scholarly journals Who Participates in Content-Focused Teacher Professional Development? Evidence From a Large Scale Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Richter ◽  
Mareike Kunter ◽  
Alexandra Marx ◽  
Dirk Richter
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
Teacher Learning ◽  
Content Knowledge ◽  
Teacher Quality ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
High Participation ◽  
Teacher Professional ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Relationship

This study investigates the relationship between teacher quality and teachers’ engagement in professional development (PD) activities using data on 229 German secondary school mathematics teachers. We assessed different aspects of teacher quality (e.g. professional knowledge, instructional quality) using a variety of measures, including standardised tests of teachers’ content knowledge, to determine what characteristics are associated with high participation in PD. The results show that teachers with higher scores for teacher quality variables take part in more content-focused PD than teachers with lower scores for these variables. This suggests that teacher learning may be subject to a Matthew effect, whereby more proficient teachers benefit more from PD than less proficient teachers.

Is Music Teacher Professional Development Becoming More Effective? Evaluating Practice and Policy in the United States, 1993–2012

2020 ◽  
pp. 002242942098252
Author(s):  
Justin J. West
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
United States ◽  
Social Interaction ◽  
Teacher Professional Development ◽  
The United States ◽  
Music Teacher ◽  
Policy Practice ◽  
Teacher Professional ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Using Data

The purpose of this study was to evaluate music teacher professional development (PD) practice and policy in the United States between 1993 and 2012. Using data from the nationally representative Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) spanning these 20 years, I examined music teacher PD participation by topic, intensity, relevance, and format; music teachers’ top PD priorities; and the reach of certain PD-supportive policies. I assessed these descriptive results against a set of broadly agreed-on criteria for “effective” PD: content specificity, relevance, voluntariness/autonomy, social interaction, and sustained duration. Findings revealed a mixed record. Commendable improvements in content-specific PD access were undercut by deficiencies in social interaction, voluntariness/autonomy, sustained duration, and relevance. School policy, as reported by teachers, was grossly inadequate, with only one of the nine PD-supportive measures appearing on SASS reaching a majority of teachers in any given survey year. Implications for policy, practice, and scholarship are presented.

Math coaches, specialists, and student achievement: Learning from the data

2020 ◽  
Vol 102 (3) ◽  
pp. 42-45
Author(s):  
Kristin E. Harbour ◽  
Evthokia Stephanie Saclarides
Keyword(s):  
Student Achievement ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Elementary Mathematics ◽  
National Assessment ◽  
Mathematics Coaches ◽  
Professional Development Model ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Practical Implications

To support continuous professional development model in the teaching and learning of mathematics, many districts and schools have begun hiring elementary mathematics coaches and/or specialists (MCSs). However, limited large-scale empirical research exists that determines how the use of MCSs affect student learning and achievement. Kristin E. Harbour and Evthokia Stephanie Saclarides begin to fill in this gap by using data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress to explore the relationship between the presence and responsibilities of elementary MCSs and 4th-grade student achievement in mathematics. Based on their findings, they share practical implications for districts and administrators to consider.

Evaluating Perceived Emergency Preparedness and Household Preparedness Behaviors: Results from a CASPER Survey in Fairfax, Virginia

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 222-228
Author(s):  
Rennie W. Ferguson ◽  
Shawn Kiernan ◽  
Ernst W. Spannhake ◽  
Benjamin Schwartz
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Household Level ◽  
Perceived Preparedness ◽  
Chi Squared ◽  
Public Health Emergency Response ◽  
Household Preparedness ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Relationship

ABSTRACTObjectives:Using data collected from a Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response (CASPER) conducted in Fairfax Health District, Virginia, in 2016, we sought to assess the relationship between household-level perceived preparedness and self-reported preparedness behaviors.Methods:Weighted population estimates and 95% confidence intervals were reported, and Pearson’s chi-squared test was used to investigate differences by group.Results:Examining responses to how prepared respondents felt their household was to handle a large-scale emergency or disaster, an estimated 7.4% of respondents (95% CI: 4.3–12.3) reported that their household was “completely prepared,” 37.3% (95% CI: 31.4–43.7) were “moderately prepared,” 38.2% (95% CI: 31.6–45.2) were “somewhat prepared,” and 14.4% (95% CI: 10.2–20.0) were “unprepared.” A greater proportion of respondents who said that their household was “completely” or “moderately” prepared for an emergency reported engaging in several behaviors related to preparedness. However, for several preparedness behaviors, there were gaps between perceived preparedness and self-reported readiness.Conclusions:Community assessments for public health preparedness can provide valuable data about groups who may be at risk during an emergency due to a lack of planning and practice, despite feeling prepared to handle a large-scale emergency or disaster.

scholarly journals Addressing the challenges of a new digital technologies curriculum: MOOCs as a scalable solution for teacher professional development

2014 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Vivian ◽  
Katrina Falkner ◽  
Nickolas Falkner
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Computer Science ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Knowledge Exchange ◽  
Learning Technology ◽  
Educational Approach ◽  
Participant Engagement ◽  
Teacher Needs ◽  
Teacher Professional

England and Australia have introduced new learning areas, teaching computer science to children from the first year of school. This is a significant milestone that also raises a number of big challenges: the preparation of teachers and the development of resources at a national scale. Curriculum change is not easy for teachers, in any context, and to ensure teachers are supported, scaled solutions are required. One educational approach that has gained traction for delivering content to large-scale audiences are massively open online courses (MOOCs); however, little is known about what constitutes effective MOOC design, particularly within professional development contexts. To prepare teachers in Australia, we decided to ride the wave of MOOCs, developing a MOOC to deliver free computing content and pedagogy to teachers with the integration of social media to support knowledge exchange and resource building. The MOOC was designed to meet teacher needs, allowing for flexibility, ad-hoc interactions, support and the open sharing of resources. In this paper, we describe the process of developing our initiative, participant engagement and experiences, so that others encountering similar changes and reforms may learn from our experience.Keywords: scaling up; MOOCs; open access; professional development; online course; computer science education(Published: 28 August 2014)Citation: Research in Learning Technology 2014, 22: 24691 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/rlt.v22.24691

scholarly journals Teacher Professional Development Using Mobile Technologies in a Large-Scale Project

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 34-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Prithvi Shrestha
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Teacher Professional Development ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
English Language ◽  
Developing Economies ◽  
Development Project ◽  
Mobile Technologies ◽  
Mp3 Players ◽  
Teacher Professional

Mobile technologies have been influencing the field of education including language learning for almost a decade. The literature on mobile technologies for education reports a number of case studies that examine various aspects of mobile learning. However, the use of mobile technologies for teacher professional development, particularly in developing economies, is rarely reported. This paper presents a case study of the English in Action (EIA) project, a UK government funded English language development project in Bangladesh, and its use of mobile technologies which not only provides teachers with the ‘trainer in the pocket’ that helps them achieve pedagogical changes in the classroom but also serves as a tool for improving their own English language competence. The paper, in particular, reports on the design and implementation of audio and video teacher professional development materials for MP3 players and mobile phones. It also highlights implications for similar projects intending to deploy mobile technologies.

scholarly journals South African teachers’ conceptualisations of gradient: A study of historically disadvantaged teachers in an Advanced Certificate in Education programme

Pythagoras ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vimolan Mudaly ◽  
Deborah Moore-Russo
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Secondary School ◽  
South African ◽  
Teacher Professional Development ◽  
Mathematics Teachers ◽  
Education Programme ◽  
Free Response ◽  
Secondary School Mathematics ◽  
Important Concept ◽  
Teacher Professional

This study looked at how a group of South African secondary school mathematics teachers regarded the concept of gradient (slope). Results are reported from nine free-response items on a paper-and-pencil test administered to practising teachers who were pursuing qualifications to teach Grades 10–12 mathematics through an Advanced Certificate in Education (ACE) programme. The findings suggest that teachers’ understanding of gradient varies greatly. A number of teachers in the study demonstrated very little to no understanding of this important concept, whilst others demonstrated a strong understanding of gradient and were able to conceptualise it in many different ways. Implications for teacher professional development are considered.

Supporting Teacher Learning: Improving Mathematics Instruction through Classroom-Based Inquiry

2007 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 182-186
Author(s):  
Caroline Brayer Ebby ◽  
Maria Palaitis Ottinger ◽  
Penny Silver
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Student Learning ◽  
Teacher Learning ◽  
Teacher Professional Development ◽  
Mathematics Instruction ◽  
Learning To Teach ◽  
Mathematical Content ◽  
Beliefs And Practice ◽  
Teacher Professional ◽  
Teacher's Knowledge

Research has shown that learning to teach mathematics for understanding is not simply a matter of learning new pedagogical techniques but rather requires substantial changes in a teacher's knowledge, beliefs, and practice (Putnam and Borko 2000). Preparing teachers to implement reform-oriented curricula requires positioning them as learners and inquirers of mathematical content, student learning, and instructional practice. Ball (1996) asserts that teacher professional development must embrace the uncertainty of practice and reflect a “stance of critique and inquiry—a stance of asking and debating, a discourse of conjecture and deliberation” (p. 506).

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