scholarly journals Socio-Cultural Development Approach to Investigate Teacher Learning across Two Contexts

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 37
Author(s):  
Hee-Jeong Kim
Keyword(s):  
Learning Community ◽  
Teacher Learning ◽  
Community Of Practice ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Cultural Development ◽  
Development Framework ◽  
Teacher Professional ◽  
Development Approach

Teacher professional learning occurs across various contexts. Previous studies on teacher learning and changes in practice have focused on either classroom contexts or learning communities outside of school, but have rarely investigated teacher learning across multiple contexts. Investigating teacher learning across the double contexts of classroom and learning community has presented methodological challenges. In response, this paper proposes the suitability of adopting a socio-cultural development framework to further the analytical approach to such challenges. Using the framework, this paper considers the case study of a middle school mathematics teacher who resolved a problem of teaching practice through interacting with other members of the community of practice where they build shared goals and knowledge. This paper contributes to the field by expanding the scope of research on teacher learning across these two contexts, in which problem of practice becomes conceptual resources that the teacher uses in her teaching practice.

Chain Reaction

2019 ◽  
pp. 47-69
Author(s):  
John O'Reilly ◽  
Liam Guilfoyle ◽  
Louise Lehane
Keyword(s):  
Learning Community ◽  
Teacher Professional Development ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
School System ◽  
Professional Collaboration ◽  
Chain Reaction ◽  
Irish Context ◽  
Teacher Professional ◽  
Student Reflections

This chapter presents a case study of the experience of the Irish Chain Reaction (CR) team, which took place during a time of significant curriculum change in the lower secondary school system. As such, it is hoped that those interested in teacher professional development will find the case of interest while acknowledging the varied cultural, material and structural resources, and limitations that influence the context of any educational change process. The authors have placed a significant focus on describing the Irish context to begin this chapter, initially comparing the old science syllabus with the new “specification,” with thought given to the existing modalities of student learning and the nature of teacher professional collaboration and the developments that will be required by the new curriculum. The authors then summarize the plan for CR implementation through a professional learning community (PLC) focused on supporting teacher agency and autonomy in the design of inquiry-based science education (IBSE) classes. Teacher and student reflections of experience are presented.

scholarly journals Communities of Practice and the Mediation ofTeachers' Responses to Standards-based Reform

2003 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chrysan Gallucci
Keyword(s):  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Teacher Learning ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Relative Strength ◽  
High Poverty ◽  
High Poverty Schools ◽  
Standards Based Reform ◽  
Sociocultural Approach

This paper evaluates the usefulness of a sociocultural approach for analyzing teachers’ responses to the professional learning demands of standards-based reform policies. A policy-oriented case study of the practice of six elementary teachers who worked in two high poverty schools in a demographically changing district in the state of Washington is summarized. Key findings of that study conclude that communities of teaching practice are sites for teacher learning and are mediators of teachers’ responses to standards-based reform. Characteristics of the communities of practice, including their relative strength and openness (to learning), influence the degree to which teachers work out negotiated and thoughtful responses to policy demands. The present paper discusses the efficacy of Wenger’s (1998) theory of learning for the study of policy to practice connections.

scholarly journals Early Childhood Teachers’  Thinking and Reflection within their  Communities of Practice

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Susan Ann Cherrington
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Community Of Practice ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Teacher Thinking ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Group Interviews

<p>This multiple-case study investigated teachers’ thinking and reflection about their interactions with children in three early childhood (EC) centres. Located within a constructivist-interpretive paradigm, the study used video-stimulated recall interviews as the primary data source. Teachers’ interactions with children were video-recorded and used in group interviews with the teaching team to uncover teachers’ thinking and reflections at the time of the interactions and their individual and collective reflections on the episodes. Group interviews enabled insights into teachers’ thinking and reflection to emerge, which would be unlikely in individual interviews.  The study drew upon several theoretical constructs, including reflection-in- and -on-action (Schön, 1983, 1987), interactive thinking (Mitchell & Marland, 1989), communities of practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Wenger, 1998) and the literature on professional learning communities to understand teachers’ thinking and reflection and how these were mediated by the team.  The study found that children are central to teachers’ thinking about their interactions. Teachers held extensive knowledge about individual children, and their emphasis on relationships and being responsive to children provides empirical evidence of relational pedagogy (Papatheodorou & Moyles, 2008) and of teachers’ engagement with the philosophical underpinnings of Te Whāriki (Ministry of Education, 1996). The study also found teachers were less able to articulate their thinking and reflections about their own teaching intentions, use of teaching strategies, and the theories and principles influencing their practices.  These findings are represented in a model of EC teacher thinking, using a mat or whāriki as a metaphor for teachers’ thinking. The model presents a whāriki that, woven from broad, robust child- and curriculum-focused strands and narrower, weaker teacher-focused strands, has gaps and thus, is weakened. The thesis argues that the child-centred discourse evident in the data is reflective of a broader early childhood education (ECE) discourse that backgrounds teaching, and that greater attention to teaching and to teacher thinking is necessary to strengthen teaching and learning in ECE settings.  The study revealed how each case study team operated as a uniquely framed and patterned community of practice, providing empirical evidence of the usefulness of Wenger’s (1998) community of practice model for understanding how teaching teams mediate individual teachers’ thinking and practices. Concepts from professional learning community literature informed analysis of teachers’ engagement in collective reflection about their practices, resulting in a contribution to this literature from an EC perspective.</p>

scholarly journals Early Childhood Teachers’  Thinking and Reflection within their  Communities of Practice

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Susan Ann Cherrington
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Community Of Practice ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Teacher Thinking ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Group Interviews

<p>This multiple-case study investigated teachers’ thinking and reflection about their interactions with children in three early childhood (EC) centres. Located within a constructivist-interpretive paradigm, the study used video-stimulated recall interviews as the primary data source. Teachers’ interactions with children were video-recorded and used in group interviews with the teaching team to uncover teachers’ thinking and reflections at the time of the interactions and their individual and collective reflections on the episodes. Group interviews enabled insights into teachers’ thinking and reflection to emerge, which would be unlikely in individual interviews.  The study drew upon several theoretical constructs, including reflection-in- and -on-action (Schön, 1983, 1987), interactive thinking (Mitchell & Marland, 1989), communities of practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Wenger, 1998) and the literature on professional learning communities to understand teachers’ thinking and reflection and how these were mediated by the team.  The study found that children are central to teachers’ thinking about their interactions. Teachers held extensive knowledge about individual children, and their emphasis on relationships and being responsive to children provides empirical evidence of relational pedagogy (Papatheodorou & Moyles, 2008) and of teachers’ engagement with the philosophical underpinnings of Te Whāriki (Ministry of Education, 1996). The study also found teachers were less able to articulate their thinking and reflections about their own teaching intentions, use of teaching strategies, and the theories and principles influencing their practices.  These findings are represented in a model of EC teacher thinking, using a mat or whāriki as a metaphor for teachers’ thinking. The model presents a whāriki that, woven from broad, robust child- and curriculum-focused strands and narrower, weaker teacher-focused strands, has gaps and thus, is weakened. The thesis argues that the child-centred discourse evident in the data is reflective of a broader early childhood education (ECE) discourse that backgrounds teaching, and that greater attention to teaching and to teacher thinking is necessary to strengthen teaching and learning in ECE settings.  The study revealed how each case study team operated as a uniquely framed and patterned community of practice, providing empirical evidence of the usefulness of Wenger’s (1998) community of practice model for understanding how teaching teams mediate individual teachers’ thinking and practices. Concepts from professional learning community literature informed analysis of teachers’ engagement in collective reflection about their practices, resulting in a contribution to this literature from an EC perspective.</p>

Enhancing EFL Teachers’ Pronunciation Pedagogy Through Professional Learning: A Vietnamese Case Study

RELC Journal ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 003368822095247
Author(s):  
Loc Tan Nguyen ◽  
Jonathan Newton
Keyword(s):  
Professional Learning ◽  
Classroom Practice ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Teaching Skills ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
Teacher Professional ◽  
Teachers Professional Development ◽  
The Impact

The role of teacher professional learning (TPL) in assisting teachers to teach pronunciation in English as a second/foreign language (ESL/EFL) contexts has received little attention. The study reported in this paper extends this line of research by investigating how six EFL teachers at a Vietnamese university transform and integrate the pronunciation pedagogical knowledge they received from a TPL workshop into teaching practice. It then examines the teachers’ perceptions of the impact of the workshop on their knowledge gains and pronunciation teaching skills. Data were collected from seven lesson plans designed by the teachers, video recordings of 24 subsequent classroom observations, and six individual semi-structured interviews. The study adopted a content-based approach to qualitative data analysis. The findings show that the teachers were all able to translate TPL into classroom practice of pronunciation teaching. The findings further show that workshops designed and implemented in accordance with research-based TPL principles can be effective for promoting teachers’ knowledge of pronunciation pedagogy and refining their pronunciation teaching skills. The study has implications for ESL/EFL teachers’ professional development in pronunciation teaching.

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