scholarly journals Commentary: A Professional Learning Odyssey

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-35
Author(s):  
Dean Fink
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Student Learning ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Career Stage ◽  
Performance Training ◽  
Professional Educators ◽  
Clear Sense ◽  
Professional Educator

Through the use of personal anecdotes drawn from a long career as a professional educator, the author contends that professional development for professional educators is not just an isolated "quick fix" program now and then, or a series of performance-focused activities, but rather, professional learning opportunities exist in multiple, diverse, and occasionally in unusual and unexpected situations and contexts throughout one’s career. He suggests that what all teachers and school leaders require for professional learning to flourish is both time and space, a clear sense of purpose based on student learning, learning opportunities that are appropriate to roles and career stage, and the support and trust from leadership both inside and outside of schools and districts. It is professional learning, not tests, targets, or performance training, that increases students’ learning.

scholarly journals THE PECULIARITIES OF ENHANCING PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE LECTURERS IN THE USA

2021 ◽  
pp. 12-20
Author(s):  
Жанна Баб’як ◽  
Наталія Щур
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Student Learning ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Technical Assistance ◽  
Professional Competence ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Learning Needs ◽  
Smart Goals ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Individual

The article deals with studying the American experience of educator professional development. To carry out this research the following methods have been applied: content analysis, systematization and theoretical generalization of scientific literature, standards, technical assistance documents and samples of the individual professional development plan (IPDP) for educators. Having conducted the research, the following results and conclusions have been drawn. The primary goal for professional learning is to help educators develop and apply the knowledge and skills necessary to help students to learn foreign languages more effectively and efficiently. Therefore, the planning and designing of professional learning include defining the SMART goals of professional learning drawn from analysis of student and educator learning needs, which are determined by examining data on student learning outcomes. To achieve these goals those who are responsible for professional learning should select the appropriate job-embedded and external forms of professional learning, which allow the educators to satisfy student learning needs, bridge the knowing-doing gap and integrating new ideas and skills into practice. An IPDP is a tool serving as a guide for the professional learning. IPDP enables educators to chart their goals and to plan learning activities that improve their competencies in order to enhance their students’ performance. Completing the IPDP includes setting the goals based on student learning needs, deciding on the professional methods/strategies, tapping possible resources, setting the time-frame, identifying success indicators. After having been accomplished, the IPDP is evaluated by the person in charge. Evaluation of professional learning provides the opportunity to monitor the process of embedding the new learning into practices by observing and assessing changes in educator practice and increases in student learning.

scholarly journals A social-cognitive study of Indonesian Google educator groups

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Pratiwi Artati
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Educational Technology ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Social Cognitive ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Technological Environment ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Case Study Methodology ◽  
Education Groups

<p>Self-directed professional learning is distinct from the traditional approach of directed professional development. The introduction of the Internet into Indonesian society provides the opportunity for teachers to use digital tools for their teaching and to access professional learning without attending mandated professional development. An emerging phenomenon in Indonesia is the establishment and use of Google Education Groups (GEGs) for professional learning about the use of educational technology (ed-tech) in the schooling sector. Two research questions guided the examination of Indonesian educators’ experiences of GEGs: (1) how do Indonesian educators participate in the GEGs for ed-tech professional learning? and (2) how do the GEGs function to enable Indonesian educators’ ed-tech professional learning? Collective case study methodology was applied, and three Google Education Groups were examined, one from a metropolitan area, one from an urban area and the third from a rural context. In each case study, the leader of the group and three group members with varying levels of online engagement were interviewed and online forum conversations were examined. Data were analysed using Stake’s method of categorical aggregation leading to within-case assertions and cross-case analysis. A social cognitive perspective was used as a framework to analyse and interpret findings. It was found that the Indonesian educators had an agentic approach to professional learning, which was context-dependent with three major interrelated aspects: the regional-technological environment as context, the individuals as agentic learners, and the connectedness as social learners enabled meaningful learning experiences. The regional-technological environment influenced how the GEGs functioned. The Metropolitan group was innovative and collaborative, focusing on the use of web-based tools to improve productivity of ed-tech practices. The Urban group aimed to explore how they could use web-based tools to improve efficiency through paperless classroom practices and school administration. The Rural group sought to use of web-based tools for simple teaching and learning practices within a context of low bandwidth and limited ICT infrastructure. In addition, certain conditions that support online collaboration and factors that can minimise and optimise ed-tech learning opportunities are identified. Participants overcame limitations and constraints by enacting agency and developing social connectedness in learning through the groups. The group leadership positions were voluntary and found to be driven by a desire to share expertise and practices that support, inspire, and empower others rather than about gaining positional authority. Participation in online informal groups such as Google Education Groups appears to be a supportive method of professional learning that facilitates agentic and experiential learning about the use of educational technology in Indonesia. This model can enhance professional learning opportunities for Indonesian educators. It can also be implemented into the design of government-supported ed-tech PD programmes, to create an empowering and safe learning environment that can optimise their potential in learning and improve practice.</p>

scholarly journals Reimagining Music Teacher Collaboration: The Culture of Professional Learning Communities as Professional Development Within Schools and Districts

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-23
Author(s):  
Sharyn L. Battersby
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Professional Learning Communities ◽  
Learning Communities ◽  
Student Learning ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Teacher Collaboration ◽  
Music Teachers ◽  
Music Educators ◽  
Music Teacher ◽  
Collaborative Community

Music educators are continually seeking new ways to better their practice and improve student learning. Professional learning communities are a type of collaborative community that when administered successfully provide a forum for music educators to become active participants in both their own learning and that of their students. While the notion of professional learning communities has been around since the 1990s, they have received renewed attention more recently due to the adaptation and implementation of Danielson’s popular Framework for Teaching, which has been implemented in many school districts across the country. Teachers facing the challenge of reshaping the culture of their music programs and seeing their initiative sustained will devise elements that will become embedded in that (school) culture. Supportive and shared leadership, shared values and vision, and collective learning are just some of the attributes that can contribute to student learning and the professional development of music teachers.

scholarly journals Expectations to mentoring as support for professional development

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 56-75
Author(s):  
Ingrid Helleve ◽  
Marit Ulvik ◽  
Dag Roness
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
School Development ◽  
Experienced Teachers ◽  
Qualified Teachers ◽  
Protected Time ◽  
Classroom Activities ◽  
Professional Development For Teachers ◽  
Newly Qualified Teachers

Mentoring is acknowledged as a means to support professional development for teachers. However, mentoring has multiple meanings and may be practiced as supervision, support or collaborative self-development for new as well as experienced teachers. The aim of this Norwegian study is to get an understanding of what expectations newly-qualified teachers, their mentors and their leaders have to mentoring and professional development and thereby to identify what kind of mentoring is needed. Data is collected through questionnaires and focus group conversations. The result shows a discrepancy between school leaders’ expectations on one hand and those of mentors’ and newly qualified teachers’ on the other. While school leaders call for supervision and for teachers’ opportunities to join external courses, mentors and newly-qualified teachers ask for mentoring rooted in classroom- activities. One implication of the study is to introduce an induction period for novice teachers where they are gradually included in the organization. Another implication is to use educated mentors as resources for school development, not only for newly-qualified, but also for experienced teachers. Implications for politicians are to provide resources and for school leaders to provide space and protected time for mentoring and professional learning at all levels to ensure sustained school development.

Inequality and imbalance of professional development opportunities

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 452-465 ◽  
Author(s):  
Preechaya Mongkolhutthi
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Educational Institution ◽  
Cultural Influences ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Part Time ◽  
Higher Educational

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the professional development opportunities of a group of 16 “English as a foreign language” (EFL) lecturers at a Thai higher educational institution and the nature of the learning opportunities they engaged in. Design/methodology/approach The ethnographic research approach was employed to reveal the participants’ accesses to professional learning opportunities and their perception towards the opportunities. Observation, interview, written document and questionnaire were used to help capture the complexities of the issues investigated. Findings The data suggest varied degrees of participants’ engagement in learning activities, inside and outside the workplace. This group of lecturers relied more on formal than on informal professional development opportunities. Constraints in accessing professional development activities for the part-time lecturers and non-Thai lecturers were highly noticeable. Research limitations/implications These emerging findings provide an insight into the actual professional learning situation and call for greater awareness of the support of learning opportunities and better visibility of the part-time lecturers and expatriate lectures in the higher education system. With regard to the nature of ethnographic research, the implementation of the findings of this study should be done with awareness of the socio-cultural influences on participants’ beliefs and behaviours. Originality/value This is one of the first studies that academically highlights the existence of part-time and expatriate lecturers in the Asian higher educational context and voices these lecturers’ actual professional needs and their perceived obstacles.

Learning Communities as Continuing Professional Development for Sport Coaches

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 40-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachael Bertram ◽  
Wade Gilbert
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Learning Communities ◽  
Student Learning ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Continuing Professional Development ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Learning Goals ◽  
Coach Learning ◽  
Sport Coaches

Continuing professional development (CPD) for sport coaches has been defined as all kinds of professional learning that occurs after initial certification (Nelson et al., 2006), and includes both non-formal and informal learning situations. Despite the fact that within the past decade there has been an increasing number of studies on these learning situations, learning communities as a type of CPD have received little attention. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to share initial observations and lessons learned from creating and implementing sport coach learning communities. In addition, this paper extends the dialogue on learning community implementation and assessment. Our learning community efforts were formulated around five key guidelines: (1) Stable settings dedicated to improving instruction and learning, (2) Job-alike teams, (3) Published protocols that guide but do not prescribe, (4) Trained peer facilitators, and (5) Working on student learning goals until there are tangible gains in student learning.

scholarly journals Intelligent accountability in schools: A study of how school leaders work with the implementation of assessment for learning

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Astrid Tolo ◽  
Sølvi Lillejord ◽  
María Teresa Flórez Petour ◽  
Therese N. Hopfenbeck
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
Implementation Process ◽  
Assessment For Learning ◽  
External Support ◽  
Teacher Resistance ◽  
Knowledge And Skills ◽  
Achievement Data ◽  
Leader Support

Abstract In response to accountability systems dominated by external inspections and achievement data, calls are being made for intelligent accountability or a new accountability paradigm that focuses on meaningful learning, enabled by professionally skilled and committed educators within the system. In such systems, the actors are encouraged to strive for continuous development in learning organisations based on teamwork, distributed leadership, and professional learning communities. School leaders are positioned between district level administrators and teachers in such processes and have the responsibility to secure professional development. Using the implementation of the national program ‘Assessment for Learning’ in Norway as a case, the article shows that leaders approach professional development differently. Analyses of interviews with leaders from 7 schools reveal three distinct approaches related to how school leaders perceive knowledge. Some school leaders assume that teachers have the necessary knowledge and skills and trust them to manage the implementation process without leader support. Other school leaders distrust teachers’ knowledge and skills and assume that the proper knowledge exists outside the school. These leaders seek external support when they meet teacher resistance. In a third approach, school leaders assume that knowledge develops through collaboration and thereby engage with teachers in continuous judgment about the implementation procedure. In the discussion, questions of trust and distrust are analysed in relation to how professional knowledge is developed and how professional discretion can support the development of intelligent accountability in schools.

Professional development that improves STEM outcomes

2020 ◽  
Vol 101 (5) ◽  
pp. 50-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather C. Hill ◽  
Kathleen Lynch ◽  
Kathryn E. Gonzalez ◽  
Cynthia Pollard
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Instructional Improvement ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Instructional Decisions ◽  
Learning Time ◽  
Improvement Programs ◽  
The Moment ◽  
Supporting Teachers ◽  
Stem Outcomes

How should teachers spend their STEM-focused professional learning time? To answer this question, Heather Hill, Kathleen Lynch, Kathryn Gonzalez, and Cynthia Pollard analyzed a recent wave of rigorous new studies of STEM instructional improvement programs. They found that programs work best when focused on building knowledge teachers can use during instruction. This includes knowledge of the curriculum materials they will use, knowledge of content, and knowledge of how students learn that content. They argue that such learning opportunities improve teachers’ professional knowledge and skill, potentially by supporting teachers in making more informed in-the-moment instructional decisions.

A Model for Out-of-School Educator Professional Learning

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 115-122
Author(s):  
Saundra Wever Frerichs ◽  
Melissa Sue Pearman Fenton ◽  
Kerri Wingert
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Learning Experiences ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Learning Theories ◽  
Stem Learning ◽  
School Time ◽  
Diverse Field ◽  
Professional Development Model ◽  
Out Of School

Quality out-of-school time (OST) programs for youth are limited by a lack of professional learning opportunities for staff and volunteers that are based upon solid learning theory, affordable, and scalable for a diverse field. The Click2Science project is an innovative model for professional learning experiences that support staff and volunteers in providing high-quality science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) learning opportunities for youth. This model of professional learning emphasizes the importance of visual, social, and experiential learning experiences with reflection and application to practice. The model leverages technology and in-person support in a cycle of professional development experiences. The experiences included in the professional development model allow staff and volunteers in OST programs to develop their instructional skills in ways that are embedded in the actual practices of their program. In this article, each part of the professional development cycle is analyzed using constructivist learning theories to encourage adult educators to replicate this model in other fields. A brief review of promising research about the effectiveness of the model concludes the description of this approach to professional development.

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