scholarly journals Experiential Learning, Conditional Knowledge and Professional Development at University of Nairobi, Kenya—Focusing on Preparedness for Teaching Practice

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Odundo P. Amolloh ◽  
Ganira K. Lilian ◽  
Kinyua G. Wanjiru
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Experiential Learning ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Professional Competence ◽  
Simple Random Sampling ◽  
Problem Solving Skills ◽  
Trainee Teachers ◽  
Conditional Knowledge ◽  
And Performance

Experiential learning requires teacher educators to equip trainee teachers with opportunities for effective preparedness in teaching and professional subjects, co-curricular activities and in micro-teaching vital for professional development. The experiential learning opportunities, conditional knowledge, preparedness and performance during teaching practice provide basis for predicting professional competence and success for effective teaching. Conditional knowledge entails application of critical thinking and problem solving skills that demonstrate mastery of theoretical knowledge and professional practice across, content, knowledge, skills and insights. This type of knowledge and skills are developed through experiential learning coupled with effective preparedness for real-class instructional management. However, inadequate preparation in educational courses coupled with improper supervision and feedback impede effective professional development in most universities. The study explored effectiveness of experiential learning and conditional knowledge in trainee teacher preparedness for teaching practice at the University of Nairobi. Experiential Learning Theory formed the framework for this study. A descriptive survey research design was adopted with a population of 78 trainee teachers selected using simple random sampling. Data were gathered through a questionnaire. Finding showed that trainee teachers are adequately prepared for teaching practice. The study recommends proper orientation for trainee teachers to be carried out with effective preparedness that aligns theory to practice.

scholarly journals Internationalizing teacher education curricula: opportunities for academic staff development

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-169
Author(s):  
Mónica Lourenço
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Staff Development ◽  
Global Education ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Development Program ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Academic Staff Development ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this study is to understand the impact of a collaborative workshop, aimed to support teacher educators in embedding a “global outlook” in the curriculum on their perceived professional development. Design/methodology/approach The workshop included working sessions, during a period of 13 months, and was structured as participatory action research, according to which volunteer academics designed, developed and evaluated global education projects in their course units. Data were gathered through a focus group session, conducted with the teacher educators at a final stage of the workshop, and analyzed according to the principles of thematic analysis. Findings Results of the analysis suggest that the workshop presented a meaningful opportunity for teacher educators to reconstruct their knowledge and teaching practice to (re)discover the importance of collaborative work and to assume new commitments to themselves and to others. Originality/value The study addresses a gap in the existing literature on academic staff development in internationalization of the curriculum, focusing on the perceptions of teacher educators’, whose voices have been largely silent in research in the field. The study concludes with a set of recommendations for a professional development program in internationalization of the curriculum.

Customized Consultation to Enhance Teacher Educators' Techno-Pedagogical Skills

2019 ◽  
pp. 99-118
Author(s):  
Tami Seifert
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Organizational Outcomes ◽  
Evaluation Framework ◽  
Technology Enhanced Learning ◽  
Professional Development Training ◽  
Four Levels ◽  
Training Impact ◽  
Evaluating Professional Development

Educational technology is an indispensable element of higher education teaching. Teacher educators need knowledge and skills to design and successfully implement technology-enhanced learning. However, research reveals that professional development programs have only a low impact on teacher educators' teaching practice. An evaluation framework evaluating professional development training programs was implemented. The model evaluates training impact over four levels: participant's satisfaction, learning, and application of what was learned and connection of the training results to organizational outcomes. Consultation meetings varying in length, offered by the ICT unit, assisted teacher educators to integrate technology according to their content, style, and needs. They could also participate in courses designed and implemented by colleagues, group meetings, workshops, and online synchronous and asynchronous consultation meetings. The college's educational vision and integration of the PD program into the teacher educator's teaching practice were important factors for success.

scholarly journals The Effects of Teachers’ Training on Professional Development and Teaching Practice: A Case Study of Two Selected Colleges in Bangladesh

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 148-179
Author(s):  
Mohammad Jahangir Hossain Mojumder
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Small Sample Size ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Small Samples ◽  
Formal Schooling ◽  
Problem Solving Skills

Nowadays, demands are growing for outcome-based and transferable learning, particularly in higher education. Being the terminal formal schooling, it needs facilitation of pupils’ achievement of problem-solving skills for real-life by teachers. To this end, this qualitative research employs a case study approach, which is suitable to test an event with small samples, and a phenomenological method to analyze respondents’ perceptions and activities thematically and descriptively to assess changes. In-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and class observations are used to collect data from two selected colleges to examine the extent of professional development and methodological shift in teaching as effects of training to include active learning strategies for better learning outcomes. The data though reveals that the selected flagship training program offers a bunch of pedagogical methods (not need-based) to imbibe, yet reject the idea that the nationally arranged training remains a successful effort to increase trainees’ knowledge, skills, and polish attitudes except disseminating a few concepts superficially. Moreover, trainees lack the motivation to shift their teaching habits and are unconvinced that the application of these newly learned strategies will transform anything. Likewise, they are discontented about training contents and unenthusiastic in consort with unfavorable opinions about training procedures and trainers to some extent. Therefore, the results suggest limited or no significant professional development and modification in teaching practice, rather teachers continue conventional teacher-centered method, and the effort stays insufficient, extraneous, ‘fragmented’, and ‘intellectually superficial’. Additionally, at the colleges, large class size, inappropriate sitting arrangement, pervasive traditionality, absenteeism, and other analogous challenges limited them to change their practice. Considering all these, this study suggests that alternations should be initiated at a micro (teachers & college) and macro-level (training providers & policymakers) to offer tailor-made, autonomous, and need-based training. Last but not the least, this endeavor is limited by being entirely qualitative with a small sample size and not eliciting the views of any of the trainers and policymakers and which can be an indication of points of departure for future study.

Impact of a Professional Development Programme on Trainee Teachers' Beliefs and Teaching Practices

2016 ◽  
pp. 176-194
Author(s):  
Yasemin Kırkgöz
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
English Language ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Cognitive Learning ◽  
Development Programme ◽  
Collaborative Action Research ◽  
Trainee Teachers ◽  
School Based ◽  
Professional Development Programme ◽  
Mathematic Education

This study emerged from the concerns experienced by the last-year English language trainee teachers during their school practicum. An increasing number of trainees complained that their existing beliefs conflicted, in many ways, with the school-based mentor's teaching practice. A collaborative action research (CAR) professional development programme (PDP) was established to help prospective teachers resolve many of the dilemmas and improve their classroom practices in a 10-week practicum course. It was found that CAR has a powerful impact upon teacher candidates as it solves many of the dilemmas and concerns. Belief changes of one trainee teacher are presented as an exemplary case. While such findings can improve our understandings of pre-service teachers' cognitive learning and problem solving skills at the practicum site, they also generate useful insights into designing a PDP to promote trainee teachers' school-based professional development in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematic) education.

scholarly journals Critical Reflection in the Professional Development of Teachers: Challenges and Possibilities

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 67-85
Author(s):  
Marjeta Šarić ◽  
Barbara Šteh
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Reflective Practice ◽  
Critical Reflection ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Personal Traits ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Teachers Professional Development ◽  
Support Students

Critical reflection in teachers’ professional development has received much attention in the scholarly literature, and there is an overwhelming consensus about its great significance to the quality of teachers’ work. Nevertheless, despite the well-established role of reflection, a large gap between the professed goals and the actual reflective practice of teachers remains. The article starts with a short overview of the different definitions of critical reflection in the context of teachers’ professional development and then underlines some empirical research findings on the problems that teachers and teacher educators face when putting reflective practice into practice, especially at the deeper and more complex levels of reflection. It continues with a consideration of teachers’ qualifications for in-depth reflection as well as the obstacles and challenges facing teachers and teacher educators. The obstacles occur at the level of individual teachers’ personal traits and at the level of the context in which reflection is done. Employing an analysis of the obstacles, the authors develop some guidelines on how to support teachers in their attempts at making critical reflection part of their teaching practice. It is crucial for this encouragement not to overlook the principal purpose of teachers’ critical reflection; to contribute to new insights, knowledge reframing, and the introduction of such changes in teaching that will support students’ learning and the development of the community for the better learning, work, and life of all its individuals.

scholarly journals Assessors, School Support and Teaching Practice at the University of Nairobi Kenya: Addressing Teacher Professional Competence

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 430
Author(s):  
Paul Amollo Odundo ◽  
Lucas Othuon ◽  
Ganira Khavugwi Lillian
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Student Teachers ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Professional Competence ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
School Support ◽  
Positive Interaction ◽  
Development Activity ◽  
Teacher Trainees ◽  
Teacher Trainee

<p><em>Supporting and mentoring teacher trainee competence during teaching practice forms an indispensable part of professional and personal development. A positive interaction between university assessors, secondary school principals, collaborating teachers, and regular teachers plays a vital role in fostering professional competence among teacher trainees. Consistent with professional development is that knowledge and learning is entrenched in social contexts and experiences promoted though interaction with significant others. The nature of support provided during teaching practice enhances sustained class management, improved professional development, activity based learning and learner achievement. On the other hand, inadequate support may turn teaching practice into a stressful disempowering and unproductive exercise for teacher trainees. The purpose of this study is to examine university assessors and school support in teacher trainee development at University of Nairobi. The study adopted a descriptive survey design with a population of 68 student teachers on teaching practice randomly sampled from 17 Counties. Data was collected through questionnaires for teacher trainees. Data analysis involved application of descriptive and inferential statistics, and presented using tables and graphs. Analysis yielded three themes, unsupportive relations, moderately supportive, and very supportive. The results indicated considerable support during teaching practice where </em><em>“</em><em>very supportive</em><em>”</em><em> scored the highest percentages. The study recommends development of practical and consistent policies and infrastructure that provides coordinated support for teacher trainees.</em></p>

scholarly journals COURSERA ONLINE COURSE: A PLATFORM FOR ENGLISH TEACHERS’ MEANINGFUL AND VIBRANT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arnis Silvia
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
School Administrators ◽  
Development Program ◽  
English Teachers ◽  
Online Course ◽  
Learning Platform ◽  
Online Platforms

This article reports on English teachers‘ attitudes towards a professional development program run by Coursera (coursera.org). Theseteachers were participants of Foundation of Teaching for Learning 1: Introduction online course. Using a survey case study, the findings reveal that most of the participants perceive the course as a well-organized and effective platform to engage in professional learning. Coursera is an online learning platform offering various courses for teacher educators which are meaningful (closely related to their daily teaching practice) and vibrant (involves active collaboration among peer participants to review and assess their projects). Albeit this nature, another finding shows that the participants lament that their institutions do not provide professional development (PD) support. In fact, PD programs are not constrained to face-to-face encounters, since it can be designed using online platforms such as Coursera, a massive open online course (MOOC). Accordingly, the contribution of the article is to show how online platforms make meaningful and vibrant teacher professional development (TPD) possible. The implication of the study is that school administrators and policy makers should provide support for their teachers to take online PD programs. This professional learning should contribute to the best teaching practice and student learning attainment.

Impact of a Professional Development Programme on Trainee Teachers' Beliefs and Teaching Practices

2016 ◽  
pp. 1482-1500
Author(s):  
Yasemin Kırkgöz
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
English Language ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Cognitive Learning ◽  
Development Programme ◽  
Collaborative Action Research ◽  
Trainee Teachers ◽  
School Based ◽  
Professional Development Programme ◽  
Mathematic Education

This study emerged from the concerns experienced by the last-year English language trainee teachers during their school practicum. An increasing number of trainees complained that their existing beliefs conflicted, in many ways, with the school-based mentor's teaching practice. A collaborative action research (CAR) professional development programme (PDP) was established to help prospective teachers resolve many of the dilemmas and improve their classroom practices in a 10-week practicum course. It was found that CAR has a powerful impact upon teacher candidates as it solves many of the dilemmas and concerns. Belief changes of one trainee teacher are presented as an exemplary case. While such findings can improve our understandings of pre-service teachers' cognitive learning and problem solving skills at the practicum site, they also generate useful insights into designing a PDP to promote trainee teachers' school-based professional development in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematic) education.

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