Role of Coaching and Reflection

2017 ◽  
pp. 46-61
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
School Change ◽  
Student Growth ◽  
Collaborative Culture ◽  
Personal Investment ◽  
Improving Instruction ◽  
Change Coaching ◽  
Internal Capacity

Personalized professional learning incorporating coaching, modeling, and reflection, facilitates internal capacity building and increases self-efficacy, which are important elements to supporting school change. Coaching has been shown to improve teachers' abilities to adopt and implement new teaching practices. Also, through reflection, or purposeful thinking, and a sustained collaborative culture, educators have indicated stronger feelings of support, greater personal investment, and increased motivation to enrich teaching and positively affect student growth. However, despite research indicating the value of personalized, embedded, and sustained professional development, rooted in project-based activities with coaching and reflection, one-shot workshops are still, often the norm. This chapter is dedicated to sharing research related to coaching, reflection, and collaboration as it applies toward improving instruction and supporting school change.

Creating Ongoing Online Support Communities through Social Networks to Promote Professional Learning

2013 ◽  
pp. 754-772
Author(s):  
Maria Elena Corbeil ◽  
Joseph Rene Corbeil
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Informal Learning ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Online Support ◽  
Graduate Courses ◽  
Professional Network ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Impact

Professionals who want to remain competitive in their fields are turning to Web 2.0 to learn the knowledge and skills they need in order to do their work more efficiently and effectively. Through a detailed description of how one instructor transformed his online graduate courses into dynamic, interactive, ongoing online learning communities that extended beyond the classroom, this chapter provides academics and practitioners a model for establishing a professional network that learners can participate in, and replicate in their workplaces for their professional development and informal learning. An overview of the role of social networking in creating professional development and informal learning opportunities for cognitive apprenticeship, knowledge brokering, and ongoing online support communities, as well as the results of a survey conducted on students’ perceptions of the impact of the social networking strategies and tools on their professional development and informal learning in and out of class will also be discussed.

The Role of a WhatsApp Group of a Professional Learning Community of Chemistry Teachers in the Development of Their Knowledge

2019 ◽  
pp. 117-140 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ron Blonder ◽  
Ruth Waldman
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Professional Learning Community ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
Online Communication ◽  
Knowledge Development ◽  
Communication Behavior ◽  
Chemistry Teachers

The authors analyze chemistry teachers' discourse in a WhatsApp group. This online communication platform is used for continually studying the communication behavior of leading chemistry teachers who are members of a professional learning community (PLC). They describe the network of chemistry teachers' PLC in Israel, which provides the context for the study. WhatsApp enables sustained ongoing, intensive interaction, and sharing of knowledge that is practical, directly related to the members' needs, and is participant driven and constructivist in nature. A theoretical perspective of teachers' knowledge and professional development (PD) was developed in 2015 by Gess-Newsome, which was applied to examine the mechanism underlying teachers' knowledge development.

scholarly journals The role of leadership in developing and sustaining teachers' professional learning

2011 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 149-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fiona King
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Prominent Feature ◽  
Disadvantaged Schools ◽  
Key Features ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Education Discourse ◽  
Specific Contribution

A prominent feature of education discourse relating to teachers' practice has been the call for increased emphasis on professional development (PD). This paper is part of a wider project which explored the impact of a collaborative PD initiative on teachers' teaching and learning in five urban disadvantaged schools in Ireland. It focused on the impact of PD and critically on sustainability from which emerged important issues of leadership. This article focuses on the specific contribution that leadership made to the sustainability of the practices in the schools. It aims to identify three key features of how principals contribute to sustaining PD practices.

School Librarians as Significant Other

2013 ◽  
pp. 56-66
Author(s):  
Lara M. Luetkehans ◽  
Rebecca D. Hunt
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Professional Learning Communities ◽  
Learning Communities ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Significant Others ◽  
University Faculty ◽  
School Librarian ◽  
Significant Other ◽  
School Librarians

This chapter explores three strands of research: professional learning communities, the significant others in the development of pre-service teachers, and teacher-school librarian collaboration to develop a strategy for using Online Professional Learning Communities (OPLC) as a means for fostering career-long, mutually beneficial collaborations among teachers and school librarians. A previous study of such an OPLC comprised of pre-service and in-service teachers, university faculty, and school librarians is described. The role of the school librarian as a member of the OPLC is examined, particularly as a significant other (Karmos & Jacko, 1977) in the professional development of pre-service teachers. Recommendations include the key elements of creating OPLCs that are inclusive and demonstrate the value school librarians bring to this community.

Online Learning Community

2014 ◽  
pp. 1946-1962
Author(s):  
Eunice Sari ◽  
Cher Ping Lim
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Professional Learning Community ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Teacher Capacity ◽  
Online Learning Community ◽  
Unique Role ◽  
Professional Capacity

This chapter describes the role of the online learning community named OLC4TPD (Online Learning Community for Teacher Professional Development) in building professional capacity of Indonesian teachers. OLC4TPD was contextually built to address the challenges of teacher professionalism in Indonesia, which has contributed significantly to students' learning outcome. As an independent informal online learning community, OLC4TPD plays a unique role in schools' professional learning community. The authors investigate the role of OLC4TPD from different pillars that hold the professional learning community edifice. The four pillars are (1) collaborative teamwork, (2) teacher capacity, (3) leadership capacity, and (4) professional development. The chapter explains this unique role by showcasing several authentic examples on how OLC4TPD has improved professional capacity of teachers and teacher educators in an Indonesian context.

Professional Development Coaches: Perceptions of Critical Characteristics

2005 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 52-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peggy A. Ertmer ◽  
Jennifer Richardson ◽  
Jeffry Cramer ◽  
Laura Hanson ◽  
Wenhao Huang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Content Knowledge ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Peer Mentor ◽  
Professional Development For Teachers ◽  
Critical Characteristics ◽  
Quality Professional Development ◽  
And Training

Current recommendations for achieving high-quality professional development for teachers include the creation of a professional learning community. Key to the success of this approach, however, is the role of the peer mentor or coach. This study examined the experiences and perceptions of 31 professional development coaches in order to highlight the characteristics believed to be essential for success. Results suggest that, while content expertise is perceived to be important, coaches believe that strong interpersonal skills are more critical since, without them, they are unable to use their content knowledge to facilitate changes in teachers’ practice. Suggestions for selecting and training peer coaches are included.

Mentoring for all: building knowledge and community

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 242-255
Author(s):  
Suzanne Molitor ◽  
Lana Parker ◽  
Diane Vetter
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Beginning Teachers ◽  
Teacher Induction ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Leadership Capacity ◽  
Mentor Teachers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Knowledge And Skills ◽  
Context Of Learning

Purpose After many years working with mentors for beginning teachers, both through a formal, Ministry-sponsored program, known in Ontario as the New Teacher Induction Program (NTIP) and through a university-based Faculty of Education practicum, the authors cultivated an understanding of the value of both mentoring and the communities that foster it. The authors observed that pre-service mentors are not offered the same level of support as their induction mentor counterparts. The purpose of this paper is to explore the aforementioned gap by bringing together a small group of pre-service mentor teachers with several highly trained induction mentors from the NTIP program in two full days of professional development: one day of learning and community building among mentors, and the second day of collaboration by pre-service mentors alongside their teacher candidates (TCs). The authors learned that pre-service mentors need and desire professional learning and community mentoring support to develop foundational understandings about the role of mentors and the skills and strategies that support an effective mentoring practice. As a result, the authors advocate for sustainable professional development that leverages existing programs and the clarification of the pre-service mentoring role through continued study and collaboration over time. Design/methodology/approach This qualitative study was designed to explore, understand, and interpret pre-service mentor teachers’ experience of professional learning about mentoring and the role of the mentor, including their responses to participating in a like community of learners. This study brought together educators serving as pre-service and induction mentors to engage them in formal professional learning about mentoring, within an environment that created the conditions for collaboration and community in the context of learning about mentoring. Findings This study surfaces the insights related to the types of knowledge and skills that mentors developed in this study in addition to pointing toward the knowledge and skills they perceive to be necessary to their effective participation in their roles as mentors. The study also identifies both the value that pre-service mentors perceived as a result of being invited into a learning space and the dynamics of professional learning and dialogue in collaboration with their induction mentor counterparts and their pre-service mentees. Research limitations/implications This research study explores a research gap in the area of mentoring as it relates to pre-service mentors or cooperating teachers. Its unique feature involves bringing together two previously segmented groups of mentors: pre-service mentors supporting developing TCs and induction mentors supporting novice teachers. It describes the value and impact of mentoring as understood by pre-service mentors, in particular identifying the reciprocal benefits they experienced. The authors also investigate and shed light on the value and impact of pre-service mentor participation in a community that is intentionally created to support their professional learning about their role. It provides recommendations for practice and indicates areas of potential research. Practical implications This study surfaces the potential benefits of professional learning and community for pre-service mentors who play an integral role in supporting TCs in the completion of their education degrees. It makes practical recommendations which point to uniting pre-service and in-service mentors as participants in learning communities that build leadership capacity and advance mentoring knowledge and skills to impact the mentoring relationship. This study advocates for a restructuring existing practice in the area of pre-service mentoring to encourage professional learning and interaction that connects the work of pre-service and in-service mentors, bridging two currently separate mentoring communities. Originality/value This study offers a re-visioning of mentoring as a community endeavor. It advances the notion that, supported by a targeted program of professional development and participation in communities of inquiry, knowledge creation and mobilization, mentors can build their mentoring and leadership capacity and extend their professional impact.

Contributions of a Professional Development Course to Language Teacher Identity Development: Critical Incidents in Focus

2021 ◽  
pp. 002248712110591
Author(s):  
Mostafa Nazari ◽  
Peter I. De Costa
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Identity Development ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Teacher Identity ◽  
Critical Incidents ◽  
Professional Socialization ◽  
Language Teacher ◽  
Language Teacher Identity ◽  
Development Course

Despite the widely recognized significance of critical incidents (CIs) in teachers’ professional learning, little research has investigated the role of CIs in language teacher identity development. This study attempts to fill this gap by exploring the contributions of a Telegram-based professional development course—framed around CI storying—to the language teacher identity development process of a group of teachers. Data were collected from 10 teachers before, during, and after the course. Data analyses indicated that, before the course, CIs negatively influenced the teachers’ agency and emotions. Participation in the course contributed, however, to the teachers’ enhanced agency and greater emotion regulation. In addition, the course afforded the teachers an opportunity to experience further professional socialization and collegial engagement. Our findings revealed that during the course, the teachers developed greater expertise in storying their CIs and discussed higher order issues relevant to the multiplicity of identity as connected to sociocultural-educational dimensions. These findings suggest that emotions and agency are two significant identity aspects that are profoundly influenced by and influence CIs. Our article closes with a discussion of the implications of embedding CIs in professional development courses to help teachers (re)construct their identities.

Creating Ongoing Online Support Communities through Social Networks to Promote Professional Learning

2012 ◽  
pp. 114-133
Author(s):  
Maria Elena Corbeil ◽  
Joseph Rene Corbeil
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Informal Learning ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Online Support ◽  
Graduate Courses ◽  
Professional Network ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Impact

Professionals who want to remain competitive in their fields are turning to Web 2.0 to learn the knowledge and skills they need in order to do their work more efficiently and effectively. Through a detailed description of how one instructor transformed his online graduate courses into dynamic, interactive, ongoing online learning communities that extended beyond the classroom, this chapter provides academics and practitioners a model for establishing a professional network that learners can participate in, and replicate in their workplaces for their professional development and informal learning. An overview of the role of social networking in creating professional development and informal learning opportunities for cognitive apprenticeship, knowledge brokering, and ongoing online support communities, as well as the results of a survey conducted on students’ perceptions of the impact of the social networking strategies and tools on their professional development and informal learning in and out of class will also be discussed.

scholarly journals Patchwork E-Dialogues in the Professional Development of New Teachers

2011 ◽  
pp. 192-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moira Hulme ◽  
Julie Hughes
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Collaborative Learning ◽  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
New Teachers ◽  
Reflective Writing ◽  
New Moon ◽  
Electronic Technologies

The encouragement of reflective writing within professional learning programmes is not new (Moon, 2003; Bolton, 2001; Winter, 1999). Electronic technologies, however, afford exciting opportunities to develop this practice to support participative and collaborative learning beyond barriers of time and place. This chapter explores the value of asynchronous dialogue in creating and sustaining communities of practice, with particular emphasis on the role of the e-mentor.

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