scholarly journals A Comparison of Professional Development Practices in Rural and Urban High School

2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Teresa Wallace
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
High Performing Schools ◽  
High Performing ◽  
Effective Professional Development ◽  
Rural High Schools ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
Standards Based Reform ◽  
Professional Development Needs ◽  
Teacher Professional

Because standards-based reform emphasizes improved teaching as the best path to increased learning and improved student performance, one would expect high performing schools to be implementing effective professional development practices. This study examines professional development practices in high performing urban and persistently low achieving rural high schools in Kentucky. Findings from the non-experimental descriptive study suggest similarities in professional development practices between the two groups. Differences existed in how well leadership addresses teacher professional development needs and in sufficient training to utilize instructional technology. Characteristics of effective professional development are not being fully implemented in either group of schools.  

scholarly journals Effective Professional Development for Teachers to Foster Students’ Academic Language Proficiency Across the Curriculum: A Systematic Review

AERA Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 233285841982869 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Kalinowski ◽  
Anna Gronostaj ◽  
Miriam Vock
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Language Proficiency ◽  
Academic Language ◽  
Development Programs ◽  
Effective Professional Development ◽  
Design And Implementation ◽  
Professional Development For Teachers ◽  
Academic Language Proficiency ◽  
Teacher Professional ◽  
Subject Areas

This review summarizes features of professional development programs that aim to prepare in-service teachers to improve students’ academic language proficiency when teaching subject areas. The 38 studies reviewed suggest that all of the profiled interventions were effective to some extent. The programs share many characteristics considered important in successful teacher professional development across different subject areas. They also include some features that appear to be specific to teacher training in this particular domain. This review supports the idea that professional development helps change teachers’ thinking and practice and benefits students, if certain features are taken into consideration in its design and implementation.

Teacher Learning and Effective Professional Development

2018 ◽  
pp. 153-173
Author(s):  
Bronwyn Mehorter
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Action Learning ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Teaching Staff ◽  
Effective Professional Development ◽  
Executive Staff ◽  
Whole School ◽  
Academic Partner ◽  
Teacher Professional

Action Learning has been and is regularly implemented within Australian schools as a platform for teacher professional development and professional learning. The following chapter reports on a decade-long association between one Australian government primary school, an Academic Partner and the process of Action Learning. Initially, Action Learning was implemented in 2005 in the form of a small-scale, more traditional Action Learning project; In 2009, Action Learning was then modified and stretched to involve the whole school's teaching, support and executive staff; In 2013, the principles of Action Learning were extended as the school executive and teaching staff began to take ownership over their own learning. This case study demonstrates that Action Learning can be implemented on a school-wide basis for the effective professional development of the whole school's teaching and executive staff. Recommendations are made for similar schools who are considering extending Action Learning across the whole school.

scholarly journals Increasing the Angle of Educational Reform in Pakistan through Professional Development

2004 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nilofar Vazir ◽  
Alan Wheeler
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
School Improvement ◽  
Educational Reform ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Professional Development Model ◽  
Professional Development Needs ◽  
Teacher Professional ◽  
Ongoing Support ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Development And Evolution

This paper documents the development of a “grassroots” teacher professional development model from Pakistan and region designed around three critical aspects: (a) the impact on classroom teaching and learning, (b) the provision for capacity building, and (c) a mechanism for ongoing support and sustainability. The development and evolution of the innovation is presented in terms of three stages designed to increase the angle of educational reform through total school improvement. The implications of the model as a promising prototype are discussed in relation to the wider professional development needs of teachers in the developing world.

scholarly journals LINKING TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT NEEDS WITH APPROPRIATE SOLUTIONS: INSIGHTS FROM AN INIATIVE IN LATVIA

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 113-123
Author(s):  
Kārlis Greitāns ◽  
Dace Eriņa ◽  
Dace Namsone
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Teacher Professional Development ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Lesson Plans ◽  
Learning Goals ◽  
Teacher Competence ◽  
Professional Development Needs ◽  
Teacher Professional ◽  
Field Notes ◽  
Competence Framework

International surveys have stated that each year teachers spend, on average, more than 10 days engaged in different professional development activities. The purpose for this investment in teacher professional development (TPD) is clear: teachers’ competence must develop according to changes in curriculum and 21st century requirements. In previous research we have developed a theoretical teacher competence framework, implemented it to identify teacher (N=263) groups competence gaps and professional development needs. The goal of this research is to link identified professional development needs related to the instruction of 21st century skills (criteria - instructional design, learning goals and feedback to students) with TPD solutions.This paper describes the development of a TPD model, based on evidence about teacher groups professional development needs, and its implementation in a school (N= 25 teachers). A TPD program, developed according to the model, combined face-to-face and online input workshops with collaboration in small groups to develop lesson plans. The topics of input workshops, (effective lesson design, lesson goals, effective feedback and reading comprehension) were chosen according to gaps, previously identified. To learn about appropriateness of the TPD model, the developed lesson plans, participant questionnaires and researcher field notes were analysed. 

The Theory and Practice Divide in Relation to Teacher Professional Development

2010 ◽  
pp. 20-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shelleyann Scott
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Teacher Professional Development ◽  
Rapid Change ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
The Other ◽  
Effective Professional Development ◽  
Online Technologies ◽  
Teacher Professional ◽  
Key Dimensions ◽  
Online Communities Of Practice

The 21st century is a time of rapid change and increasing accountability within education contexts and teacher professional development (TPD) is frequently perceived to be crucial in instituting reforms. This chapter explores the divide between theories of effective TPD and the realities of practice within educational contexts. Two case studies, one from Australia and the other from Canada are presented to illustrate the positives and negatives inherent within professional development approaches in these contexts. A number of key dimensions are identified, which when coalesced inform the establishment and sustainability of effective programmes. Online technologies present innovative ways to overcome the impediments to effective professional development. Online communities of practice utilising socialnetworking technologies provide new opportunities for initiating “webs of enhanced practice’ (Scott, 2009), where individuals around the globe can engage in collegial collaborations that enhance the passion of teaching.

A Framework for Effective Online Professional Development

2018 ◽  
pp. 210-232
Author(s):  
Heidi Marie Rock
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Pilot Project ◽  
Online Professional Development ◽  
Classroom Behaviors ◽  
Time Duration ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Effective Professional Development ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Professional Development Needs ◽  
And Training

This chapter presents a research-based framework for effective online professional development for in-service teachers. Changes in technology allow teachers to engage in different forms of professional development delivery, including online. In order to affect a change in teacher classroom behaviors, online professional development needs to be on par with effective face-to-face professional development. This study uses archival data from the Ohio Performance Assessment Pilot Project in which teachers engaged in either face-to-face or online professional development that was aligned to six characteristics of effective professional development (workshops, outside experts, time, duration, activities, and content). The results of this study found there is no statistically significant difference in student learning outcomes when teachers engaged in comparably designed face-to-face or online professional development. This framework serves as a guide for institutions of higher education as they continue to design and implement professional development through coursework and training.

Innovations in Teacher Professional Development

2022 ◽  
pp. 335-355
Author(s):  
Althea J. Pennerman ◽  
M. Cathrene Connery
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Professional Development ◽  
Teacher Professional Development ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Preliminary Analysis ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Pedagogical Change ◽  
Context Sensitive ◽  
Professional Development Needs ◽  
Teacher Professional

The professional development needs of teachers have changed dramatically over the last 25 years. When constructed to reflect best practices evidenced in the research literature, micro-credentials and other 21st century innovations provide accessible, meaningful, professional learning experiences for educators. This chapter discusses two cases that affected personal transformation and pedagogical change for in-service teachers by an institution of higher education (IHE). A preliminary analysis of these alternative experiences established that when teacher professional development is founded on the context-sensitive integration of social and cultural competencies, meaningful, empowering, and enduring learning can take place.

scholarly journals Teacher professional learning through lesson study: teachers' reflections

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 397-412
Author(s):  
Alison Fox ◽  
Val Poultney
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Staff Development ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Lesson Study ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Teacher Reflections ◽  
Teacher Professional ◽  
Development Literature ◽  
Subject Departments

PurposeThis study examines the experiences of five teachers working in two English secondary school subject departments after being given the opportunity to engage with Lesson Study (LS) to increase student performance in their subject areas. This study aimed to reveal the drivers for the teachers' engagement in LS, and how this experience of Joint Professional Development (JPD) might be contributing to their learning as teachers.Design/methodology/approachThis study applies an analytic approach to evidencing teacher learning, based on the work of Knud Illeris, offering this as a methodological contribution to the field of professional development literature.FindingsFindings reveal that, despite all the teachers developing a passion for learning through LS, there are constraints on its sustainability and impact which can be attributed to the teachers' broader contexts and which affected them differently. The constraints centre on tensions between priorities and agendas within and beyond the school, related largely to budgets and visions of staff development.Research limitations/implicationsThis focused study on two subject departments engaging in LS limits its generalisability in terms of findings. However, the study offers a practical research application of a model of learning for analysis of teacher reflections on collaborative learning experiences.Originality/valueUnderstanding individual teacher reflections on LS experiences is under-represented in the literature, in particular studies providing insights into conditions conducive and constraining to JPD.

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