learning during long-term school–university collaboration.

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