International Portal of Teacher Education
The online resource of academic content on teacher training and teacher education
Section archive - Professional Development
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362 items
11
This study explores the characteristics of the teacher evaluation model in Finland.
Highlighting the unique qualities of the Finnish case, the authors also compare these teacher evaluation practices with the increasingly applied value-added model (VAM) for teacher evaluation across the globe.
Their analysis revealed that the Finnish Model prioritises teacher empowerment and professional development by carrying out bottom-up evaluation practices.
With a clear focus on teacher empowerment and professional development, this framework substantially differs from accountability measures such as VAM, which emphasize rigid data collection procedures and the use of standardized test scores to hold teachers accountable based on their students’ academic performance. This study also revealed that professional development endeavours of teachers are highlighted as the key elements in Finnish teacher evaluation.
Published: 2019
Updated: Nov. 17, 2019
12
Despite the increased focus on why new special education teachers leave the field, the knowledge related to teacher attrition in special education is still somewhat limited when compared with the field of general education.
In this study, the authors conduct several Nominal Group Technique (NGT) focus groups to learn more about the perceived needs of new special education teachers.
Focus groups are held with three specific groups, preservice special education teachers, new special education teachers, and school administrators to further investigate the potential differences in perceptions about the needs and roles of new special education teachers.
Published: 2018
Updated: Jul. 28, 2019
13
In this study, the researchers analyzed data from an apprenticeship-style teacher preparation program to understand the relationship between a measure of preservice teacher quality—student teachers’ observational scores—and their decisions to (a) enter into the profession, and (b) stay in the profession within the first 2 years after graduation. They found that more qualified student teachers are more likely to enter into the profession and stay in the profession, even after controlling for student teachers’ demographic characteristics and their academic achievement.
Published: 2019
Updated: Jun. 02, 2019
14
In this article, the author shares analysis of interviews with 11 women of Color veteran teachers who serve in formal or informal leadership roles within social justice education. Their reflections reveal how teacher education programs—justice oriented or not—fell short in preparing them for the hostile racial climate of schools, thus putting them at increased risk of being pushed out of teaching. The article also points to collectivized teacher-led spaces of racial literacy development—framed as critical professional development (CPD)—that have helped to sustain them in the field. These teachers’ narratives offer significant insights for teacher education to better prepare teachers of Color for long, effective, and transformative careers.
Published: 2019
Updated: May. 23, 2019
15
This article investigates the potential for promoting student engagement in academic staff development, considering specifically the agency of Student Unions (SU) or guilds. The authors found that the SU officers showed a commitment to enhancing the quality of the student experience.
Published: 2017
Updated: Dec. 06, 2018
16
The authors investigated the design and implementation of the Climate Academy, a professional development project intended to help teachers learn about climate change and support the development and implementation of climate change topics in participating teachers’ curricula. This article indicates that a focus on the science of climate change and modeling of theoretically driven pedagogical activities can help teachers improve their climate science knowledge as well as their understanding of how to teach climate science concepts by aligning content and practices with students’ local environment. Furthermore, the authors found that all teachers appreciated the opportunity to learn important content from climate experts and experience hands-on modeling during the summer institute.
Published: 2016
Updated: Nov. 11, 2018
17
The purpose of this study was to explore whether the use of virtual learning community (VLC) associated with an online teachers' professional development program enable Biology teachers to share knowledge with their peers. The findings reveal that teachers that joined the this community intensely shared knowledge both on Biological contents and didactic experiences. They seldom used the VLC-Bio for social purposes.
The authors also found that the effective participation in the collective construction of knowledge on how to teach Biology topics occurred mainly through interaction of teachers with their peers.
Published: 2014
Updated: Oct. 18, 2018
18
This study describes the visions of nine teachers over the course of seven years. The results highlight how the teachers articulated clear visions for their students that focused on helping them become motivated, successful, lifelong learners, and these teachers designed their instruction and classroom environments to support their visions. The authors found, however, these teachers encountered far more obstacles to enacting their visions than they did affordances for working toward them.
Published: 2017
Updated: Oct. 14, 2018
19
The purpose of this study was to examine whether teachers’ motivation to diagnosing, attitude toward diagnosing, the self-efficacy, their knowledge, and reflection on experience in diagnosing would predict their diagnostic competence. The authors also examined whether teachers with professional experience were more competent diagnosticians than students in the second phase of German teacher education who in turn were expected to be more competent than students in the first phase. The findings demonstrate that teachers’ motivation to diagnose and teachers’ knowledge of diagnosing are substantial predictors of teachers’ diagnostic competence.
Published: 2016
Updated: Oct. 10, 2018
20
The purpose of this study is to examine teacher-perceived capacity to meet their students’ additional support needs. This study also aims to identify perceived sources of help or hindrance in meeting students’ additional support needs, as these sources may be relevant when focusing on the improvement of teacher potential. The findings reveal that the participants perceive themselves to be fairly capable of meeting students’ additional support needs. The participants’ own competencies are perceived as being helpful in addressing all dimensions of students’ additional support needs. The teachers discern four sources of help or hindrance to which teachers attribute their success: teacher him/herself, student characteristics, school/working conditions and teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs.
Published: 2016
Updated: Sep. 04, 2018