Section archive - Professional Development

This study examined whether and how an on-site and research–teacher community of practice model for professional development addressed challenges to classroom practices in a Head Start program. The findings revealed several challenges to classroom practice that aligned with previous research: existing practices did not always cohere with research-based practice, lack of planning between the lead and assistant teachers, and high teacher turnover. The authors suggest recommendations for establishing an on-site teacher-researcher community of practice model for professional development.

The article describes a study that explores how teachers participating in PD courses perceive the qualities and benefits of such courses, and the variables that affect these perceptions. A secondary goal of the study was to determine whether it is possible to differentiate between variables inherent in the manner in which the courses are conducted and other variables. The study findings validate the strong connection between two key compounded variables affecting outcomes of PD programs: teachers' professional and personal motivation towards the program and the relevancy of the program contents to their needs. Motivation is further enhanced through the trainee's participation in the program, thereby constituting a major leverage for reaching the PD goals and achieving beneficial outcomes.

In this article, the authors propose cultural-historical activity theory as a framework for understanding the opportunities that arise for students and teachers from the presence of researchers in the classroom. They analyze three vignettes from their research in elementary mathematics classrooms for the purpose of illustrating a cultural-historical activity theoretic explanation of the interaction. Finally, the authors suggest that the “impact” of research can be increased at least locally when participants capitalize on the opportunities that arise for teaching and learning when researchers are present.

This article aims to guide language teacher educators to address novice teacher emotion systematically in the learning-to-teach experience. The authors used a scheme of a complete orienting basis of the action (SCOBA) to orient language teacher educators as they respond to novice teacher emotions in the activity of journal writing. This analysis demonstrates that emotional content is pervasive in this novice teacher’s journals, and that her emotions are tied to her perezhivanie and her thinking about and activity/outcomes of her teaching. The authors argue that the SCOBA highlights that teacher expression of emotion is intertwined with cognition and activity as part of the developmental process of beginning teachers, and can be addressed in mediation.