scholarly journals Teachers’ perceptions about their practices and needs for improvement: A qualitative research project at the University of Padova

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debora Aquario ◽  
Renata Clerici ◽  
Lorenza Da Re ◽  
Ettore Felisatti ◽  
Cristina Mazzucco ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Educational Innovation ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Need For Support ◽  
Teacher Professional ◽  
Points Of View ◽  
The One ◽  
The University

The aim of the paper is to present the results deriving from the qualitative analysis of open-ended questions included in the Prodid Project Questionnaire. Prodid (Teacher professional development and  academic educational innovation) is a research project conducted in 2014-2015 at the University of Padova, which aimed at developing strategies to support academic teachers to enhance their teaching competences. The questions were formulated in order to collect teachers’  points of view on excellence and innovation, perceived critical aspects in their teaching practice and the need for support to improve teaching. The analysis was conducted through the use of software Atlas.ti 7 in order to highlight, on the one hand, the strengths and weaknesses of current teaching practices, and on the other hand, the need of support to improve teaching skills and enhance teachers’ professionalism. Findings are presented by illustrating the distributions based on the different Schools in the universities as well as the thematic issues that emerged from teachers’ answers. These results informed the professional development activities organized at the University for junior and senior staff in 2015.

scholarly journals Foreign Language Teachers’ Professional Development through Peer Observation Programme

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis Miguel Dos Santos
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Language Teachers ◽  
Peer Observation ◽  
Good Tool ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Teachers Professional Development ◽  
Observation Programme

<p>The<strong> </strong>purpose of the research is to explore the development of peer-observation programme for the use of an extension language school in Hong Kong. The research objectives were to explore teachers’ perceptions on a peer observation programme as a means to improve teaching practice, examine how teachers make sense of the peer observation programme after they have taken part in it and to suggest alternative approaches and measures by which schools can improve peer observation programmes in schools.</p><p>Data was collected from six teachers who participated in peer observation programme in Hong Kong through an interview process. The research has found out that peer observation can be a good tool for continuous professional development for teachers in order to develop their teaching strategies. This is especially important within the field of language education. From the analysis, most teachers are wary of the practicalities of peer observation due to the sensitivity that is associated with it. The research also found out that teachers think that if the peer observation approach is well developed, it can be potentially interesting or generate excitement among teachers.</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.

scholarly journals Benchmarking of University teachers’ professional development: successful European, Chinese, and Russian practices

2021 ◽  
Vol 99 ◽  
pp. 01004
Author(s):  
Tatiana Tregubova
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Professional Development ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Effective Practices ◽  
Teaching Activities ◽  
University Teachers ◽  
European Universities ◽  
Teachers Professional Development ◽  
Higher Education Organizations ◽  
The University

In the context of socio-pedagogical transformations of higher education organizations, the modernization of the system of teachers’ professional development becomes an integral component of the reforms. Today university teachers have to be ready for continuous development and advanced training throughout their lives. Thus, the study of the problem of university teachers’ professional development in Russia and abroad is very relevant and timely as a response to the modern requirements of civil society for the personality of the teacher. The need for professional development among university teachers is closely related to his (her) desire for more successful indicators in teaching activities. To do this, it is necessary to fulfill several pedagogical conditions, including the teacher's own awareness of the need for professional development; the interest of the university administration and the availability of resources to organize an effective professional development system, etc. The purpose of the article is to show some successful practices of the teachers’ professional development in Russian, Chinese and European universities which the author observed while visiting those universities within the realization the project “Enhancing teaching practice in the universities of Russia and China”. The article presents the possibilities of benchmarking in higher education, in particular, the use of the benchmarking technology as a method of studying the effective practices of organizing the teachers’ professional development in a modern university.

Community of Inquiry as Teacher Professional Development in China

2017 ◽  
pp. 100-118 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiller A. Spires ◽  
Shea N. Kerkhoff ◽  
Meixun Zheng
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Community Of Inquiry ◽  
New Literacies ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Pedagogical Change ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Reform Agenda ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
Teacher Professional ◽  
K 12

Over the past decades, improving teacher instructional quality has been a top priority in the Chinese government's K-12 educational reform agenda. Within this reform context, the purposes of this chapter are to share: (a) a community of inquiry model of professional development on new literacies that is being used with teachers in China; and (b) qualitative data from three teachers' perceptions of the professional development, their classroom practices, and challenges they are confronting as they implement changes in their educational system. Emerging themes indicated that teachers embraced pedagogical change along a continuum, from resistant to completely open, within the context of their school culture. Challenges to pedagogical change included teacher cultural identity and lack of time and commitment needed for implementation. Future research will include more in-depth analysis of the change process that Chinese teachers embrace as they conceptualize and apply new literacies and innovative pedagogies in their classrooms.

scholarly journals FUNDING FROM THE CROWD: AN INTERNET-BASED CROWDFUNDING PLATFORM TO SUPPORT BUSINESS SET-UPS FROM UNIVERSITIES

2013 ◽  
Vol 22 (03) ◽  
pp. 1340007 ◽  
Author(s):  
ENRICO WIECK ◽  
ULRICH BRETSCHNEIDER ◽  
JAN MARCO LEIMEISTER
Keyword(s):  
Investment Decisions ◽  
Financial Resources ◽  
Research Setting ◽  
Research Project ◽  
First Results ◽  
Funding Programs ◽  
Idea Evaluation ◽  
The One ◽  
The University ◽  
Start Ups

This research-in-progress paper presents a research project that aims at developing, piloting and evaluating a crowdfunding platform to support financing for start-ups emerging from university. Currently, universities' own financial resources to support setting up businesses from universities are limited. Universities' business foundation consultancy can often only intermediate between entrepreneurs on the one side and restricted funding programs or few investors on the other side. A crowdfunding platform enables many individuals of the (university) crowd to support promising business ideas with little investments cumulating to a greater sum in total. Thus, it has the potential to extend universities' opportunities to support entrepreneurs. In addition, tasks like idea communication, idea evaluation and investment decisions can be outsourced to the crowd. The idea, research setting, first results and a future outlook of this research project are discussed in this paper.

Teachers' Perceptions of the Implementation of Single-Sex Classes in Coeducational Schools

1997 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lesley H. Parker ◽  
Léonie J. Rennie
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Teacher Professional Development ◽  
Sex Education ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Pilot Project ◽  
Community Response ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Single Sex ◽  
Teacher Professional ◽  
School Organisation

THIS paper reports research conducted as part of the Single-Sex Education Pilot Project (SSEPP) which was undertaken in 1993–1994 in Western Australia. The project involved the implementation of single-sex science and/or mathematics in ten coeducational secondary schools. Unlike previous similar initiatives, the SSEPP included professional development for the teachers involved and systematic monitoring. The paper presents an analysis of teachers' reactions to and perceptions of the SSEPP. It gives voice to teachers' views of the major issues which arose during the project, concerning outcomes for students, school organisation, teacher professional development, community response and sustainability of the change.

scholarly journals Self-directed Teacher Professional Development in Saudi Arabia: EFL Teachers’ Perceptions

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 1359
Author(s):  
Hamad I. Alshaikhi
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Teacher Professional Development ◽  
Workplace Learning ◽  
Learning Context ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Self Directed Learning ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
Directed Learning ◽  
Teacher Professional

This study explores Saudi EFL teachers’ perspectives, attitudes and experiences with regards to their teacher professional development (TPD) with special emphasis on workplace learning and self-directed initiatives. Using semi-structured interviews and reflective essays, the study managed to highlight a thriving workplace learning context in which teachers are involved in many forms of self-directed learning, including experiences stemming from the dailiness of the everyday realities of their schools. Data showed that Saudi EFL teachers are committed professionals who are well aware of a variety of TPD resources and opportunities; some of them are institutionalised while the majority are self-directed by teachers themselves beyond any institutional requirement. The study revealed that many participants had high preferences for self-directed learning over institutional provisions for its embeddedness in their context, the nature of their specialisation, and for the changing nature of their profession. Networking, collaboration, reflection and collegiality are some of the main features of self-directed learning as reflected in teachers’ current practices.

scholarly journals Engaging EFL Teachers in Reflective Practice as A Way to Pursue Sustained Professional Development

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 45
Author(s):  
Joko Nurkamto ◽  
Teguh Sarosa
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Reflective Practice ◽  
Professional Growth ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
English Teachers ◽  
Reflective Teaching ◽  
Intensive Training ◽  
Teacher Professional ◽  
Field Notes

<p>Reflective practice has become a significant aspect in determining good teaching and learning practices and is an important part of professional practice and professional growth. However, English teachers in Indonesia has not been able to perform reflection on their teaching in order to improve their teaching practice. This study reports the results of an intensive training held by PKM UNS to help teachers develop a reflective teaching habit. The participants were 30 English teachers of Islamic Senior High School in Solo Raya. Observation field notes and teacher assignments were used as the main data collection method. From this program, it was found that the English teachers encountered plethora of challenges in developing reflective practice due to their lack of understanding of reflective teaching. However, the teachers show an improvement in implementing reflective teaching strategies after their participation in the training. Recommendations to include reflective practices in teacher professional development programs is drawn based on the findings.</p>

scholarly journals Pathways that Converge in Teacher Professional Development: Are they present in Spain?

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 327 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena MARTÍN
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Communities Of Practice ◽  
Teacher Professional Development ◽  
Teacher Change ◽  
Quality Of Education ◽  
School Based ◽  
Teacher Professional ◽  
Points Of View ◽  
Spanish Education

ABSTRACT: The aim of this article is twofold. First, we present an analysis of the main features of the teacher professional development (PD) models and programs currently considered of highest quality. This analysis is supported by the articles presented in the present monograph, and it also considers other studies that complement these perspectives. We show that axes of teacher change deal with career-long development, reflection in school-based communities of practice, and focus on students’ voices. In addition, we highlight the need for coherence between teacher policies and more global policies aimed at enhancing the quality of education. The second objective is to assess the situation of teacher PD within the Spanish education system, using the identified axes of teacher change as an analytic framework. The comparison reveals important limitations from the points of view of both the specific PD activities offered to teachers and underlying teacher PD model.

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