Learning by Comparison: The Benefits of Co-Teaching for University Professors’ Professional Development

There is an abundance of studies that suggest that the use of co-teaching strategies in higher education courses can enhance instructors’ professional development, mainly by providing a space for transfer of methodologies and tools, as well as critical reflection on one’s teaching practice. However, little has been said about the actual processes through which co-teachers learn from each other. This study analyzes the opportunities of professional growth afforded to seven professors by eight co-taught courses, over two academic years, in the fields of Education and Translation and Interpreting. Specifically, it examines how professional relationships between co-teachers fuel teacher learning, the specific learning processes generated, and the areas of professional development impacted. To do so, 11 reflective teacher diaries were coded and analyzed, and further evidence was collected through focus groups interviews with students of some of the co-taught courses. Results suggest that comparison with the co-teacher is the main force behind participants’ learning on co-teaching; furthermore, such comparisons enable three main learning processes: reflection, negotiation and transfer, bearing mainly on teaching methods and materials and use of technology. Finally, there is evidence that occasional or ongoing team teaching (two instructors simultaneously in class) can enhance the effectiveness of co-teacher comparisons.

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Engaging EFL Teachers in Reflective Practice as A Way to Pursue Sustained Professional Development

IJPTE International Journal of Pedagogy and Teacher Education ◽

10.20961/ijpte.v4i1.26082 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

pp. 45

Author(s):

Joko Nurkamto ◽

Teguh Sarosa

Keyword(s):

Professional Development ◽

Reflective Practice ◽

Professional Growth ◽

Teaching And Learning ◽

Teaching Practice ◽

English Teachers ◽

Reflective Teaching ◽

Intensive Training ◽

Teacher Professional ◽

Field Notes

Reflective practice has become a significant aspect in determining good teaching and learning practices and is an important part of professional practice and professional growth. However, English teachers in Indonesia has not been able to perform reflection on their teaching in order to improve their teaching practice. This study reports the results of an intensive training held by PKM UNS to help teachers develop a reflective teaching habit. The participants were 30 English teachers of Islamic Senior High School in Solo Raya. Observation field notes and teacher assignments were used as the main data collection method. From this program, it was found that the English teachers encountered plethora of challenges in developing reflective practice due to their lack of understanding of reflective teaching. However, the teachers show an improvement in implementing reflective teaching strategies after their participation in the training. Recommendations to include reflective practices in teacher professional development programs is drawn based on the findings.

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Exploring the Effectiveness of Professional Development and the Implementation of Theories Introduced to University Professors

Pedagogika ◽

10.15823/p.2018.04 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 129 (1) ◽

pp. 53-60

Author(s):

Wessam I. Al Chibani

Keyword(s):

Professional Development ◽

Professional Growth ◽

Traditional Method ◽

Training Programs ◽

University Professors ◽

Professional Development Workshop ◽

One Year ◽

The University

This study explores the effectiveness of professional development workshop series training programs on the university professors’ teaching applications in terms of skills and methodologies introduced after one year from the date of the program and explores the professors’ implementation of the theories. The findings showed that most participants pointed that their teaching concepts shifted from a traditional method of teaching to a nontraditional one due to the professional growth program.

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Disrupting Relationships

Disrupting Pedagogies in the Knowledge Society ◽

10.4018/978-1-61350-495-6.ch002 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 16-31 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Vicki Stieha ◽

Miriam Raider-Roth

Keyword(s):

Professional Development ◽

Professional Growth ◽

Teaching Practices ◽

Teaching Practice ◽

The Self ◽

Learning And Teaching ◽

Teachers Experiences ◽

Evolutionary Step ◽

Teachers Professional Development ◽

The Individual

Can the disruption of teachers’ relationships with themselves, as both teachers and learners, be a source for professional growth? In this chapter the authors explore teachers’ professional development experiences as a source for disrupting relationships with the “self-as-teacher” and “self-as-learner” and the way this process can facilitate innovative changes in their teaching practices. While some may view “disrupting relationships” as a negative move, the chapter will frame a view of such relational ruptures with subsequent repair as potentially growth fostering. In contrast to a view that sees disrupting relationships as a negative move, this work provides a view of reconciliation and repair as one that propels the individual forward – a move that is steeped in learning about self and about other. Developmentally, the authors understand the sense of disconnection, or rupture, as an essential “evolutionary” step as individuals continue to move beyond their mental and emotional boundaries increasing growth and learning (Kegan, 1982, 1994). In seeking to understand the teachers’ experiences, this work provides an intimate and descriptive picture of the negotiations participants made during and after an extended professional development seminar vis-à-vis their learning and teaching practice. In doing so, the authors make visible the complicated processes involved as teachers question conventional practices and invite innovation into their classrooms.

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Application of Exploratory Factor Analysis in the Construction of a Self-Perception Model of Informational Competences in Higher Education

Mathematics ◽

10.3390/math9182332 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (18) ◽

pp. 2332

Author(s):

Belén Quintero Ordóñez ◽

Ignacio González López ◽

Eloísa Reche Urbano ◽

Juan Antonio Fuentes Esparrell

Keyword(s):

Social Sciences ◽

Higher Education ◽

Professional Development ◽

Factor Analysis ◽

Exploratory Factor Analysis ◽

Practical Application ◽

Use Of Technology ◽

Ready Availability ◽

Perception Model ◽

Specific Learning

The progress experienced by society resulting from the ready availability of information through the use of technology highlights the need to develop specific learning related to informational competences (IC) in educational settings where future professionals are trained to educate others, specifically in university degrees in social sciences. This study seeks to ascertain the opinions of students enrolled in these degrees at the Universidad de Córdoba (Spain) with regard to the knowledge they consider that they possess about IC for their future professional development, through the practical application of exploratory factor analysis. The methodology designed is based on a descriptive, non-experimental, correlational survey. The results show that factor analysis is a fundamental tool for obtaining results in terms of students’ perception of their knowledge of IC because its psychometric value has confirmed construct validity and enabled us to break down the items that made up the four initial dimensions of IC into eight factors to improve the understanding and explanation of these IC.

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Meanings of burnout and resilience in Ontario dietitians

Critical Dietetics ◽

10.32920/cd.v1i2.945 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 1 (2) ◽

pp. 13-20

Author(s):

Yuka Asada

Keyword(s):

Job Stress ◽

Professional Growth ◽

Maslach Burnout Inventory ◽

Professional Relationships ◽

Contributing Factors ◽

Dietetic Education ◽

Body Of Knowledge ◽

Growth And Change ◽

And Training ◽

Preventative Approach

ABSTRACT Objectives: Although experiences of burnout are well documented among some health professionals, there is limited research that explores similar experiences among dietitians. This study aims (1) to describe the varied qualitative dimensions of burnout that are particular to dietitians and (2) to identify the factors that might be deemed protective against burnout. Methods: Fourteen dietitians were recruited from a larger quantitative study that assessed prevalence of burnout in Ontario, Canada using the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). Those who completed the MBI were invited to participate in two phenomenological interviews. Transcribed interviews were analyzed by naïve readings and identified meaning units with a larger team for increased rigor and trustworthiness. Results: Dietitians describe burnout as having bodily and overall health consequences. Both social/professional relationships and dietitians’ passion for their work contributed to experiences of burnout and resilience. Opportunities for continued professional growth and change were contributing factors for resilience. Implications & Conclusions: This study contributes to the limited body of knowledge on dietitians’ lived experiences of burnout and resilience. The findings have implications for those involved in the education and training of student dietitians, and for those in a position to offer support to dietitians who are struggling with job stress. In the context of fostering resilience, a preventative approach to dietetic education is explored with the intention to protect future practitioners from burnout.

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Implementation of a developmental model of teachers' and didacticians’ learning through inquiry: design, operationalisation and outcomes

ZDM ◽

10.1007/s11858-021-01290-x ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 53 (5) ◽

pp. 1073-1084 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Barbara Jaworski ◽

Despina Potari

Keyword(s):

Professional Development ◽

Learning Communities ◽

Teaching Practice ◽

Implementation Process ◽

Developmental Model ◽

Mathematical Tasks ◽

Learning And Development ◽

Theory Analysis ◽

Project Proposal ◽

Trace Learning

AbstractThis paper addresses implementation with respect to the professional development (PD) of teachers of mathematics and the educators/didacticians who work with them, through an inquiry-based developmental model. In contrast with a PD model in which educators show, guide or instruct teachers in classroom approaches and mathematical tasks, we present a developmental model in which teachers and educators collaborate to inquire into and develop their own teaching practice. The project, Learning Communities in Mathematics (LCM: e.g., Goodchild, Fuglestad and Jaworski, 2013) exemplifies this developmental model. Here we focus on a project Teaching Better Mathematics (TBM) which extends LCM and implements its developmental model at larger scale. We trace the implementation process through analysis of data gathered during and after the extended project, including written reflections of key didacticians, minutes from leadership meetings and two versions of the project proposal. Particularly, we trace learning and development through an activity theory analysis of the issues, tensions and contradictions experienced by participation in TBM.

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STEM Faculty Instructional Data-Use Practices: Informing Teaching Practice and Students’ Reflection on Students’ Learning

Education Sciences ◽

10.3390/educsci11060291 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (6) ◽

pp. 291

Author(s):

Cindy Lenhart ◽

Jana Bouwma-Gearhart

Keyword(s):

Professional Development ◽

Instructional Technology ◽

Teaching Practice ◽

Data Use ◽

Faculty Members ◽

Institutional Policies ◽

Policies And Procedures ◽

Stem Faculty ◽

Standardized Curriculum ◽

Learning Data

This paper explores the affordances and constraints of STEM faculty members’ instructional data-use practices and how they engage students (or not) in reflection around their own learning data. We found faculty used a wide variety of instructional data-use practices. We also found several constraints that influenced their instructional data-use practices, including perceived lack of time, standardized curriculum and assessments predetermined in scope and sequence, and a perceived lack of confidence and competence in their instructional data-use practices. Novel findings include faculty descriptions of instructional technology that afforded them access to immediate and nuanced instructional data. However, faculty described limited use of instructional data that engaged students in reflecting on their own learning data. We consider implications for faculty’s instructional data-use practices on departmental and institutional policies and procedures, professional development experts, and for faculty themselves.

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Foreign Language Teachers’ Professional Development through Peer Observation Programme

English Language Teaching ◽

10.5539/elt.v9n10p39 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 9 (10) ◽

pp. 39 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Luis Miguel Dos Santos

Keyword(s):

Professional Development ◽

Hong Kong ◽

Teaching Practice ◽

Language Education ◽

Language Teachers ◽

Peer Observation ◽

Good Tool ◽

Teachers Perceptions ◽

Teachers Professional Development ◽

Observation Programme

The purpose of the research is to explore the development of peer-observation programme for the use of an extension language school in Hong Kong. The research objectives were to explore teachers’ perceptions on a peer observation programme as a means to improve teaching practice, examine how teachers make sense of the peer observation programme after they have taken part in it and to suggest alternative approaches and measures by which schools can improve peer observation programmes in schools.Data was collected from six teachers who participated in peer observation programme in Hong Kong through an interview process. The research has found out that peer observation can be a good tool for continuous professional development for teachers in order to develop their teaching strategies. This is especially important within the field of language education. From the analysis, most teachers are wary of the practicalities of peer observation due to the sensitivity that is associated with it. The research also found out that teachers think that if the peer observation approach is well developed, it can be potentially interesting or generate excitement among teachers.

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