Innovations in Teacher Professional Development

2022 ◽  
pp. 335-355
Author(s):  
Althea J. Pennerman ◽  
M. Cathrene Connery

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.

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 56
Author(s):  
Alireza Ahadi ◽  
Matt Bower ◽  
Abhay Singh ◽  
Michael Garrett

As COVID-19 continues to impact upon education worldwide, systems and organizations are rapidly transiting their professional learning to online mode. This raises concerns, not simply about whether online professional learning can result in equivalent outcomes to face-to-face learning, but more importantly about how to best evaluate online professional learning so we can iteratively improve our approaches. This case study analyses the evaluation of an online teacher professional development workshop for the purpose of critically reflecting upon the efficacy of workshop evaluation techniques. The evaluation approach was theoretically based in a synthesis of six seminal workshop evaluation models, and structured around eight critical dimensions of educational technology evaluation. The approach involving collection of pre-workshop participant background information, pre-/post-teacher perceptions data, and post-workshop focus group perceptions, enabled the changes in teacher knowledge, skills, and beliefs to be objectively evaluated, at the same time as providing qualitative information to effectively improve future iterations of the workshops along a broad range of dimensions. The evaluation approach demonstrated that the professional learning that was shifted into online mode in response to COVID-19 could unequivocally result in significant improvements to professional learning outcomes. More importantly, the evaluation approach is critically contrasted with previous evaluation models, and a series of recommendations for the evaluation of technology-enhanced teacher professional development workshops are proposed.


Author(s):  
Charmaine Brooks ◽  
Susan Gibson

While professional development (PD) has always been central to the teaching profession, increasingly traditional models of PD are out of step with contemporary ways of learning. Commiserate with the literature, we see the field moving along a continuum which reflects changes in what, how and when teachers learn. Following a brief sketch of the online teacher professional development (oTPD) field, we identify important considerations of emerging models of technology-mediated professional learning (TMPL). We posit the catalyst for the transformation of education, as envisioned by countless educational leaders, may lie in reimaging professional development as professional learning in a networked age. Alors que le perfectionnement professionnel (« PP ») a toujours été au cœur de la profession d’enseignant, les modèles traditionnels de PP sont de plus en plus décalés par rapport aux méthodes contemporaines d’apprentissage. Nous voyons ce domaine progresser dans un continuum qui reflète les changements dans ce que les enseignants apprennent, dans la façon et le moment où ils l’apprennent, et cette progression correspond à la littérature. Après un survol du domaine du perfectionnement professionnel en ligne pour les enseignants, nous cernons des considérations importantes sur les modèles émergents de la formation professionnelle assistée par ordinateur. Nous postulons que le catalyseur de la transformation de l’éducation, comme conçue par d’innombrables chefs de file de la pédagogie, pourrait être de ré-imaginer le perfectionnement professionnel comme une formation professionnelle à l’ère des réseaux.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy A. Goodale

The focus of this article is on the evaluation and outcomes of a professional learning opportunity that focused on 13 current K–12 public school science educators in the United States. This teacher training concentrated on sustainability education that utilized marine sciences as a unifying concept. Findings from this training helped to identify models within teacher professional development in marine science that lead to comprehensive adoption of presented curricula. Four established models/frameworks of professional development were identified and their subsequent classroom implementation was evaluated. Results include adoption rates of the various session materials, the impact and effect size of differing variables (such as deliverables or standards alignment) among the four models and their frameworks and changes in perceptions towards sustainability initiatives. These outcomes underscore several methods and strategies for successful science teacher professional development implementation in regard to marine sciences.


Author(s):  
Pamela Beach ◽  
Elena Favret ◽  
Alexandra Minuk

This paper presents findings from a systematic review of 11 studies examining online teacher professional development (oTPD) in Canada between 2000-2020. A thematic content analysis of the articles led to four main themes associated with research on oTPD: 1. knowledge exchange; 2. reflective practice; 3. multifaceted learning opportunities; and 4. just-in-time support. The study contexts, research methods, and other relevant study characteristics are also reviewed and discussed. The results shed light on the current research trends on oTPD in Canada and highlight the need for continued research in this area. Data from diverse research methods across Canada’s geographical regions can contribute to greater insight into the types of oTPD occurring in Canada and how various platforms and professional development opportunities can best support teachers’ professional learning.


2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-25
Author(s):  
Tom J. McConnell ◽  
Joyce M. Parker ◽  
Jan Eberhardt

Educational reform should include teacher professional development (PD) to help educators learn how to implement new programs. This article shares a research-tested model of PD that uses the analytic framework of Problem-Based Learning (PBL) to support professional learning. Evidence suggests that PBL is effective in changing content knowledge and pedagogical practice. To teach content, facilitators engage teachers in learning activities designed using common PBL structures. Stories about authentic phenomena present problems associated with specific concepts. Learners work in groups to analyze problems, seek additional information, and construct plausible solutions. This same approach can support Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) to help teachers examine and revise their own teaching. In this model, teachers collaborate to identify “problems of teaching.” The group uses PBL to analyze information and solutions. Teachers research teaching strategies, test a proposed strategy, and analyze evidence to build new understandings of teaching.


Author(s):  
Елена Фёдоровна МАТВЕЕВА

В статье поднимается проблема управления профессиональным развитием учителя в России и в Сингапуре; освещается опыт непрерывного повышения квалификации педагога в Сингапуре посредством создания профессиональных обучающихся сообществ; раскрываются особенности организации работы сингапурских профессиональных обучающихся сообществ в школах, принципы их функционирования. В сравнительном ключе актуализируются вопросы развития профессионализма педагога в России, опыт региональных практик повышении квалификации педагогов, неформального объединения педагогов, инновационных практик дополнительного профессионального образования. В итоге сравнительного анализа делается вывод о том, что опыт Сингапура по созданию и развитию системы непрерывного повышения профессионализма учителя через профессиональные обучающиеся сообщества может заслуживать более пристального внимания со стороны, как учёных-теоретиков, так и учителей-практиков и управленцев школ в России. The article touches upon the issue of management of teacher professional development in Russia and Singapore. The author refers to the experience of organization of teacher continual professional development through professional learning communities in Singaporean schools as one of the most effective in the world. The paper provides insight into their work organization and principles of operation, as well as describes the history of their development. The phases of teachers’ participation in professional learning communities in Singaporean schools are viewed within the present studies. Concurrently, the issues of teacher professional development in Russia, the emerging experience of teacher qualifications upgrading in regional practices and informal teacher communities, innovative practices of teacher complementary professional education are updated in a comparative manner. The author reveals some difficulties and achievements in this area. In the end of the comparative analysis it is stated that the experience achieved by Singapore in creating a highly effective system of teacher professional learning communities needs a more focused attention from academics, as well as from practicing teachers and school managers.


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