Out of the Writing Centre and into the Classroom: Academic Literacies in Action

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 ◽  
pp. 172-190
Author(s):  
Christina J. Page
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Academic Literacies ◽  
Class Model ◽  
Implicit Processes ◽  
Teaching Faculty ◽  
Dialogic Space

Writing and learning centre professionals have expertise in supporting the development of academic literacies but are typically positioned outside of departmental contexts, limiting their interaction with instructors in the disciplines. Small scale initiatives towards meaningful collaboration with faculty can create the dialogic space to move the work of academic literacies development into the classroom. This paper describes three collaborative projects in business, science, and arts disciplines to move instruction in academic literacies from a supplemental, outside of class model to an embedded, in-class delivery. Working towards collaborative projects enhances opportunities for writing centre professionals to impact their institutions while remaining flexible in delivering support in a variety of modes. These collaborative projects enhance the professional development of both teaching faculty and writing centre professionals, allowing both parties to gain insight on the often-implicit processes of thinking, using information, and writing that distinguish disciplines from one another.

scholarly journals Neither the frying pan nor the fire: In search of a balanced authentic e-learning design through an educational design research process

2014 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hanna Teräs ◽  
Jan Herrington
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Design Research ◽  
Development Program ◽  
Research Process ◽  
Learning Program ◽  
Educational Design ◽  
Educational Design Research ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Teaching Faculty ◽  
The Impact

<p class="Abstract"><span lang="EN-GB">Teaching in higher education in the 21st century can be a demanding and complex role and academic educators around the globe are dealing with questions related to change. This paper describes a new type of a professional development program for teaching faculty, using a pedagogical model based on the principles of authentic e-learning. The program was developed with the help of an iterative educational design research process and rapid prototyping based on on-going research and redesign. This paper describes how the findings of the evaluations guided the design process and how the impact of the measures taken was in turn researched, in order to eventually identify and refine design principles for an authentic e-learning program for international teaching faculty professional development.</span></p>

scholarly journals What we talk about when we talk about writing: exploring how English for Academic Purposes teachers and learning developers conceptualise academic writing

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharon McCulloch ◽  
Tania Horak
Keyword(s):  
Academic Writing ◽  
Strong Evidence ◽  
Teacher Identity ◽  
English For Academic Purposes ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Academic Literacies ◽  
Professional Identities ◽  
High Ranking ◽  
Academic Writer ◽  
Sense Of Identity

Two main groups of staff currently provide writing support to students in British universities. These staff typically enter their roles from a range of professional backgrounds and, consequently, may hold different professional identities and understandings of what academic writing is. Although there is a body of research on teacher identity and on lecturers’ conceptualisations of writing, few studies have compared the views and identities of English for Academic Purposes (EAP) teachers and learning developers. The current study set out to investigate whether these two groups perceive academic writing in similar or different ways, and why. We undertook a small-scale study, interviewing eight participants at two universities, half from a post-1992 institution and the others from a research-intensive, high-ranking university. While participants varied in their definitions of writing, common themes emerged, lying on a spectrum from an autonomous, text-based, to an academic literacies perspective on writing. To establish the influences on these perspectives, we investigated the participants’ sense of identity as an academic writer, how they learned writing themselves and any influences on them from theory. Neither the EAP teachers nor the learning developers identified strongly as academic writers, despite all holding postgraduate qualifications and some having published their writing. Most reported little to no training in how to write academically themselves, and few mentioned any theoretical stance in their approach to helping students. Although some clustering around particular conceptualisations of writing was observed, we did not find strong evidence that the participants belong to two different ‘tribes’.

scholarly journals Challenging Teachers’ Pedagogic Practice and Assumptions about Social Media

2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen C. Cartner ◽  
Julia L. Hallas
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Online Course ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Pedagogical Practice ◽  
Critical Reasoning ◽  
Professional Development For Teachers ◽  
Effective Technology ◽  
The Relationship

This article describes an innovative approach to professional development designed to challenge teachers’ pedagogic practice and assumptions about educational technologies such as social media. Developing effective technology-related professional development for teachers can be a challenge for institutions and facilitators who provide this support. To contend with this challenge, we drew on Bain’s (2004) “baker’s dozen” questions to guide the design of an online postgraduate course for teachers. This article discusses the design of the online course and what teachers came to understand about the relationship between social media and teaching as a result of completing the course activities. This small-scale case study utilised qualitative data from three cohorts of participating teachers and found that teachers do change their pedagogical practice and assumptions about social media for their own teaching contexts when they engage in course activities that challenge their existing mental models and encourage critical reasoning and reflection on learning.

scholarly journals Improved Professional Development Through Teacher Leadership

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wesley D. Hickey ◽  
Sandra Harris
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Staff Development ◽  
Teacher Leadership ◽  
Teacher Leaders ◽  
Exemplary Teachers ◽  
Development Model ◽  
Faculty Effectiveness ◽  
Professional Development Model ◽  
Teaching Faculty ◽  
The Impact

Research suggests the need to provide leadership opportunities for teachers within school settings in order to increase professional collaboration and community. This research explored one rural district’s professional development model, which was evaluated to determine its potential in developing teacher leaders. This district’s professional development model utilized their exemplary teachers to develop other teachers through formal presentations that were traditionally taught by non-district experts. This study utilized a practitioner research methodology to determine effectiveness of using teachers as leaders. Data were collected to determine the impact on the teacher leaders and the effectiveness of the presentations as perceived by the overall teaching faculty. The results suggest an overall positive experience for teachers, as well as an increase in collaboration. In addition, teacher presenters believed their participation in staff development increased faculty effectiveness and increased the perception of the teacher presenters as leaders within the district.  

Repetita Iuvant? A Repeated Randomized Controlled Trial on the Effectiveness of an At-Scale Teacher Professional Development Program

2021 ◽  
pp. 0193841X2110553
Author(s):  
Giovanni Abbiati ◽  
Gianluca Argentin ◽  
Andrea Caputo ◽  
Aline Pennisi
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Teacher Collaboration ◽  
Program Implementation ◽  
Program Effectiveness ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Development Program ◽  
Professional Development Program ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
The Impact

Background A recent stream of literature recognizes the impact of good/poor implementation on the effectiveness of programs. However, implementation is often disregarded in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) because they are run on a small scale. Replicated RCTs, although rare, provide a unique opportunity to study the relevance of implementation for program effectiveness. Objectives Evaluating the effectiveness of an at-scale professional development program for lower secondary school math teachers through two repeated RCTs. Research Design The program lasts a full school year and provides innovative methods for teaching math. The evaluation was conducted on two cohorts of teachers in the 2009/10 and 2010/11 school years. The program and RCTs were held at scale. Participating teachers and their classes were followed for 3 years. Impact is estimated by comparing the math scores of treatment and control students. Subjects The evaluation involved 195 teachers and their 3940 students (first cohort) and 146 teachers and their 2858 students (second cohort). Measures The key outcome is students’ math achievement, measured through standardized assessment. Results In the first wave, the program did not impact on students’ achievement, while in the second wave, a positive, persistent, and not insignificant effect was found. After excluding other sources of change, different findings across waves are interpreted in the light of improvements in the program implementation, such as enrollment procedure, teacher collaboration, and integration of innovation in daily teaching. Conclusions Repeated assessment of interventions already at-scale provides the opportunity to better identify and correct sources of weak implementation, potentially improving effectiveness.

New Roles for ESP Lecturers

2020 ◽  
pp. 181-206
Author(s):  
Mirela Bardi ◽  
Laura-Mihaela Muresan
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
English For Specific Purposes ◽  
Academic Literacies ◽  
University Departments ◽  
Teaching Situation ◽  
Research Outcomes ◽  
Field Notes ◽  
Research Competences ◽  
Multilingual Scholars

The pressure on multilingual scholars to disseminate research outcomes through the medium of English has generated the need for programs which prepare them to perform at internationally accepted standards. The task of helping researchers refine their academic literacies entails new responsibilities for language professionals in university departments. This chapter will explore the new roles taken on by English for Specific Purposes (ESP) professionals in Romania within the framework of an MA program designed to enhance communication and research competences of faculty in economics and business. The methodological approach adopted in this study comprises narratives and field notes provided by ESP professionals involved in setting up and delivering the MA program. The findings suggest that responding to the needs of a demanding teaching situation and engaging in interdisciplinary interactions provide both challenges and professional development opportunities for language teaching academics.

scholarly journals Inspiring teaching: learning from exemplary practitioners

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pamela Sammons ◽  
Ariel Mariah Lindorff ◽  
Lorena Ortega ◽  
Alison Kington
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
School Improvement ◽  
Professional Learning Communities ◽  
Learning Communities ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Multiple Perspectives ◽  
New Evidence ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the concept of ' inspiring teaching' based on case studies of exemplary practitioners in England to inform professional development and collaborative learning and support school improvement. Design/methodology/approach The study adopted a mixed methods design involving multiple perspectives. Data sources included interviews with teachers, two systematic classroom observation schedules and qualitative field notes from classroom observations. Quantitative and qualitative findings were integrated to allow for triangulation and synthesis. Findings The ‘inspiring’ sample of teachers exhibited many strengths in terms of the characteristics of more effective teaching identified in previous literature. However, the integration and synthesis of evidence also reveals core features of inspiring practice and highlighted the strong emotional and reflective components that distinguish inspiring practice, including: positive relationships; good classroom/behaviour management; positive and supportive climate; formative feedback; high quality learning experiences; enjoyment, and high levels of student engagement and motivation. Research limitations/implications This small-scale study was based on a purposive sample of 17 teachers in England therefore results cannot necessarily be generalised to other contexts. Practical implications The research findings and approaches can be used to support teachers' professional development and provide resources to promote collaboration in developing professional learning communities. Originality/value The investigation provides new evidence on the characteristics, practices and views of inspiring teachers. The use of multiple perspectives and integration of findings provides new evidence to inform and support the development of professional learning communities.

scholarly journals Carbon stocks and fluxes in reforestated sites of Durango, Mexico

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 15-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
José de Jesús Návar Cháidez ◽  
Nicolás González ◽  
José Graciano
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Sequestration ◽  
Goodness Of Fit ◽  
Carbon Stocks ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Environmental Services ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
Class Model ◽  
Fit Statistics ◽  
Individual Trees ◽  
Two Hybrid

In this research, we present predictions of carbon sequestration by pines growing in reforested sites of Durango, Mexico. Four methodologies to predict carbon stocks in standing aboveground biomass were tested. Two models at the whole stand scale and two hybrid models between whole stand, stand class, and individual trees were fitted. A chronosequence of 23 small-scale reforested sites and stem analysis conducted on 60 trees were used to fit model parameters and estimate goodness of fit statistics. A stand class model produced a better fit to measure carbon stocks in aboveground standing biomass. 3 Reforested sites with native pine species are sequestering carbon at differential rates partially explained by density, species, micro site, climate and age of pines. Society is benefiting from the environmental services provided by carbon sequestration and conservation of native coniferous forests.

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