scholarly journals The Positive Influence of Inquiry-Based Learning Teacher Professional Learning and Industry Partnerships on Student Engagement With STEM

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Attard ◽  
Nathan Berger ◽  
Erin Mackenzie
Keyword(s):  
Student Engagement ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Teacher Professional Learning ◽  
Significant Finding ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
School Partnerships ◽  
Inquiry Based Learning ◽  
Teacher Professional

School teachers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) face challenges in developing and maintaining high levels of student engagement and achievement in those disciplines. Consequently, declining numbers of students are electing these subjects beyond the compulsory years of schooling. A major factor in student engagement often is curriculum content being relevant to the lives of students outside the classroom. Two key ways teachers can enhance the real-world relevance of their lessons are inquiry-based learning and localising the curriculum to provide an authentic context for teaching and learning. In this paper, we report a qualitative study into the perceived influences of inquiry-based learning on student engagement, as facilitated through teacher professional learning in the context of two major infrastructure programs in Sydney, Australia. Semi-structured interviews and focus groups were conducted with primary and secondary teachers who participated in professional learning about inquiry-based pedagogies, as well as with their students who undertook inquiry-based learning projects based on the infrastructure programs in their local community. Inductive and deductive content analyses using Attard’s Framework for Engagement with STEM illustrated how the combination of teacher professional learning, student inquiry-based learning, and localised industry-school partnerships enhanced student engagement across operative, cognitive, and affective domains. Another significant finding was the extent to which professional learning as the vehicle for inquiry-based learning and industry connections enhanced teachers’ pedagogical relationships and pedagogical repertoires in ways not possible with more conventional approaches to industry-school partnerships.

Talking about culturally responsive approaches to education: teacher professional learning, Indigenous learners and the politics of schooling

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Michelle Bishop ◽  
Greg Vass
Keyword(s):  
Professional Learning ◽  
Culturally Responsive ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Linguistically Diverse ◽  
Teacher Professional Learning ◽  
Indigenous Students ◽  
Diverse Backgrounds ◽  
Teacher Professional ◽  
Settler Society ◽  
Indigenous Learners

Abstract Culturally responsive approaches to schooling (CRS) aim to address pervasive inequities that exist in education. More specifically, CRS practices seek to improve the experiences and academic achievements of marginalised and minoritised learners, such as those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. In this paper, we consider the possibilities for CRS in the context of Australia where Indigenous students (along with their parents, peers and teachers) are consistently reminded, courtesy of the deficit government policies and ‘close the gap’ rhetoric, that they have the worst educational outcomes of any settler society. This paper does not seek to offer fixed solutions in response to this. Rather, based on shared experience researching and teaching together that draw on CRS, the paper foregrounds a collaborative culturally responsive dialogue between the authors. Together we discuss, deliberate and despair about the state of the education system for Indigenous students, we also remain tentatively hopeful about how CRS might become embedded in teaching and learning, through teacher professional learning, in ways that are relevant to the Australian context.

scholarly journals COACHING PENGAJARAN SEBAGAI PEMBELAJARAN PROFESIONAL GURU: SATU TINJAUAN

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 50-61
Author(s):  
Wan Fadhlurrahman W. Md Rasidi ◽  
Al-Amin Mydin ◽  
Azian Ismail
Keyword(s):  
School Improvement ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Professional Practice ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Teacher Professional Learning ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Education Development ◽  
Coaching Strategies ◽  
Teacher Professional

Teacher professional learning is a process of improvement and enhancement of excellence that requires the school community towork collaboratively to improve outcomes. Under the Malaysian Education Development Plan (PPPM) 2013 - 2025, a full-time position was created in the District Education Office (PPD) known as the School Improvement Specialist Coaches (SISC +) to implement professional learning of teachers through teaching coaching strategies. Teaching coaching strategies are expected to enhance the professional practice of teachers in low-performing schools. This study was conducted using a quantitative method approach by survey using aquestionnaire. The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the implementation of professional learning for teachers through teaching coaching strategies by SISC + personnel. The study participants consisted of 200 teachers in Kuala Muda / Yan district, Kedah. The review of this study uses a set of SISC + Teaching Coaching questionnaires adapted from the Teacher Education Division (2011). Inferential statistics were used to analyze the relationship of SISC + teaching coaching with teacher professional practice in teaching and learning (PdP) in the classroom using Pearson correlation coefficient through SPSS version 22. Through SISC + teaching coaching strategies conducted in schools, the level of professional practice of teachers in PdP has increased and is in good category. Further findings of the study also found that there is a significant relationship between teaching coachingby SISC + with the professional practice of teachers in the classroom. Keywords: Teacher professional learning, teaching coaching, SISC +, teacher professional practice Abstrak: Pembelajaran profesional guru merupakan satu proses penambahbaikan dan peningkatan kecemerlangan yang memerlukan komuniti sekolah bekerja secara kolaboratif untuk meningkatkan keberhasilan. Di bawah Pelan Pembangunan Pendidikan Malaysia (PPPM) 2013 – 2025, satu jawatan sepenuh masa diwujudkan di Pejabat Pendidikan Daerah (PPD) dikenali sebagai School Improvement Specialist Coaches (SISC+) bagi melaksanakan pembelajaran profesional guru melalui strategi coaching pengajaran. Strategi coaching pengajaran dijangkakan dapat meningkatkan amalan profesional guru di sekolah-sekolah berprestasi rendah. Kajian ini dijalankan menggunakan pendekatan kaedah kuantitatif secara tinjauan menggunakan soal selidik. Tujuan utama kajian ini dijalankan adalah untuk menilai keberkesanan pelaksanaan pembelajaran profesional guru melalui strategi coaching pengajaran oleh personel SISC+. Peserta kajian terdiri daripada 200 orang guru di daerah Kuala Muda/Yan, Kedah. Tinjauan kajian ini menggunakan set soal selidik Coaching Pengajaran SISC+ yang diadaptasi daripada Bahagian Pendidikan Guru (2011). Statistik inferensi digunakan untuk menganalisis hubungan coaching pengajaran SISC+ dengan amalan profesional guru dalam pengajaran dan pembelajaran (PdP) di bilik darjah menggunakan pekali korelasi Pearson melalui perisian SPSS versi 22. Hasil kajian menunjukkan pelaksanaan pembelajaran profesional guru di sekolah-sekolah yang dikaji berada pada tahap tinggi. Melalui strategi coaching pengajaran SISC+ yang dijalankan di sekolah, tahap amalan profesional guru dalam PdP telah meningkat dan berada dalam kategori baik. Seterusnya dapatan kajian juga mendapati bahawa terdapat hubungan yang signifikan antara coaching pengajaran oleh SISC+ dengan amalan profesional guru di bilik darjah. Kata kunci: Pembelajaran profesional guru, coaching pengajaran, SISC+, amalan profesional guru

scholarly journals TEACHER TEAMS AND SCHOOLS BECOME LEADERS TO DISSEMINATE INNOVATIVE PRACTICE

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 208
Author(s):  
Dace Namsone ◽  
Līga Čakāne ◽  
Dina Sarceviča - Kalviške
Keyword(s):  
Professional Learning ◽  
Personal Development ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teacher Leaders ◽  
Learning Experiences ◽  
Teacher Professional Learning ◽  
Collaboration Network ◽  
Teacher Teams ◽  
Teacher Professional ◽  
Good Leader

We will introduce a study about teachers taking part in networking for personal development and becoming teacher leaders. In 2011 a multilevel national joint collaboration network of schools with innovative experience was created to foster dissemination of new teaching and learning experiences among teachers. In order to organize learning for teachers, a lesson based collaborative continuous teacher professional learning model was implemented. The research shows that conducting and analyzing lessons has helped participants become more competent professionals and develop skills that are crucial for a good leader. Categories characterizing teacher leaders and lead schools were identified. Factors that facilitate or limit teachers or schools to become leaders are discussed.

scholarly journals The effectiveness of a teacher professional learning programme: The perceptions and performance of mathematics teachers

Pythagoras ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mdutshekelwa Ndlovu
Keyword(s):  
Development Strategy ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Mathematics Teachers ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Mathematical Knowledge For Teaching ◽  
Achievement Test ◽  
Teacher Professional Learning ◽  
Learner Achievement ◽  
Teacher Professional ◽  
And Performance

The purpose of this article is to report on an investigation of the perceptions and performance of mathematics teachers in a teacher professional learning (TPL) programme based on realistic mathematics education (RME) principles, which included a topic on transformations, undertaken by the researcher. Forty-seven Senior Phase (Grade 7–9) teachers took part in the mixed-methods study in which they answered a questionnaire with both closed and open-ended items. Fifty teachers took an achievement test at the end of the programme. The TPL programme used the RME approach in the design and delivery of mathematical tasks intended to enhance teachers’ mathematical knowledge for teaching. The sessions were conducted in a manner that modelled one way in which RME principles can be adopted as a teacher professional development strategy. The significance of the study is that continuing TPL is acknowledged to contribute to improvement in teaching and learning to address the concern about unsatisfactory learner achievement in mathematics. The responses suggested that the majority of teachers experienced the sessions positively in relation to all but one of the six RME principles. The teachers reported that they took an active part both as individuals and in small groups and expressed their willingness to adopt the type of activities and materials for their classrooms, which is an essential first step in Guskey’s first level of evaluation of a teacher TPL programme. The teachers’ average performance in an achievement test at the end of the topic was 72% which was indicative of modest learning gains at Guskey’s second level of TPL effectiveness.

Principal leadership and school capacity effects on teacher learning in Hong Kong

2016 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lijuan Li ◽  
Philip Hallinger ◽  
James Ko
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Principal Leadership ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
System Level ◽  
Teacher Professionalism ◽  
Teacher Professional Learning ◽  
School Capacity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Teacher Professional

Purpose – Over the past decade, studies of school leadership effects have increasingly aimed at identifying and validating the paths through which principal leadership impacts key teaching and learning processes in schools. A recent meta-analysis by Robinson and colleagues identified principal practices that shape teacher professional development experiences in schools as the highest impact path used by instructional leaders. The purpose of this paper is to examine relationships between principal leadership, dimensions of school capacity, and teacher professional learning in 32 Hong Kong primary schools. Design/methodology/approach – The study employed a cross-sectional research design and quantitative methods to analyze teacher perceptions of principal leadership and key school conditions. The research employed hierarchical linear regression analysis to explore survey data collected from a sample of 970 teachers. The surveys covered a range of principal leadership and school capacity dimensions, as well as a measure of teacher professional learning. Findings – Results indicated that multiple dimensions of principal leadership made significant contributions to both school capacity and teacher professional learning. The presence of cooperation, trust, communication, support for students, and alignment, coherence, and structure in schools also affected teacher professional learning. Research limitations/implications – These findings contribute to the global discourse on leadership for learning. The study addresses the need established by multiple scholars (e.g. Leithwood, Hallinger, Heck, Robinson, Witziers) for research that further illuminates “paths” and “intermediate targets” through which leadership impacts teaching and learning. The findings elaborate on the means by which leadership can enhance school capacities that directly impact teacher classroom practice and student learning. Consistent with other scholarly research (e.g. Bryk and Schneider, Louis and colleagues, Sahphier and King) the findings also point toward the importance of establishing selected workplace conditions (e.g. trust, cooperation, communication) as a foundation for fostering teacher professional learning. Practical implications – The study reinforces the finding from other studies that it is productive for principals to foster an environment aimed at enhancing teacher professionalism. The study also highlights the potentially dysfunctional consequences that can arise from competing system-level initiatives aimed at increasing monitoring and teacher accountability and fostering teacher professionalism. Originality/value – The study contributes to a small but growing body of leadership effects research conducted in non-Western societies. As such the study offers insights with relevance for understanding leadership processes in other Asian and non-Western cultures.

Different strokes for different folks: scaling a blended model of teacher professional learning

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 230-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deirdre Butler ◽  
Margaret Leahy ◽  
Michael Hallissy ◽  
Mark Brown
Keyword(s):  
Professional Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Teacher Professional Learning ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Massive Open Online Course ◽  
The Social ◽  
Recent Phase ◽  
Teacher Professional ◽  
Two Phases

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe an innovative model of teacher professional learning that has evolved over a decade (2006 to 2016). Design/methodology/approach Working in a range of different school contexts, in conjunction with an ongoing engagement with the research literature, has enabled the development over three phases of a robust yet flexible framework that meets teachers’ expressed needs. At the same time, the framework helps to shift teachers’ pedagogical orientations, as the learning design supports school-focused, job-embedded teacher professional learning, which challenges more traditional instructional environments by infusing digital technologies and other elements of twenty-first century skills into teaching and learning. Findings Building on the experiences of the first two phases, the paper reports the most recent phase which expands on the emergence of a fourth wave of online learning to design and develop a massive open online course (MOOC) that potentially enables the massive scaling up of access to this already validated model of teacher professional development. The importance of maintaining key elements, threshold concepts and signature pedagogies in the design of MOOCs for teacher professional learning are discussed, and the paper concludes with early lessons from this latest work in progress. Originality/value Challenges are identified relating to the design of the social supports within the MOOC structure to sustain the collaboration, dialogue and ongoing reflection observed across Phases 1 and 2 that are necessary for the changes in pedagogical orientation and classroom practices.

scholarly journals Teachers’ Perception of Their Code-Switching Practices in English as a Foreign Language Classes: The Results of Stimulated Recall Interview and Conversation Analysis

SAGE Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 215824402110138
Author(s):  
Yetti Zainil ◽  
Safnil Arsyad
Keyword(s):  
Conversation Analysis ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Video Recording ◽  
Code Switching ◽  
Pedagogical Practices ◽  
Stimulated Recall ◽  
West Sumatra ◽  
Teacher Professional ◽  
Stimulated Recall Interviews

Teachers often code-switch in the EFL classroom, but the question of whether or not they are aware of their code-switching has not been satisfactorily answered. This article presents the study on teachers’ understandings and beliefs about their code-switching practices in EFL classrooms as well as effective language teaching and learning. The participants of this study came from four junior high schools in Padang, West Sumatra, Indonesia: five teachers with their respective classes. This research used the conversation analysis and stimulated recall interviews to analyze the data which came from the video recording of classroom observations and the audio recording of stimulated recall interviews with teachers. The results revealed the pedagogical functions and affective functions of teacher’s code-switching. The data also showed that the use of stimulated recall interviews helped teachers to be consciously aware of their code-switching as well as of their other pedagogical practices in the language classroom. Therefore, stimulated recall interviews can be a useful tool for teacher self-reflection that they were not aware of their code switch. This awareness could be incorporated into language teacher professional development and in-service teacher professional learning.

scholarly journals Integrated STEM for Teacher Professional Learning and Development: “I Need Time for Practice”

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 21
Author(s):  
Andrea C. Burrows ◽  
Mike Borowczak ◽  
Adam Myers ◽  
Andria C. Schwortz ◽  
Courtney McKim
Keyword(s):  
Professional Learning ◽  
Social Constructionism ◽  
Teacher Professional Learning ◽  
Authentic Science ◽  
Learning And Development ◽  
Integrated Stem ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Teacher Professional ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
K 12

This study compares three pre-collegiate teacher professional learning and development (PLD) integrated science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) experiences framed in astronomy. The study is set in the western United States (USA) and involves 60 pre-collegiate teachers (in the USA these are K-12 teachers) over the course of three years (June 2014–May 2017). During the PLDs, astronomy acted as a vehicle for pre-collegiate STEM teachers to increase their STEM content knowledge as well as create and implement integrated STEM classroom lessons. The authors collected quantitative and qualitative data to address five research questions and embraced social constructionism as the theoretical framework. Findings show that STEM pre-collegiate teachers are largely engaged with integrated STEM PLD content and embrace astronomy content and authentic science. Importantly, they need time to practice, interpret, translate, and use the integrated STEM content in classroom lessons. Recommendations for PLD STEM teacher support are provided. Implications of this study are vast, as gaps in authentic science, utilizing astronomy, PLD structure, and STEM integration are ripe for exploration.

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