Professional development that improves STEM outcomes

2020 ◽  
Vol 101 (5) ◽  
pp. 50-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather C. Hill ◽  
Kathleen Lynch ◽  
Kathryn E. Gonzalez ◽  
Cynthia Pollard
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Instructional Improvement ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Instructional Decisions ◽  
Learning Time ◽  
Improvement Programs ◽  
The Moment ◽  
Supporting Teachers ◽  
Stem Outcomes

How should teachers spend their STEM-focused professional learning time? To answer this question, Heather Hill, Kathleen Lynch, Kathryn Gonzalez, and Cynthia Pollard analyzed a recent wave of rigorous new studies of STEM instructional improvement programs. They found that programs work best when focused on building knowledge teachers can use during instruction. This includes knowledge of the curriculum materials they will use, knowledge of content, and knowledge of how students learn that content. They argue that such learning opportunities improve teachers’ professional knowledge and skill, potentially by supporting teachers in making more informed in-the-moment instructional decisions.

scholarly journals A social-cognitive study of Indonesian Google educator groups

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Pratiwi Artati
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Educational Technology ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Social Cognitive ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Technological Environment ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Case Study Methodology ◽  
Education Groups

<p>Self-directed professional learning is distinct from the traditional approach of directed professional development. The introduction of the Internet into Indonesian society provides the opportunity for teachers to use digital tools for their teaching and to access professional learning without attending mandated professional development. An emerging phenomenon in Indonesia is the establishment and use of Google Education Groups (GEGs) for professional learning about the use of educational technology (ed-tech) in the schooling sector. Two research questions guided the examination of Indonesian educators’ experiences of GEGs: (1) how do Indonesian educators participate in the GEGs for ed-tech professional learning? and (2) how do the GEGs function to enable Indonesian educators’ ed-tech professional learning? Collective case study methodology was applied, and three Google Education Groups were examined, one from a metropolitan area, one from an urban area and the third from a rural context. In each case study, the leader of the group and three group members with varying levels of online engagement were interviewed and online forum conversations were examined. Data were analysed using Stake’s method of categorical aggregation leading to within-case assertions and cross-case analysis. A social cognitive perspective was used as a framework to analyse and interpret findings. It was found that the Indonesian educators had an agentic approach to professional learning, which was context-dependent with three major interrelated aspects: the regional-technological environment as context, the individuals as agentic learners, and the connectedness as social learners enabled meaningful learning experiences. The regional-technological environment influenced how the GEGs functioned. The Metropolitan group was innovative and collaborative, focusing on the use of web-based tools to improve productivity of ed-tech practices. The Urban group aimed to explore how they could use web-based tools to improve efficiency through paperless classroom practices and school administration. The Rural group sought to use of web-based tools for simple teaching and learning practices within a context of low bandwidth and limited ICT infrastructure. In addition, certain conditions that support online collaboration and factors that can minimise and optimise ed-tech learning opportunities are identified. Participants overcame limitations and constraints by enacting agency and developing social connectedness in learning through the groups. The group leadership positions were voluntary and found to be driven by a desire to share expertise and practices that support, inspire, and empower others rather than about gaining positional authority. Participation in online informal groups such as Google Education Groups appears to be a supportive method of professional learning that facilitates agentic and experiential learning about the use of educational technology in Indonesia. This model can enhance professional learning opportunities for Indonesian educators. It can also be implemented into the design of government-supported ed-tech PD programmes, to create an empowering and safe learning environment that can optimise their potential in learning and improve practice.</p>

Developing Student Agency to Support Learning-Trajectory-Based Formative Assessment

2020 ◽  
pp. 151-164
Author(s):  
Alison Castro Superfine ◽  
Kathleen Pitvorec ◽  
Timothy Stoelinga
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Formative Assessment ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Collaborative Inquiry ◽  
Learning Goals ◽  
Learning Trajectory ◽  
Instructional Decisions ◽  
Student Agency ◽  
Mathematics Classrooms ◽  
Inquiry Approach

High-quality formative assessment practices depend on teachers having a clear sense of learning goals, an understanding of the learning trajectories students progress along toward these goals, criteria for assessing students' progress, and ways of using this information to inform instructional decisions. In this chapter, the authors describe efforts to support teachers' practice with a focus on learning trajectory-based formative assessment. These professional development efforts moved away from delivering professional development to teachers and evolved into professional learning with teachers as co-researchers and co-designers. The authors discuss this collaborative inquiry approach to supporting elementary teachers' understanding and use of learning trajectory-based formative assessment in mathematics classrooms, and share examples of the various forms of inquiry developed, and ways in which teachers engaged in these activities as part of the collaborative inquiry.

Leadership for Instructional Improvement

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 484-513
Author(s):  
Joseph Claudet
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Experiential Learning ◽  
Instructional Practices ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Intervention Program ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Instructional Improvement ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
School Principal ◽  
Project Based Learning

Effectively integrating creative experiential learning opportunities into classroom-based science instruction to enhance students’ applied learning continues to be a challenge for many middle school educators.  This article explores how educators in one urban middle school leveraged design research thinking in conjunction with collaborative data-teaming processes to develop a targeted professional learning intervention program to help seventh- and eighth-grade teachers learn how to integrate Makerspace hands-on experiential and project-based learning activities into their STEM instructional practices to better engage students in applied science learning in middle school classrooms.  A literature-informed discussion is included on how the middle school principal and the school’s instructional improvement team utilized focused professional development activities and intensive Professional Learning Community (PLC) conversations to positively transform teachers’ pedagogical mindsets and instructional practices in support of integrating Makerspace and related project-based experiential learning opportunities as valuable components of classroom-based science teaching and learning.  Finally, a number of design principles derived from the middle school case study highlighted in this article are offered that may be of practical use to school leaders interested in applying educational design research methods to enhance their own campus-based instructional improvement efforts.

Inequality and imbalance of professional development opportunities

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 452-465 ◽  
Author(s):  
Preechaya Mongkolhutthi
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Educational Institution ◽  
Cultural Influences ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Part Time ◽  
Higher Educational

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the professional development opportunities of a group of 16 “English as a foreign language” (EFL) lecturers at a Thai higher educational institution and the nature of the learning opportunities they engaged in. Design/methodology/approach The ethnographic research approach was employed to reveal the participants’ accesses to professional learning opportunities and their perception towards the opportunities. Observation, interview, written document and questionnaire were used to help capture the complexities of the issues investigated. Findings The data suggest varied degrees of participants’ engagement in learning activities, inside and outside the workplace. This group of lecturers relied more on formal than on informal professional development opportunities. Constraints in accessing professional development activities for the part-time lecturers and non-Thai lecturers were highly noticeable. Research limitations/implications These emerging findings provide an insight into the actual professional learning situation and call for greater awareness of the support of learning opportunities and better visibility of the part-time lecturers and expatriate lectures in the higher education system. With regard to the nature of ethnographic research, the implementation of the findings of this study should be done with awareness of the socio-cultural influences on participants’ beliefs and behaviours. Originality/value This is one of the first studies that academically highlights the existence of part-time and expatriate lecturers in the Asian higher educational context and voices these lecturers’ actual professional needs and their perceived obstacles.

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.

scholarly journals Commentary: A Professional Learning Odyssey

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-35
Author(s):  
Dean Fink
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Student Learning ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Career Stage ◽  
Performance Training ◽  
Professional Educators ◽  
Clear Sense ◽  
Professional Educator

Through the use of personal anecdotes drawn from a long career as a professional educator, the author contends that professional development for professional educators is not just an isolated "quick fix" program now and then, or a series of performance-focused activities, but rather, professional learning opportunities exist in multiple, diverse, and occasionally in unusual and unexpected situations and contexts throughout one’s career. He suggests that what all teachers and school leaders require for professional learning to flourish is both time and space, a clear sense of purpose based on student learning, learning opportunities that are appropriate to roles and career stage, and the support and trust from leadership both inside and outside of schools and districts. It is professional learning, not tests, targets, or performance training, that increases students’ learning.

Access to Qualified, Well-Supported Principals Across Alternative Educational Settings and Neighborhood Schools

2019 ◽  
Vol 53 (4) ◽  
pp. 195-205
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Bettini ◽  
Loretta Mason-Williams ◽  
Brian R. Barber
Keyword(s):  
Professional Learning ◽  
Principal Leadership ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Schools And Staffing Survey ◽  
Neighborhood Schools ◽  
Educational Settings ◽  
Neighborhood School ◽  
Primary Responsibility ◽  
Behavioral Needs ◽  
Supporting Teachers

Principals bear primary responsibility for supporting teachers. Principal leadership is especially important in alternative educational settings (AES; e.g., alternative schools, self-contained special education schools) that serve students with more substantial learning and behavioral needs, often with less-qualified and experienced teachers. We examined principals’ qualifications (i.e., principal certifications, preparation, and experience) and professional learning opportunities across AES and neighborhood schools. Analyzing data from the 2011–2012 Schools and Staffing Survey, we found that AES principals are, on average, less qualified than neighborhood school principals in terms of their experience, preparation, and administrative certification. Furthermore, AES principals have less access to professional development opportunities. Results are consistent with prior investigations that indicate an inequitable distribution of personnel resources in AES compared with neighborhood schools.

A Model for Out-of-School Educator Professional Learning

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 115-122
Author(s):  
Saundra Wever Frerichs ◽  
Melissa Sue Pearman Fenton ◽  
Kerri Wingert
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Learning Experiences ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Learning Theories ◽  
Stem Learning ◽  
School Time ◽  
Diverse Field ◽  
Professional Development Model ◽  
Out Of School

Quality out-of-school time (OST) programs for youth are limited by a lack of professional learning opportunities for staff and volunteers that are based upon solid learning theory, affordable, and scalable for a diverse field. The Click2Science project is an innovative model for professional learning experiences that support staff and volunteers in providing high-quality science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) learning opportunities for youth. This model of professional learning emphasizes the importance of visual, social, and experiential learning experiences with reflection and application to practice. The model leverages technology and in-person support in a cycle of professional development experiences. The experiences included in the professional development model allow staff and volunteers in OST programs to develop their instructional skills in ways that are embedded in the actual practices of their program. In this article, each part of the professional development cycle is analyzed using constructivist learning theories to encourage adult educators to replicate this model in other fields. A brief review of promising research about the effectiveness of the model concludes the description of this approach to professional development.

scholarly journals HOW ENGLISH TEACHERS LEARN IN INDONESIA: TENSION BETWEEN POLICY-DRIVEN AND SELF-DRIVEN PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 245
Author(s):  
I. G. A. Lokita Purnamika Utami ◽  
Sarah Prestridge
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Government Policy ◽  
English Teachers ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Learning Activities ◽  
Online Networks ◽  
School Based ◽  
Policy Measures ◽  
Formal School

Professional Development (PD) and Professional Learning (PL) are established terms which are used interchangeably but theoretically have notable differences. The former is formally and externally designed while the latter is more informal and self-directed. These differing characteristics have not been observed in the context where PD is normally governed by government policy. As such, there is little to no research on Indonesian English teachers’ practice, preferences and dispositions for PD or PL. A qualitative study was conducted involving four English teachers from Indonesia who demonstrated active participation in professional development and professional learning activities. Developmental interviews were the main source of data. The study showed distinct variance in these teachers’ preference and action for PL through online networks, self-chosen PD and knowledge-sharing interactions with their colleagues. The study observed compliant dispositions and indifferent dispositions towards school PD policy. The study suggests the need to shift compliancy and policy measures from formal school based professional development to include online professional learning opportunities that the teachers initiate, with the integration of both approaches needing further research and development.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document