Teachers’ Perceptions of the Impact of Professional Development on Learning and Teaching in a Developing Nation

The impact of targeted professional development activities on teachers’ perceptions of self-efficacy with mobile learning remains understudied. Power (2015a) used the Mobile Teacher’s Sense of Efficacy Scale (mTSES) survey instrument to measure the effects of a mobile learning themed professional development course on teachers’ confidence with and interest in mobile learning. The current study looks at changes in perceptions of self-efficacy amongst participants in another open course about mobile learning called Instructional Design for Mobile Learning (ID4ML), which took place from May 4 – June 6, 2015 (Power, Bartoletti & Kilgore, 2015). The purpose of this study is to verify the reliability and construct validity of the mTSES instrument developed by Power (2015a, 2015b) and Power, Cristol and Gimbert (2014), and to explore trends in self-efficacy changes amongst a more diversified participant population. This paper reports on the findings from the analysis of data collected using the mTSES tool. The findings provide useful feedback on the impacts of participating in the ID4ML course. They also provide further support for the utility of the mTSES instrument as a measure of perceptions of self-efficacy with mobile learning. These findings point to the potential utility of the mTSES as a tool for both planning and evaluating mLearning professional development training for teachers.

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Investigating Teachers’ Perceptions of the Influence of Professional Development on Teachers’ Performance and Career Progression

10.31235/osf.io/aw48q ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Nesrin Tantawy

Keyword(s):

Professional Development ◽

School Environment ◽

Positive Influence ◽

Career Progression ◽

Career Stage ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Teachers Perceptions ◽

Personal Qualities ◽

Performance Teachers ◽

The Impact

Understanding a process is the key to maximizing the outcomes of such a process; teachers’ professional development (PD) can be further facilitated through fully apprehending the process by which they grow professionally and the factors that contribute to such growth. In this study, the author intends to explore the relationship between a school environment and teachers’ readiness for PD as well as how they perceive of the impact of PD on their professional and personal qualities, students’ performance, teachers’ career progression, and commitment to the job and workplace. The author administered semi-structured interviews with three English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers who are in their mid-career stage and work for private, American curriculum-based schools in Dubai. The results show that all three interviewees admit the positive influence of PD on their professional performance, personal qualities, students’ outcomes, career progression and commitment to the profession. How a progressive school culture would impact teachers’ inclination towards PD has also been brought to attention by the interviewees as a critical aspect. As potential areas of research on PD, it is recommended that students’ academic performance is to be looked into closely through examining their assessment results in order to muster tangible evidence on the significance of teachers’ PD. Also, a conversation analysis of classroom discourse following a number of classroom observations of teachers in different career stages would be another informative research method to investigate the impact of PD on teachers’ performance and on classroom dynamics.

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Teachers’ perceptions of changes to teaching practice and the influence of professional development: Experienced EFL teachers in South Korea

10.26686/wgtn.17007517.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Jeong Hyun Cho

Keyword(s):

Professional Development ◽

Education Policy ◽

South Korea ◽

Teacher Change ◽

Teaching Practice ◽

English Education ◽

Education Curriculum ◽

Teachers Perceptions ◽

Efl Teachers ◽

The Impact

This multiple-case study investigated experienced English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) teachers’ perceptions of changes to teaching practice as a result of professional development (PD) in South Korea. The study used one-on-one semi-structured interviews as the primary data source to capture teachers’ views on changes to their practice and the impact of their PD experiences. The study drew upon cultural historical activity theory as a theoretical framework and the literature on PD and teacher change to understand the relationship between PD and teacher change, and the influences on this relationship. This study found that various aspects of the teachers’ context – the English education curriculum, teacher culture, the school environment, and education policy – and the complex interrelationship among these factors led these teachers to develop a passive attitude towards PD learning and implementation. So, despite engaging in diverse PD experiences over their career, they rarely considered implementing changes within their teaching practice. This study revealed these experienced EFL teachers’ overarching concern about their levels of English proficiency. It showed that they were inclined to value newly qualified teachers’ capability over their own long teaching experience. They felt isolated within a stagnant teacher culture where they perceived that there was limited support for professional development from either school or education policy. Finally, they felt caught between the conflicting demands of the English education curriculum and classroom teaching. These experienced EFL teachers might be encouraged to develop a more positive attitude if their expertise and capacity were acknowledged as valuable. This would require an investment of time and effort to allow them to prepare for and contribute to PD learning and implementation. Orchestrated efforts from policymakers, school administrators, and teachers could help bring about substantial changes in experienced teachers’ teaching practice and enable them to share their expertise with other educators.

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Teachers’ perceptions of changes to teaching practice and the influence of professional development: Experienced EFL teachers in South Korea

10.26686/wgtn.17007517 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

◽

Jeong Hyun Cho

Keyword(s):

Professional Development ◽

Education Policy ◽

South Korea ◽

Teacher Change ◽

Teaching Practice ◽

English Education ◽

Education Curriculum ◽

Teachers Perceptions ◽

Efl Teachers ◽

The Impact

This multiple-case study investigated experienced English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) teachers’ perceptions of changes to teaching practice as a result of professional development (PD) in South Korea. The study used one-on-one semi-structured interviews as the primary data source to capture teachers’ views on changes to their practice and the impact of their PD experiences. The study drew upon cultural historical activity theory as a theoretical framework and the literature on PD and teacher change to understand the relationship between PD and teacher change, and the influences on this relationship. This study found that various aspects of the teachers’ context – the English education curriculum, teacher culture, the school environment, and education policy – and the complex interrelationship among these factors led these teachers to develop a passive attitude towards PD learning and implementation. So, despite engaging in diverse PD experiences over their career, they rarely considered implementing changes within their teaching practice. This study revealed these experienced EFL teachers’ overarching concern about their levels of English proficiency. It showed that they were inclined to value newly qualified teachers’ capability over their own long teaching experience. They felt isolated within a stagnant teacher culture where they perceived that there was limited support for professional development from either school or education policy. Finally, they felt caught between the conflicting demands of the English education curriculum and classroom teaching. These experienced EFL teachers might be encouraged to develop a more positive attitude if their expertise and capacity were acknowledged as valuable. This would require an investment of time and effort to allow them to prepare for and contribute to PD learning and implementation. Orchestrated efforts from policymakers, school administrators, and teachers could help bring about substantial changes in experienced teachers’ teaching practice and enable them to share their expertise with other educators.

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THE IMPACT OF A PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM ON IN-SERVICE TEACHERS’ TPACK: A STUDY FROM ESTONIA

Problems of Education in the 21st Century ◽

10.33225/pec/15.66.18 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 66 (1) ◽

pp. 18-28

Author(s):

Piret Lehiste

Keyword(s):

Professional Development ◽

Educational Technology ◽

Training Program ◽

Development Program ◽

Pedagogical Content ◽

Teachers Perceptions ◽

Knowledge Domains ◽

Service Training ◽

Teachers Professional Development ◽

The Impact

Recently there has been a considerable interest in the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework for effective technology integration (Koehler et al., 2013). Researchers have been measuring how effective their professional development efforts have been for the development of teachers’ TPACK (Graham et al., 2009; Guzey & Roehrig, 2009). So far research is based only on short-term courses, so longitudinal studies are needed to examine the TPACK development of teachers across time (Hoffer & Grandgenett, 2012; Koh & Sing, 2011). A two-year in-service training program of educational technology (60 ECTS), based on the TPACK framework, was developed at Tallinn University Haapsalu College to support in-service teachers to effectively embed ICT into their classroom teaching. The first group of teachers (n=20) enrolled in the program in January 2014. This paper reports some preliminary findings of a longitudinal action research, the main aim of which is to evaluate the impact of the in-service training program of educational technology on teachers’ TPACK. The key questions for this research were: how do teachers’ perceptions of their TPACK levels change after participating in the training program for a year; which of the seven knowledge domains of the TPACK framework develop more than others; what is the impact of different knowledge domains on teachers’ TPACK perceptions. The TPACK questionnaire developed by Schmidt et al. (2009) was used to measure in-service teachers’ self-assessments of their TPACK during the first meeting of the training program and at the end of the first academic year. The research results revealed increase in all the domains of the TPACK framework. There was significant development of the teachers’ TK and TPACK, but only limited growth in CK and PK. Strong positive correlations were found between TCK, TPK and TPACK in the post-course survey. Key words: ICT, in-service teachers, professional development, TPACK.

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The Impact of a Professional Development Program on Elementary Teachers’ Science Knowledge and Pedagogical Skills

Journal of Educational Issues ◽

10.5296/jei.v1i1.7316 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. 36 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Maria Madalena Ferreira

Keyword(s):

Professional Development ◽

School Districts ◽

Elementary School Teachers ◽

Development Program ◽

Budget Cuts ◽

Science Knowledge ◽

Teachers Perceptions ◽

Pedagogical Skills ◽

Teacher Professional ◽

The Impact

Teacher professional development plays an important role in a teacher’s growth and every year school districts spend a large portion of their budgets in professional development activities. However, as districts face increasing budget cuts, funds for professional development compete against other district priorities. As a result, partnerships between school districts and teacher training institutions can play an important role in supplying school districts with professional development activities to fit their teachers’ needs. This article describes a partnership between a school district and a local university to provide over 100 hours of professional development to 30 elementary school teachers. Results from the evaluation of the program indicate that the program had a significant impact on participating teachers’ perceptions of their science knowledge and pedagogical skills.

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Secondary Education and Content Literacy in Inclusive Classrooms

Handbook of Research on Professional Development for Quality Teaching and Learning - Advances in Higher Education and Professional Development ◽

10.4018/978-1-5225-0204-3.ch032 ◽

2016 ◽

pp. 678-705

Author(s):

Nichole Lynnette Smith ◽

Dawn C. Waegerle

Keyword(s):

Professional Development ◽

Focus Group ◽

Literacy Practices ◽

Content Literacy ◽

Focus Group Interviews ◽

Literacy Strategies ◽

Teachers Perceptions ◽

Face To Face ◽

Group Interviews ◽

The Impact

The purpose of this research study was to examine the impact on teachers' understanding and use of content literacy strategies at the secondary level. Teachers' perceptions, perspectives, understanding and implementation of content literacy practices were examined over six months to determine study effects. In the voluntary professional development (PD) series, participants completed pre- and post- PD surveys, pre- and post- PD focus group interviews, pre- and post- PD peer and researcher observations, along with online and face-to-face PD sessions. It was expected that the participants' content literacy teaching practices would increase by participating in this multidimensional sustained PD project.

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