A Learning Community Model for Professional Development and Transformational Teacher Education: Linking Teacher Preparation with In-Service Teacher Learning and School Improvement

2003 ◽  
pp. 17-32
Author(s):  
Hongmei Han ◽  
◽  
Jinghua Wang

This study explores the impact of teacher learning community on EFL teachers’ professional development. The participants are 17 EFL teachers from Hebei University in China. A year-long study was conducted on these teachers' group leaning activities through participatory observation and in-depth interviews. The preliminary results are as follows: 1) Generally speaking, through conversation, interaction and online peer evaluation in learning community, participant teachers have improved professionally in terms of critical thinking, academic writing, reflective thinking and research awareness; 2) In learning activities of the community, the experienced teachers focused more on the construction of knowledge regarding research methodology, through interaction with others and participation in teaching-based research activities, to reconstruct their knowledge about teaching and research; while the novice teachers placed more emphasis on the reconstruction of knowledge regarding pedagogical theories and the way these theories are applied in teaching practice, through social interaction with other teachers.


2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 193-211
Author(s):  
Narrative Inquiry Group

This article describes the journey of The Narrative Inquiry Group, a community of high school educators engaged in embedded, self-directed professional development. Our approaches include professional conversation, narrative inquiry, and literary métissage, and our results consist of productions representative of our selves, learning, and practices. We would suggest that our inquiries map the path of individual and collective experience, and illustrate the value of being self-critical within the safety of a learning community. In addition, we hope to inform others’ research and practice, and those with an interest in teacher education, of the importance of understanding the experience of educators engaging in inquiry.


Author(s):  
James Falco ◽  
Meredith Riddle ◽  
Gregory Duffy ◽  
Tracy Mulvaney ◽  
Lauren Niecz

The primary responsibility for training pre-service teachers previously fell solely on the shoulders of university teacher-preparation programs, with a short field experience component in partner P-12 districts. As research continues to support the value of increased clinical practice in P-12 schools when training pre-service teachers, the responsibility is becoming shared equally between university teacher education programs and P-12 school districts. This chapter describes three innovative programs implemented by P-12 schools through strong partnerships with Monmouth University's teacher education and Provisional Teacher Preparation program. These strong partnerships afford students the opportunity to receive direct instruction in P-12 settings with the support of curriculum, mentors and professional development. The partnership with Lafayette Mills School (the last of three initiatives discussed) was also awarded, along with the university's other PDSs, the National Association of Professional Development Schools Distinguished Partnership award in 2017.


Author(s):  
Supriya Baily ◽  
Halla B Holmarsdottir

Fostering international mindedness in teachers through their preparation and continuing education leads to innovations in teacher education related to exchange programs (Cushner, 2012) and curricular adoptions and adaptations (Tudball, 2012). This in turn supports the development of both teacher educators and teachers as change agents. Yet, without investments of resources to prioritize such work in teacher preparation and professional development programs, there is little impetus to create systemic change to support how teachers


2021 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindsey Chapman ◽  
Chelsea Morris ◽  
Katy Green

Formal preparation and professional development with an explicit focus on the teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) is essential. Thus, teacher preparation programs play a vital role in meeting this pressing need. Practitioner inquiry has the potential to be a powerful anchor in clinical field experiences for teacher candidates working with emergent bilingual/multilingual students (EB). The purpose of this paper is to present practitioner inquiry as a promising pedagogical practice for teacher education, drawing from examples of implementation in an elementary, preservice teacher preparation program that leads to state credentialing in ESOL. Opportunities and challenges related to the use of this practice with teacher candidates, as well as recommendations, are discussed. Keywordspractitioner inquiry, professional development, teacher education, English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), bilingual/multilingual students


2012 ◽  
Vol 114 (8) ◽  
pp. 1-35
Author(s):  
Douglas Larkin

Background/Context In regard to preparing prospective teachers for diverse classrooms, the agenda for teacher education research has been primarily concerned with identifying desired outcomes and promising strategies. Scholarship in multicultural education has been crucial for identifying the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed by teachers to respond to student diversity in a morally and educationally sound manner. Less attention, however, has been paid to the theoretical mechanisms by which preservice and in-service teachers are presumed to change their minds about the meaning of diversity in their classrooms. Current efforts to prepare teachers for diverse classrooms are currently only loosely anchored in the now robust knowledge about how people learn. As a result, many of the strategies deployed by teacher educators toward this end would be greatly strengthened by a theory of conceptual change. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study The purpose of this article is to argue that drawing on the theory of conceptual change as commonly applied to learning in science classrooms is an appropriate and valuable framework for understanding how teachers change their ideas about the pedagogical implications of student diversity. After a description of two traditions of conceptual change learning, the Teaching for Conceptual Change model articulated by Peter Hewson, Michael Beeth, and Richard Thorley is deployed to analyze two different accounts of teacher learning. Research Design This research entails demonstrating the use of the conceptual change framework as an analytic tool for understanding teacher learning. Consequently, this article draws from two different sources of data for this purpose. The first consists of a text content analysis of the opening to Vivian Paley's book, White Teacher. The second uses data from an empirical qualitative study conducted by the author to examine the experiences of a preservice biology teacher over a semester of full-time student teaching. Conclusions/Recommendations The article concludes with a discussion on the conceptual change model as a theoretical framework with explanatory power and outlines the implications for teacher preparation efforts. This view of teacher learning promises a potentially fruitful theoretical framework for explaining those elements of teacher education for diversity that have already demonstrated their power, such as racial autobiographies, cross-cultural tutoring experiences, and various approaches to reflection that are employed in teacher education programs. By bringing the lens of conceptual change theory to examine these practices, we can understand more clearly why they appear to work in some cases and not in others. The conceptual change model of learning, however, suggests that dissatisfaction with one's current conceptions alone may be insufficient for learning. Teachers throughout the professional continuum commonly engage in reflection about their practice, and the present research suggests that the process of articulating and examining statements of these conceptions may represent a powerful tool for professional growth.


2016 ◽  
Vol 24 ◽  
pp. 61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Covay Minor ◽  
Laura Desimone ◽  
Jade Caines Lee ◽  
Eric D. Hochberg

In the US, many federal, state and local school improvement policies rely on teacher professional development (PD) to foster classroom change. Past research suggests PD that has a content focus is the most effective, but that even content-focused PD varies in its effectiveness. Through in-depth interviews of teachers participating in a middle school science PD randomized control trial in the US, we find that what teachers learn in PD varies significantly based on their prior knowledge and experience. This paper explores several hypotheses about how content knowledge and teacher learning interact. We conclude that the next step toward improving teacher PD is to calibrate learning opportunities to teachers’ prior knowledge. 


Author(s):  
Daniel Otieno Okech

This chapter addresses various issues related to teacher effectiveness in Kenya. The chapter begins with a brief historical perspective of teacher education and effectiveness in Kenya. The discussion provides a theoretical framework based on social constructivism as a philosophical paradigm for teacher effectiveness. It explores models used in teacher preparation in Kenya and the various teacher competencies required for effective teaching in Kenyan schools. The prevalent characteristics of teacher effectiveness in Kenya are discussed along with the dimensions of teacher training, recruitment, induction, evaluation, and professional development. Unique aspects of teacher effectiveness emphasizing information and communication technology are highlighted. Finally, the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic on teaching are mentioned.


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