scholarly journals Breaking the Cycle: Future Faculty Begin Teaching with Learner-Centered Strategies after Professional Development

2015 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. ar22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diane Ebert-May ◽  
Terry L. Derting ◽  
Timothy P. Henkel ◽  
Jessica Middlemis Maher ◽  
Jennifer L. Momsen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Development Program ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Video Recordings ◽  
Learner Centered ◽  
Beliefs About Teaching ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Effective Models

The availability of reliable evidence for teaching practices after professional development is limited across science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines, making the identification of professional development “best practices” and effective models for change difficult. We aimed to determine the extent to which postdoctoral fellows (i.e., future biology faculty) believed in and implemented evidence-based pedagogies after completion of a 2-yr professional development program, Faculty Institutes for Reforming Science Teaching (FIRST IV). Postdocs (PDs) attended a 2-yr training program during which they completed self-report assessments of their beliefs about teaching and gains in pedagogical knowledge and experience, and they provided copies of class assessments and video recordings of their teaching. The PDs reported greater use of learner-centered compared with teacher-centered strategies. These data were consistent with the results of expert reviews of teaching videos. The majority of PDs (86%) received video ratings that documented active engagement of students and implementation of learner-centered classrooms. Despite practice of higher-level cognition in class sessions, the items used by the PDs on their assessments of learning focused on lower-level cognitive skills. We attributed the high success of the FIRST IV program to our focus on inexperienced teachers, an iterative process of teaching practice and reflection, and development of and teaching a full course.

scholarly journals Assessing faculty professional development in STEM higher education: Sustainability of outcomes

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. e1501422 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terry L. Derting ◽  
Diane Ebert-May ◽  
Timothy P. Henkel ◽  
Jessica Middlemis Maher ◽  
Bryan Arnold ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Teaching Strategies ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Teaching Practices ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Faculty Perceptions ◽  
Development Program ◽  
Faculty Professional Development ◽  
Learner Centered

We tested the effectiveness of Faculty Institutes for Reforming Science Teaching IV (FIRST), a professional development program for postdoctoral scholars, by conducting a study of program alumni. Faculty professional development programs are critical components of efforts to improve teaching and learning in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) disciplines, but reliable evidence of the sustained impacts of these programs is lacking. We used a paired design in which we matched a FIRST alumnus employed in a tenure-track position with a non-FIRST faculty member at the same institution. The members of a pair taught courses that were of similar size and level. To determine whether teaching practices of FIRST participants were more learner-centered than those of non-FIRST faculty, we compared faculty perceptions of their teaching strategies, perceptions of environmental factors that influence teaching, and actual teaching practice. Non-FIRST and FIRST faculty reported similar perceptions of their teaching strategies and teaching environment. FIRST faculty reported using active learning and interactive engagement in lecture sessions more frequently compared with non-FIRST faculty. Ratings from external reviewers also documented that FIRST faculty taught class sessions that were learner-centered, contrasting with the teacher-centered class sessions of most non-FIRST faculty. Despite marked differences in teaching practice, FIRST and non-FIRST participants used assessments that targeted lower-level cognitive skills. Our study demonstrated the effectiveness of the FIRST program and the empirical utility of comparison groups, where groups are well matched and controlled for contextual variables (for example, departments), for evaluating the effectiveness of professional development for subsequent teaching practices.

Untangling a complex relationship: teaching beliefs and instructional practices of assistant chemistry faculty at research-intensive institutions

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 513-527 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maia Popova ◽  
Lu Shi ◽  
Jordan Harshman ◽  
Annika Kraft ◽  
Marilyne Stains
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Instructional Practices ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
The United States ◽  
Teaching Beliefs ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Learner Centered ◽  
Beliefs About Teaching ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
And Cluster Analysis

In this era of instructional transformation of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) courses at the postsecondary level in the United States, the focus has been on educating science faculty about evidence-based instructional practices, i.e. practices that have been empirically proven to enhance student learning outcomes. The literature on professional development at the secondary level has demonstrated a tight interconnectedness between ones’ beliefs about teaching and learning and one's instructional practices and the need to attend to faculty's beliefs when engaging them in instructional change processes. Although discipline-based education researchers have made great strides in characterizing instructional practices of STEM faculty, much less attention has been given to understanding the beliefs of STEM about teaching and learning. Knowledge of instructors’ thinking can inform faculty professional development initiatives that encourage faculty to reflect on the beliefs that drive their classroom practices. Therefore, this study characterized the interplay between beliefs and instructional practices of nineteen assistant chemistry professors. Luft and Roehrig's Teaching Beliefs Interview protocol was used to capture beliefs; classroom observations and course artifacts were collected to capture practices. Clear trends were identified between faculty's beliefs (characterized through constant-comparative analysis and cluster analysis) and practices (characterized with Blumberg's Learner-Centered Teaching Rubric). Overall, beliefs of most of the participants were somewhat aligned with their instructional practices, with the exception of one cluster of faculty who held student-centered beliefs, but received only moderate scores on the Learner-Centered Teaching Rubric.

scholarly journals Internationalizing teacher education curricula: opportunities for academic staff development

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-169
Author(s):  
Mónica Lourenço
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Staff Development ◽  
Global Education ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Development Program ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Academic Staff Development ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this study is to understand the impact of a collaborative workshop, aimed to support teacher educators in embedding a “global outlook” in the curriculum on their perceived professional development. Design/methodology/approach The workshop included working sessions, during a period of 13 months, and was structured as participatory action research, according to which volunteer academics designed, developed and evaluated global education projects in their course units. Data were gathered through a focus group session, conducted with the teacher educators at a final stage of the workshop, and analyzed according to the principles of thematic analysis. Findings Results of the analysis suggest that the workshop presented a meaningful opportunity for teacher educators to reconstruct their knowledge and teaching practice to (re)discover the importance of collaborative work and to assume new commitments to themselves and to others. Originality/value The study addresses a gap in the existing literature on academic staff development in internationalization of the curriculum, focusing on the perceptions of teacher educators’, whose voices have been largely silent in research in the field. The study concludes with a set of recommendations for a professional development program in internationalization of the curriculum.

scholarly journals Examining factors affecting beginning teachers’ transfer of learning of ICT-enhanced learning activities in their teaching practice

2014 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas D. Agyei ◽  
Joke Voogt
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Beginning Teachers ◽  
School Environment ◽  
Transfer Of Learning ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Development Program ◽  
Professional Development Program ◽  
Learning Activities ◽  
Font Size ◽  
Enhanced Activity

<span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> </span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: small;"> <p>This study examined 100 beginning teachers’ transfer of learning when utilising Information Communication Technology-enhanced activity-based learning activities. The beginning teachers had participated in a professional development program that was characterised by ‘learning technology by collaborative design’ in their final year of their pre-service preparation program.  Transfer of learning was proposed as characteristic of (i) the professional development program,(ii) beginning teachers and (iii) school environment. Beginning teachers held positive views about active learning and ICT use developed during the professional development program, which seemed the strongest predictor in transfer of their learning. The study also showed that a significant amount of explained differences in the level of transfer of ICT-enhanced activity-based learning innovation could be attributed to range of factors across individual beginning teachers and school environment characteristics. Implications of these findings are discussed.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 28.1pt 0pt; text-align: justify; line-height: normal;"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: justify;"><span lang="NL"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></span></p> </span>

Online Mathematics Teacher Education

2021 ◽  
pp. 713-733
Author(s):  
Jennifer Chauvot ◽  
Stephen J. Pape ◽  
Sherri K. Prosser ◽  
Kimberly Hicks
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Content Knowledge ◽  
Mathematics Teachers ◽  
Mathematics Teacher Education ◽  
Development Program ◽  
Pedagogical Content ◽  
Design And Implementation ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Science And Mathematics Teachers

In this chapter, the authors describe two online programs that sought to impact teachers' content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, and instructional practices in K-12 classrooms. One program was a master's program for middle grades science and mathematics teachers, and the other was a yearlong professional development program for third- through fifth-grade general and special education teachers. They share the theoretical perspectives that informed the design and implementation of the programs and outcomes from each program. Examples of learning activities from each of the programs are provided. The authors contend that deliberate, theoretically-based design and implementation of online professional development programs with science and mathematics teachers is not only viable but also vital in supporting teachers' ongoing knowledge growth of learner-centered instruction.

scholarly journals Teaching Assistant Professional Development in Biology: Designed for and Driven by Multidimensional Data

2014 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 212-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara A. Wyse ◽  
Tammy M. Long ◽  
Diane Ebert-May
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Evaluation Framework ◽  
Multidimensional Data ◽  
Graduate Teaching ◽  
Learner Centered ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Undergraduate Science ◽  
Reported Data ◽  
Direct Measures

Graduate teaching assistants (TAs) are increasingly responsible for instruction in undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses. Various professional development (PD) programs have been developed and implemented to prepare TAs for this role, but data about effectiveness are lacking and are derived almost exclusively from self-reported surveys. In this study, we describe the design of a reformed PD (RPD) model and apply Kirkpatrick's Evaluation Framework to evaluate multiple outcomes of TA PD before, during, and after implementing RPD. This framework allows evaluation that includes both direct measures and self-reported data. In RPD, TAs created and aligned learning objectives and assessments and incorporated more learner-centered instructional practices in their teaching. However, these data are inconsistent with TAs’ self-reported perceptions about RPD and suggest that single measures are insufficient to evaluate TA PD programs.

scholarly journals The Master Teacher Program: Professional Development for College Teachers

2009 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 225-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Kerwin-Boudreau
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Development Program ◽  
Professional Development Program ◽  
Master Teacher ◽  
College Teachers ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Learner Centered ◽  
Teachers Perspectives

In this qualitative study I explored six college (CEGEP) teachers’ perspectives on teaching and learning over a two-year period, as they completed the first four courses in a professional development program, the Master Teacher Program (MTP). Repeated, semi-structured interviews were analyzed, using the complementary processes of categorizing and connecting. Results revealed, through four patterns and three major dimensions, a process of evolution from a teacher- to a learner-centered perspective.

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