scholarly journals "She didn't know much about English teaching": planning classes together in the teachers' room as a practice of professional development

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 59-78
Author(s):  
Simone Sarmento ◽  
William Kirsch
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Everyday Life ◽  
Community Of Practice ◽  
Teacher Development ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Data Generation ◽  
Semistructured Interviews ◽  
South Of Brazil ◽  
The Coordinator

This paper is a part of a larger research project, which focused on investigating the teacher development practices in a Languages without Borders community of a large university in the south of Brazil. The research is affiliated with the paradigm of Practice Theory (Young, 2009; Young, 2010) and relied on qualitative methods of data generation and analysis (Erickson, 1990; Gumperz, 2005; Mason, 2002; Tannen, 2014), as well as on semistructured interviews with focal participants. The data revealed that the practices that culminate in teacher development could be divided into two: (1) formal practices, that is, the ones consciously planned and carried out by the coordinator; and (2) informal ones, that is, practices that emerged from everyday life in this community of practice, chiefly in the teachers' room. In this paper, we focus on a specific informal practice - that of planning classes together. Planning classes together was considered a productive practice in terms of professional learning both in the interviews and in the data obtained through participant observation.

Supporting collaborative and continuing professional development in education for sustainability through a communities of practice approach

2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 681-696 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristin Warr Pedersen
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Professional Development ◽  
Community Of Practice ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Peer Learning ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Education For Sustainability ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to consider an expanded vision of professional development for embedding education for sustainability (EfS) in a higher education institution. Through an exploration of a community of practice at the University of Tasmania, this paper examines how collaborative peer learning can sustain and promote continued professional development for staff in higher education who are committed to EfS as an educational paradigm. Design/methodology/approach This research was conducted through a mixed methods investigation that involved participant observation and semi-structured interviews and focus groups. Data were analysed and grouped into themes that are discussed in the paper. Findings This research reveals that personal values and professional identity were the two driving factors for continued engagement in a collaborative peer learning initiative. Despite institutional challenges and a lack of success of growing membership in the community of practice, participants found a level of job satisfaction and personal connection to the initiative and to each other that has sustained action and impact for this group. Originality/value This work contributes an alternative voice to the professional development discussion around EfS. While most professional development activities are aimed at transferring knowledge to individuals and groups that are identified to lack awareness or capacity in a topic, this work highlights the need to include and foster safe learning spaces for continued professional learning. Particular attention is paid to the value of peer learning to support the professional development of sessional staff engaged in EfS.

scholarly journals Hastening slowly: insights about teacher development from an evaluation of courses at the WCED’s Cape Teaching and Leadership Institute

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Meyer ◽  
Lydia Abel
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Teacher Development ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
School Level ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
Leadership Institute ◽  
Service Training ◽  
Education Administrators ◽  
The Impact

In the area of teacher professional development, South African education administrators face the challenge of reconciling two imperatives that have entirely different implications for programme time frames and budgets. On the one hand, there is an urgent need to improve the pedagogic content knowledge of many teachers to improve the overall standard of teaching and learning in the public school system. Considering the scale and urgency of the matter, centralised course-based in-service training seems to be the only affordable alternative. On the other hand, researchers have long warned that once-off course-based training on its own has limited impact on teachers’ practice, and has to be accompanied by further professional support in the school and classroom, or be abandoned in favour of more enduring professional learning communities. The Western Cape Education Department (WCED) has grappled with this dilemma in the Department’s various professional development initiatives for teachers, a mainstay of which is the training offered by the Cape Teaching and Leadership Institute (CTLI). This paper presents some of the data and findings from an external evaluation that ORT SA CAPE conducted in 2011–2012 of courses offered by the WCED at the CTLI. The hierarchy of INSET outcomes proposed by Harland and Kinder (1997) was applied to record changes in the practice of 18 teachers at eight schools. The progress of five of the teachers is discussed to illustrate the interplay between school-level factors and the experiences of individual teachers which influenced the impact of CTLI training on their teaching.

scholarly journals The formation of a community of practice in preservice teacher education : the interaction of the classroom environment and new communication technologies

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Melissa J. Poole
Keyword(s):  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Community Of Practice ◽  
Teacher Development ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Classroom Environment ◽  
Development Program ◽  
Communication Technologies ◽  
Second Phase ◽  
Online Data

The goal of this study was to examine the development of a group of preservice teachers over three semesters during the second phase of their coursework and fieldwork in the teacher development program at a major Midwestern university. The questions at the heart of the study were whether this cohort of preservice teachers developed community. What markers of community were evidenced? What contextual factors served to support or impede the development of community? Data were collected through observation of their courses, a series of interviews with a sample of preservice teachers, and archiving artifacts of their coursework such as the course syllabi, reading materials, and their discussions online. Data analysis was grounded in theory about the nature of community, communities of practice, teacher communities, online communities and in a sociocultural theory of technological change. The findings suggest that these preservice teachers began to form community during their years in the teacher development program. This community began to evolve from a community of practice into a professional learning community as they developed from college students into practicing teachers. However, the culture of the classroom, the physical arrangement of the room and the importance given to students' voices in class and online, played a large role in fostering and supporting the development of community.

scholarly journals Mathematics teachers’ learning on Exploratory Teaching: analysis of a Multimedia Case in a Community of Practice

2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 112-133
Author(s):  
Cristina Cirino de Jesus ◽  
Marcia Cristina de Costa Trindade Cyrino ◽  
Hélia Margarida de Oliveira
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Classroom Management ◽  
Community Of Practice ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Mathematics Teachers ◽  
Lesson Planning ◽  
Audio Recording ◽  
Teachers Professional Development ◽  
Multimedia Resource

This article aim is to investigate what professional learning regarding Exploratory Teaching (ET) perspective was revealed by Mathematics teachers, in a Community of Practice (CoP). In a context intended to promote teachers’ professional development, a multimedia resource integrating real classroom situations was used to promote discussion and learning. Qualitative research has been carried out with an audio recording of the group meetings and the written productions elaborated by the teachers. The learning related to the Exploratory Teaching perspective revealed by the teachers is associated to the actions and roles of the teacher, the student’s role, classroom management and the relevance of lesson planning in teacher’s practice. The involvement in the CoP favored teachers to rethink and question some of their actions during the lessons and to notice essential aspects of ET perspective and to connect them with their experiences from the classroom. The results show that the constitution of a CoP around the exploration of a multimedia case in professional development contexts can be a facilitator for the learning of its members.

What Counts as Quality Teaching?

2016 ◽  
pp. 366-385
Author(s):  
Moira Hulme
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Professional Development ◽  
Continuing Education ◽  
Teacher Development ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Quality Teaching ◽  
System A ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Professional Development Of Teachers ◽  
National Comparison

The professional development of teachers has attracted much critical attention in each of the four nations of the United Kingdom since 2010. This chapter offers a ‘home international' comparison of policies to support the initial qualification and continuing education of teachers in the period following political devolution. A rationale is offered for cross-national comparison in this small and closely linked system. A comparison is offered of routes into teaching and the teachers' Standards in order to explicate divergent models of professionalism. By comparing policies across the Anglo-Celtic isles debate on the distinctive contribution of higher education to professional learning is enabled. Tensions are acknowledged within a policy ensemble that seeks to promote research excellence and teacher development.

Teachers Are Adult Learners

2020 ◽  
pp. 20-42
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Adult Learning ◽  
Community Of Practice ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Learning Theory ◽  
Situated Learning ◽  
Adult Learning Theory ◽  
Learning Groups ◽  
Joint Activities ◽  
Values And Beliefs

This chapter will expose the reader to adult learning theory, with particular emphasis on situated learning and discourse theory. Adult learning theory should inform the design of professional development sessions, with particular attention devoted to context and collaborative settings. Professional learning of teachers within the classroom is influenced by situated learning theory and has the potential for sustained professional development. Situated learning proposes that learning involves a process of engagement in a community of practice. People who share a concern or passion for something they do, involving members in joint activities and discussions as they build relationships that enable them to learn from each other, form communities of practice. The concept of community of practice is further discussed as it pertains to teacher professional learning groups. In education, teachers come to professional development sessions with espoused platforms, already equipped with values and beliefs about instruction in the classroom. Therefore, professional development cannot be a one-size-fits-all opportunity.

Professional Development to Promote Online Communication, Collaboration and Learning Among Faculty

2021 ◽  
pp. 191-224
Author(s):  
Mayela Coto ◽  
Lone Dirckinck-Holmfeld
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Community Of Practice ◽  
Development Strategy ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Online Communication ◽  
Development Program ◽  
Theory Model ◽  
Student Centered ◽  
Practice Approach

Based on a critical re-reading of a study of a community of practice approach to professional development, this chapter uses Engeström's activity theory model to highlight the tensions that arise in a professional development program oriented to change teaching practice through the introduction of ICT and a student-centered pedagogical approach. Despite the community of practice potential, there are many tensions that inhibit this type of professional learning. These tensions can be summarized in four broad categories: institutional structures (division of work), the institutional culture (rules), levels of engagement (differentiations within the community), and faculty readiness (in the appropriation of tools and new pedagogy). By analyzing, in greater depth, the tensions, our goal is to reflect again in the design principles and to further elaborate on developing a professional development strategy based on a community of practice approach that can be used in broader contexts.

The Mountain Lake Colloquium and the Mountain Lake Reader

2019 ◽  
pp. 160-187
Author(s):  
Janet R. Barrett ◽  
Diane Persellin ◽  
Janet Robbins ◽  
Sandra L. Stauffer
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Community Of Practice ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Music Teacher ◽  
Mountain Lake ◽  
Biennial Conference

The Mountain Lake Colloquium, a biennial conference held since 1991 in Virginia, has become a robust and dynamic site for the professional learning of music teacher educators. The colloquium aspires to serve as a welcoming space for new colleagues, a seedbed of ideas, a forum for dialogue, a venue for disseminating scholarship, and a community of practice. This chapter captures the dimensions of the scholarship, practice, conversation, inquiry, reflection, and collegiality that have come to characterize participation in this community. It also describes the parallel creation and publication of six issues of the Mountain Lake Reader, a journal for disseminating related examples of practice and scholarly essays in artistic forms. The playful and polyvocal qualities of experience integral to the colloquium may inspire those interested in the professional development of music teacher educators and colleagues who are on the search to integrate scholarship and practice more fully and imaginatively.

scholarly journals Using Facebook as an e-portfolio in enhancing pre-service teachers’ professional development

2016 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Kamarul Kabilan
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Community Of Practice ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Future Teachers ◽  
Online Teacher ◽  
Teacher Portfolio ◽  
Teachers Professional Development

<p class="Body1">This study aims to determine if <em>Facebook</em>, when used as an online teacher portfolio (OTP), could contribute meaningfully to pre-service teachers’ professional development (PD) and in what ways the OTP can be meaningful. Pre-service teachers (<em>n</em> = 91) were asked to develop OTP using <em>Facebook</em> and engage in learning and professional development (PD) activities for 14 weeks. Questionnaires, open-ended items and reflective reports were used to collect data and it was found that many of the pre-service teachers benefitted quite significantly in terms of their development as future teachers through these five facets: (i) community of practice; (ii) professional learning and identity; (iii) relevant skills; (iv) resources; and (v) confidence.</p>

scholarly journals The Distinguished Teacher Workshop Mode of Professional Learning Communities in Guangxi

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 296-300
Author(s):  
YANG Maoqing ◽  
DENG Xiaoli ◽  
LIU Tian
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Professional Learning Communities ◽  
Learning Communities ◽  
Teacher Development ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Operational Mechanism ◽  
Leading Role ◽  
Teacher Professional ◽  
Teacher Workshop ◽  
Teacher Workshops

Distinguished Teacher Workshops are important ways for teacher professional development. Through questionnaires and interviews with over 1,000 participants, this paper reports the implementation of the Distinguished Teacher Workshops in Guangxi, China, covering their operational mechanism and initial outcomes: The empowerment of members; the strengthened internal motive of the community; and the enhanced vitality of professional development and a more sustainable development community for teachers. It is concluded that the Distinguished Teacher Workshops have shown that distinguished teachers play a leading role in teacher development in Guangxi.

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