International Portal of Teacher Education
The online resource of academic content on teacher training and teacher education
Section archive - Professional Development
Page 6/37
364 items
51
This article presents a measurement instrument (TERDS) to measure teacher educators’ self-reported researcherly disposition throughout their working lives. The first part of the article reports the results of factor analysis (EFA and CFA), which suggest a four-factor structure of teacher educators’ researcherly disposition: (1) ‘ valuing research’, (2) ‘being a smart consumer of research’, (3) ‘ being able to conduct research’, and (4) ‘conducting research’. Goodness of fit estimates were calculated, indicating good fit. The authors conclude that by using the instrument to explore differences between several subgroups of teacher educators, this study enhances empirical understanding of a previously ‘undiscovered’ and ‘neglected’ professional group.
Published: 2016
Updated: Feb. 22, 2017
52
The authors hypothesized that online professional development might serve not only as a way to gain prerequisite experience but as an important learning venue for preparing future online teachers. Findings of the study suggested that teacher-learners who participated in two online summer courses not only demonstrated mastery of course content but also learned a great deal from that experience about online learning and teaching. Their online learning experiences served as a third curriculum added to that of the courses’ intended curriculum.
Published: 2015
Updated: Feb. 22, 2017
53
This research broadly focuses on two distinct concerns: the first relates to what constitutes high-quality professional learning; and the second relates to the implementation of professional learning at the classroom level. This paper addresses each of these concerns by identifying the features of effective professional learning: focus, learning components, feedback, collaborative practices, temporal elements and coherence. The analysis of the three-case study schools suggests that the greatest benefit of system-based professional learning is the level of coherence it can provide.
Published: 2016
Updated: Jan. 09, 2017
54
This article explores some of the key issues that emerged in the revision of the professional standards in Scottish education which resulted in a suite of professional standards covering different stages of a teacher’s career. The revision of the professional standards was part of a wider project to build teacher professional learning in ways that had an impact on practice and on pupil learning. The focus then turns to an alternative way of constructing a professional standard in order to foster authentic forms of professional learning. The article concludes by exploring the issues that need to be addressed to facilitate the productive use of professional standards in the career-long professional learning of teachers.
Published: 2016
Updated: Dec. 19, 2016
55
The present study compared Chinese kindergarten teachers' values and perceptions of program quality with trained raters' assessments of quality in order to gain insights into effective professional development for improving teacher quality. Results shows teachers' beliefs of quality is the strongest predictor of their self-assessment. Implications of the findings for professional development are provided, along with limitations of the current study and recommendations for future studies.
Published: 2014
Updated: Oct. 05, 2016
56
This article argues the need for coherent, holistic frameworks offering insightful understandings as well as viable, connected and synergistic solutions to schools in addressing pressing problems arising from the acknowledged gaps between research, practice and professional development. Specifically, three themes conceptualise existing problems faced by schools and their possible solutions: first, bridging the research–policy–practice gap by mobilising knowledge more effectively through knowledge producers and consumers working collaboratively; second, valuing and integrating both tacit knowledge and academic coded knowledge; and third, raising the professionalism and reflectivity of teachers and leaders.
Published: 2016
Updated: Sep. 28, 2016
57
Continuing Professional Development – Why Bother? Perceptions and Motivations of Teachers in Ireland
This article aims to focus on the motivating and inhibiting factors relating to teachers’ engagement with continuing professional development (CPD) and to analyse the data in relation to Herzberg et al.’s (1959) two-factor theory, as a means of drawing implications for the future provision of CPD in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The findings indicate that teachers’ intrinsic motivation to seek out their own CPD continues to apply to actually engaging in CPD. Teachers in this study expressed a preference both to seek out and to pursue CPD areas that they valued for their own personal reasons and in response to their own personal and/or professional needs. The findings demonstrate that intrinsic (personal) factors – namely career advancement, potential growth and achievement – were the chief catalysts in motivating teachers in this study to engage in CPD.
Published: 2016
Updated: Aug. 03, 2016
58
The purpose of this study was (a) to examine the manner in which teachers who were experiencing the implementation of an organisational reform perceived their own professional development process, and (b) to observe the manifestations of these perceptions in the development patterns exhibited among the teachers. The findings identified two dimensions that characterise teachers’ professional- development perceptions and goals: teachers differ from each other in terms of the source of their motivation for professional development (intrinsic or extrinsic), and in the type of development they aim for (lateral or vertical).
Published: 2016
Updated: Jul. 12, 2016
59
This article reports on two approaches to teacher professional learning in which the use of challenging tasks was the focus. In the first case, two full days of professional learning were followed by the opportunity to teach up to ten challenging tasks. In the second case, teachers observed three lessons built around challenging tasks taught by members of the project team. This article describes the professional learning approaches, illustrates the kinds of tasks involved, and discusses similarities and differences in the data within and between the two groups of teachers. It also discusses affordances and limitations of the two professional learning approaches.
Published: 2014
Updated: Jul. 04, 2016
60
The paper will present a case study that investigates the experience of student teachers who simultaneously experience the role of the learner, who requires self-direction, and the role of the teacher, who expands his tool kit so that his students will become self-directed learners. The case study is based on an experiment conducted with students studying for a master’s degree in teaching the sciences. The analysis shows a gap between the recognition of the importance of self-direction in learning and its expression with regard to them as learners and teachers. From the analysis it emerges that most of the participants did not perceive the process of cultivating self-direction in their students as part of their role. The course directed them to a different kind of encounter with their students, and in the process, they identified difficulty in their own self-direction in the learning process.
Published: 2016
Updated: May. 10, 2016