scholarly journals A decade of TeachMeet: an Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis of participants’ tales of impact

Author(s):  
Mags Amond ◽  
Keith Johnston ◽  
Richard Millwood ◽  
Ewan McIntosh

TeachMeet is an emerging informal professional development event organised by teachers for teachers, commonly described as an unconference. It is a volunteer-led global phenomenon without any established hierarchy.   To celebrate the first ten years of TeachMeet, the  founders announced an open call for particpants to submit, online, their stories of impact. The resulting submissions were subjected to an Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) capitalizing on the ‘double hermeneutic’ lens of the experience of researchers whose positionality is that of informed insiders. Findings reveal the categories in which the lived experience reported by participants shows the impact of TeachMeet: ranging from appreciative description of the event they attended to reflective confessions of life-enhancing transformation in their personal and professional lives, their classrooms and the wider teaching community. These finding are examined in the light of how they align with several models of evaluation of teacher learning (Guskey 1998, Kennedy 2005, Kirkpatrick 2006, Desimone 2011, Wenger, Trayner and deLatt 2011), and what they indicate about where evolving TeachMeet communities and networks may be situated in an informal learning landscape.

2008 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 26-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Owen ◽  
Alexia Papageorgiou

Aim: This small−scale, exploratory, qualitative study was conducted to investigate how the experiences of having a stoma and subsequent stoma reversal affected the lives of the participants.Method: Five participants were interviewed about their experiences. Manual thematic analysis, using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), was employed to interpret the data. Results: Common themes were identified as emerging from the data. Themes before reversal were: acceptance and coping; social impact; and anticipation of returning to normal. Post−reversal themes were: returning to normal; interference with anticipated return to normal; and ongoing social impact. Conclusion: This exploratory study provides a rich account of the experiences of stoma patients who underwent reversal operations. It enhances our understanding of the transition encountered when changing from a person with a stoma into someone without one. This research has found that the anticipated return to normal can be hampered by a mix of physical and psychological processes.


Author(s):  
Hongmei Han ◽  
◽  
Jinghua Wang

This study explores the impact of teacher learning community on EFL teachers’ professional development. The participants are 17 EFL teachers from Hebei University in China. A year-long study was conducted on these teachers' group leaning activities through participatory observation and in-depth interviews. The preliminary results are as follows: 1) Generally speaking, through conversation, interaction and online peer evaluation in learning community, participant teachers have improved professionally in terms of critical thinking, academic writing, reflective thinking and research awareness; 2) In learning activities of the community, the experienced teachers focused more on the construction of knowledge regarding research methodology, through interaction with others and participation in teaching-based research activities, to reconstruct their knowledge about teaching and research; while the novice teachers placed more emphasis on the reconstruction of knowledge regarding pedagogical theories and the way these theories are applied in teaching practice, through social interaction with other teachers.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oskars Kaulēns ◽  
◽  
Reinis Upenieks

Changes in technology use and globalization are leading to significant changes in the structure of the labor market, emphasizing the need for labor market participants to learn continuously and acquire new knowledge and skills in order to adapt to a rapidly changing work environment. Economists point to the risks posed by technological development, such as the reduction of low-skilled jobs as a result of digitalization and automation processes. Although professionals working with people, such as healthcare professionals and teachers, are less exposed to the risk of automation, they are still increasingly unstable as technology and artificial intelligence compete with human experts. This means that medical and education staff will also need more targeted, regular and labor market-oriented professional development in order to remain competitive and demonstrate demand-driven performance. In line with changes in the quality standards of professional performance for healthcare professionals and teachers, changes are also taking place in how the professional development of these groups is implemented. In addition to formal development activities such as courses and seminars, the need to accept the impact of informal learning is emphasized, not only expanding the aims and content of professional development activities but also offering new learning formats. The aim of the qualitative research conducted by the authors is to study the understanding of teachers and healthcare professionals about their professional development by analyzing their answers regarding their professional development. The focus of the study has been chosen to test the assumption that healthcare professionals and teachers view their continuing education more in the context of formal training, with less emphasis on professional development through informal learning. Within the framework of the research, a survey of random respondents within the said target groups has been conducted and the answers of the respondents have been analyzed, with attention paid to the aspects of formal and informal learning. The article presents the results of the content analysis, highlighting the most important trends of study results and the problematic aspects related to the improvement of the quality of professional development.


2013 ◽  
pp. 754-772
Author(s):  
Maria Elena Corbeil ◽  
Joseph Rene Corbeil

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.


2019 ◽  
Vol 81 ◽  
pp. 61-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan D. Vermunt ◽  
Maria Vrikki ◽  
Nicolette van Halem ◽  
Paul Warwick ◽  
Neil Mercer

2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stanley Innes ◽  
Laura Maurice ◽  
Michele Lastella ◽  
Catherine O’Mullan

Abstract Introduction Female practitioners are often subjected to inappropriate patient sexual behaviour (IPSB). Adverse consequences of such sexual harassment include for the practitioner psychological stress effects and negative work-related consequences that contributes to career dissatisfaction and burnout. Confronting the issue within the healthcare context has been shown to be problematic because practitioners feel an obligation to protect the therapeutic relationship above their own personal discomfort. There is an absence of research on this topic with respect to female chiropractors and we proposed a qualitative study aimed to explore female chiropractors lived experiences of managing incidents of IPSB. Method An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis methodology was chosen for this study. In June and July of 2018 female chiropractors in Western Australian were recruited via Facebook sites and invited to participate in face-to-face interviews for an Honours degree study exploring the lived experience of IPSB. Results Participants were seven female chiropractors currently practicing in Western Australia, who had experienced an incident of IPSB. Four super-ordinate themes emerged from the analysis; (1) familiar but inarticulable, (2) the cost of conflict, (3) I’m used to it, and (4) the element of surprise. Overall, the participants recognised the incidents as inappropriate but chose to ignore the situation as a means to avoid conflict in the treatment room. Recommendations are made to better manage IPSB including greater patient awareness of appropriate behaviour, specific curriculum content and assertiveness training in undergraduate programs and continuing professional education, as well as the creation of ethical guidelines for patient behaviour by regulatory bodies. Conclusion This is the first study to give a forum for female chiropractors to discuss their experiences of IPSB. The domain of private practice is not immune to incidents IPSB and although similar to day-to-day non-clinical life is nonetheless surprising and impactful.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (6) ◽  
pp. 284-291
Author(s):  
Andrew David Dainty ◽  
Donna Barnes ◽  
Erica Bellamy ◽  
Nicola Kyte ◽  
Katie Berry

Aims: This study aimed to capture the lived experience of some of the first trainee nursing associates (TNAs) during the pilot of the role in the January 2017 cohort of TNAs, based at the University of Derby. Methods: A convenience sampling approach was used to recruit participants to this phenomenological study. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were carried out with four participants to capture the experience, as lived by the first cohort of TNAs. Transcripts were transcribed verbatim and were analysed using interpretive phenomenological analysis. Results: Analysis suggests that the participant experience was characterised by six themes, namely: challenges relating to NA training; developing new skills; opportunity; the importance of support; impact of the NA role; and understanding the NA role. Conclusion: This study adds to our understanding relating to the lived experience of some of the first TNAs taking up training for this role within healthcare, and highlights some of the factors that were most pertinent, according to the lived experience of the trainees themselves. The authors hope that the findings of this study will prove useful for those considering taking up training for the role, or indeed establishments considering implementing the role with their settings.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 69-85
Author(s):  
Danijela Blanuša Trošelj ◽  
Karla Franković ◽  
Milena Valenčič Zuljan

Every preschool teacher’s activity results in changes in the preschool teacher as well as in the practice. In situations where we have a limited number and form of professional training offered to preschool teachers, whose attendance is not always subject to the personal plan of preschool teachers’ professional development, informal learning adds great value to teacher development. This paper aims to examine the involvement of preschool teachers in certain forms of informal learning and their reflection on the impact these forms have on their professional development. The empirical part of the paper presents the results of a survey conducted among preschool teachers. 110 preschool teachers from the Republic of Croatia responded to the questionnaire and we got answers to two research questions. The results show that preschool teachers are most often involved in a form of informal learning which includes agreeing on how to work with a colleague from the group and documenting the children’s activities.


2009 ◽  
Vol 111 (5) ◽  
pp. 1195-1241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chrystalla Mouza

Background/Context Although there is a growing body of literature on the characteristics of effective professional development, there is little direct evidence on the extent to which these characteristics influence teacher learning and practice. In particular, few studies exist to date that demonstrate the impact of technology-focused professional development on teacher learning and practice. Even fewer studies have examined teacher learning for more than a year to understand the sustainability and growth of professional development gains. Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the long-term impact of research-based professional development on teacher learning and practice with respect to technology. Analysis is based on data collected from 7 urban teachers 2 years after their participation in a yearlong, technology-focused professional development program. Follow-up data are compared with data collected by the author during the teachers’ participation in professional development to (1) investigate the sustainability and growth of teachers’ learning, (2) identify the conditions that facilitated or hindered teachers’ capacity to further develop their thinking, knowledge, and practice with regard to technology, and (3) map the trajectory of teachers’ learning over a 3-year period. Research Design The study employed a qualitative multiple case study design. Data were collected from multiple sources that included teacher interviews, surveys, classroom observations, and collection of artifacts. Two outcomes were defined as critical measures of long-term learning: sustainability and growth. Findings/Results Results indicated that participation in research-based professional development fostered sustained changes in teachers’ educational technology knowledge, ability to design and implement technology-supported experiences for students, and beliefs toward teaching and learning with technology. In two cases, these changes became the basis for continual learning and led to ongoing professional growth. Further, findings revealed three factors that influenced teacher learning over time: (1) student characteristics, (2) access to resources, and (3) social support and opportunities for collaboration with peers. Conclusions/Recommendations Findings of the study suggest that participation in professional development that is grounded in the currently accepted best practices can impact teacher learning and practice. They also offer insights into the process by which teachers modify their knowledge, practices, and beliefs and the conditions that influence learning over time. Further, they provide new lenses for analyzing teacher learning that suggest looking more closely into the interactive relationship between practices and beliefs, as well as the ways in which classroom experience influences continual learning and change.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Murphy ◽  
Belinda Harris ◽  
Katharine Wakelin

PurposeThis article outlines the experience of conducting Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis research into the chronic illness of Inflammatory Bowel Disease, an incurable condition of the gastro-intestinal tract which results in numerous physically and psychologically symptoms that are difficult to live with, by a researcher who shares the same condition. It considers the complex nature of researcher positioning from a nuanced, relational rather than binary insider/outsider position (Berger, 2015; Hayfield and Huxley, 2015). Additionally, the importance of reflexivity when conducting such personal, reciprocal qualitative research is brought to life, illustrating how such reflexivity deepens the relationship to the research, increases understanding of the interpretations and in turn its validity adds to the trustworthiness of both the endeavour and the written account (Etherington, 2007; Oakley, 2016).Design/methodology/approachConducting research into a medical condition that the researcher also experiences brings its own particular challenges (Hofmann and Barker, 2017). When the chosen methodology is Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, with its in-depth, relational nature, those challenges intensify (Smith, 2009).FindingsUsing researcher journal extracts, the lived experience of researching whilst experiencing a chronic illness is explored. This includes the psychological impact of experiencing deep empathy for others living with IBD, managing the impact of increased disease knowledge, researching through fatigue and experiencing the claustrophobia of living with and researching one's own condition.Originality/valueFinally, tactics for surviving such research are provided in a bid to enable researchers and supervisors embarking on similar projects, to successfully manage the research rollercoaster ride even when it's in the middle of a Hurricane.


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