A Collaborative Approach to Instructional Development

Regardless of how long instructors have been in the classroom, they should continue to focus on improving their instructional practices. Being observed by others and observing others can inform teaching practices and assist in professional development. In the Applied English Center (AEC), the ESL center for the University of Kansas, formal observation by course coordinators is the primary instructional development tool used to provide instructors with targeted feedback about their teaching. However, because these formal observations are also evaluative in nature, they can create angst in instructors, making it difficult to view this tool as an opportunity to improve. Another tool instructors have used to improve their teaching is observing peers with the goal of seeing how colleagues approach their teaching. Those who have been able to observe their colleagues for this purpose have found this to be an effective (and less stressful) method for improving their own teaching; however, many instructors in the AEC have not had this opportunity to observe one another to learn from one another.

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Teachers' Perspectives Using the Instructional Quality Assessment as a Professional Development Tool

Handbook of Research on Educator Preparation and Professional Learning - Advances in Higher Education and Professional Development ◽

10.4018/978-1-5225-8583-1.ch004 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 41-58

Author(s):

Amber Grace Candela

Keyword(s):

Professional Development ◽

Quality Assessment ◽

Instructional Practices ◽

Mathematics Teachers ◽

Instructional Quality ◽

Mathematics Classrooms ◽

Development Tool ◽

Teachers Perspectives ◽

Cognitively Demanding Tasks

This chapter will provide readers with an overview of professional development created and enacted to support teachers' selection and implementation of cognitively demanding tasks using the Instructional Quality Assessment as the professional development tool. This case study seeks to give voice to mathematics teachers in third through eighth grades who participated in the professional development as they share their perspectives on using the instructional quality assessment rubrics and structure of professional development. The goal of this chapter is to provide an overview of the structure of the professional development, and share the aspects of the professional development the teachers identified as supportive or a hindrance when planning and implementing tasks in their mathematics classrooms. With this information, the article concludes by discussing ideas for future professional development aimed at providing teachers with instructional practices to incorporate into classrooms.

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Using Mid-Semester Assessment Programs (MAPs) as a Catalyst for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL)

Evidence-Based Faculty Development Through the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) - Advances in Educational Marketing, Administration, and Leadership ◽

10.4018/978-1-7998-2212-7.ch010 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 181-200

Author(s):

Alisa Hutchinson ◽

Anabel Stoeckle

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Professional Development ◽

Student Success ◽

Teaching Practices ◽

Teaching And Learning ◽

Student Feedback ◽

Scholarship Of Teaching ◽

Development Tool ◽

Improve Student Learning ◽

Innate Interest

Mid-Semester Assessment Programs (MAPs) have been successfully utilized as a professional development tool for faculty interested in improving their teaching in the context of higher education by assessing voluntary formative student feedback that guides changes instructors make in the classroom. Faculty centers and educational developers have the unique opportunity to recruit instructors via MAPs who have participated in these programs to promote and support the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) among faculty who already display an innate interest in best teaching practices and are open to advancing their own teaching in order to improve student learning and to propel student success. This chapter provides a guide for educational developers who seek to become active partners for faculty to become interested and engaged in the scholarship of teaching and learning through a unique recruitment mechanism that serves as a natural steppingstone for faculty not having engaged with SoTL yet.

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Facilitating professional development of mobile and eTextbook technologies

Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education ◽

10.1108/jarhe-03-2014-0030 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. 55-67 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Aimee deNoyelles ◽

Ryan Seilhamer

Keyword(s):

Professional Development ◽

Sense Of Community ◽

Curriculum Design ◽

Teaching Practices ◽

Single Case ◽

Content Type ◽

Face To Face ◽

Active Involvement ◽

Online Spaces ◽

The University

Purpose – While the integration of mobile and eTextbook technologies is rapidly growing throughout higher education learning environments, these technologies are often challenging to implement across the university landscape. Professional development tailored to these fluid and evolving technologies is essential to supporting effective classroom integration. The purpose of this paper is to describe and evaluate a special interest group approach to professional development regarding mobile and eTextbook technologies implemented by one university in the USA. Issues such as recruitment of members, selection of face-to-face and online spaces, and curriculum design are addressed. Design/methodology/approach – To evaluate effectiveness, a survey was given to the participants that asked about sense of community, perceived increase in knowledge and teaching practices, and overall satisfaction with the experience. Findings – The interrelated factors of sense of community, knowledge, and teaching practices were identified as valuable, along with group organization. Survey results revealed that participants highly valued the opportunity to share best practices with others they typically would not, and benefitted from the expertise of guest speakers. Online spaces were found to serve as a repository of on-demand resources and dissemination of information, while face-to-face meetings capitalized on interactivity and nurtured community. Sharing the work of the members with the university and beyond was critical to incentivizing members to produce, and also built further professional networks. The planning team identified a tension between encouraging active involvement from instructors and offering it in convenient ways given their other commitments. Originality/value – Although this is a single case, this analysis suggests generalizable strategies that may create and sustain a community interested in mobile and eTextbook technologies.

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Instructional Coaching for Implementing Visible Learning: A Model for Translating Research into Practice

Education Sciences ◽

10.3390/educsci9020101 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (2) ◽

pp. 101 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Jim Knight

Keyword(s):

Professional Development ◽

Instructional Coaching ◽

University Of Kansas ◽

Educational Innovations ◽

Instructional Coaches ◽

The Past ◽

Research Findings ◽

Foundational Research ◽

Research Initiatives ◽

The University

Visible Learning has been one of the most influential research initiatives conducted in education in the past few decades, and at the same time, instructional coaching is becoming one of the most popular forms of professional development. This paper considers how the implementation of Visible Learning may be supported through instructional coaches by: (a) offering a brief summary of the central tenants of Visible Learning; (b) summarizing the foundational research on instructional coaching conducted at the Kansas Coaching Project at The University of Kansas Center for Research on Learning; (c) describing what those findings reveal about effective instructional coaching practices; and (d) pointing out how the research findings suggest that instructional coaching should be used to support the implementation of Visible Learning or any other educational innovations.

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Evaluation and Improvement of students’ satisfaction in Online learning during COVID-19

Open Praxis ◽

10.5944/openpraxis.12.4.1153 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (4) ◽

pp. 495

Author(s):

Fayyaz Ahmad Faize ◽

Muhammad Nawaz

Keyword(s):

Online Learning ◽

University Students ◽

Instructional Practices ◽

Educational Institutions ◽

Satisfaction Level ◽

Collaborative Approach ◽

Post Modification ◽

The University ◽

Students Satisfaction ◽

Future Learning

With the closure of educational institutions due to COVID-19, the biggest challenge with the universities and the instructors was engaging students in virtual learning. This research aimed at supporting university students in Islamabad (Pakistan) for online learning through a collaborative approach. The university started online learning during COVID-19 and had no earlier experience of such mode of learning. The first phase was identifying the problems faced by students during online learning and seeking their suggestions for overcoming them. The next step was working on the students’ opinions with a team of instructors to modify existing instructional practices during online instruction. We measured students’ satisfaction level pre and post-modification to evaluate students’ adoption of online learning. The data for both the phases were collected through a Google Form. The post-modification data revealed students’ greater satisfaction in online learning. The findings offer useful insight related to students’ adoption of online learning and making it a more meaningful, organized, and productive medium for future learning.

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Evolving Models of Reference Staffing at the University of Kansas Libraries

Research Library Issues ◽

10.29242/rli.282.4 ◽

2013 ◽

pp. 21-25 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Frances Devlin ◽

John Stratton

Keyword(s):

University Of Kansas ◽

The University ◽

Evolving Models

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On Advisor Education: Evaluating Departmental Training and Professional Development Practices of Academic Staff in a Japanese University

Relay Journal ◽

10.37237/relay/020203 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 271-291

Author(s):

Huw Davies

Keyword(s):

Professional Development ◽

Academic Staff ◽

Realist Evaluation ◽

International Studies ◽

Peer Observation ◽

Research Issue ◽

Training Aids ◽

The People ◽

The University ◽

Initial Research

This study is an evaluation of the professional development (PD) programme for learning advisors employed in the self-access centre at Kanda University of International Studies in Japan. The research issue investigated was whether the PD activities of advisors allow them to provide appropriate support to students at the University. The implementation of policies, the people and the setting were all considered in building an understanding of what may make the programme work. The framework used to understand this programme is realist evaluation (Pawson & Tilley, 1997), in which theories related to the initial research issue were refined and developed to offer new perspectives. Results suggest that initial training aids advisors in supporting students, but that future implementation decisions are needed for the mentoring element of the programme and on whether more peer observation should take place. The implication that informal discussion among the workgroup and the freedom to choose personal PD journeys are fundamental drivers of effective practice is a finding that may be applied to other teacher and advisor education settings.

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