International Portal of Teacher Education
The online resource of academic content on teacher training and teacher education
Section archive - Professional Development
Page 18/39
386 items
171
The current study reports the relationship of an undergraduate course in family and community relations to the teaching practices of 1st-, 2nd-, and 3rd-year elementary and early childhood education graduates of a mid-sized Midwestern university. Quantitative measures indicated minimal differences between groups. Qualitatively, however, treatment group members reported engaging families in creative, less standardized levels of involvement than members of the control group.
Published: 2011
Updated: Apr. 22, 2012
172
The purpose of this article is to address the issue of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) evaluation in education.
The paper focuses on what are often called ‘level’ models for evaluating development and training.
These models draw on an evaluation tradition which posits that programme design and implementation involve a series of inter-related components and the role of evaluation is to assess one or more of these components and the inter-relationships between them.
Published: 2011
Updated: Apr. 18, 2012
173
This longitudinal study considers beginning teachers’ perspectives relating to the challenges of finding and holding employment and of succeeding in their careers and classrooms. The participants were a group of student teachers who completed one-year Professional Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) in geography at the same Scottish university in 2005–2006. Three issues shaping new teacher identities within the current Scottish context have been identified: employment uncertainty, New Teacher Induction Scheme ethos and expectations, and ensuring continuous and secure EPL.
Published: 2010
Updated: Apr. 18, 2012
174
This article reports on an exploratory study that identifies indicators of convergent vs. non-convergent adaptation in two cases of teachers working together on a technology-based curriculum construction activity. The article explores the relationship between group characteristics and adaptation processes. The authors have used the core complex systems concept of adaptation as a lens for understanding how and why some teachers are better able to adapt to the educational program requirements.
Published: 2010
Updated: Feb. 13, 2012
175
This paper describes the professional development program Starting Right: Mathematics in Preschools. The article demonstrates how engaging preschool teachers with challenging tasks may promote their subject matter knowledge as well as their pedagogical content knowledge, leading to an interweaving of knowledge and practice.
Published: 2011
Updated: Feb. 06, 2012
176
The purpose of this study was to examine the influence a yearlong inquiry professional development program had on chemistry teachers’ beliefs and use of inquiry-based teaching practices. The participants in this study were seven high school chemistry teachers who took part in a professional development program for science teachers. In conclusion, this PD program succeeded to change the ways teachers perceived their role in the classroom by the positive experiences in learning through an inquiry approach which engaged teachers to reconstruct their own chemistry content knowledge.
Published: 2011
Updated: Jan. 03, 2012
177
The current paper presents the findings from the third study in a longitudinal research project examining newly qualified teachers’ (NQTs) motivation for teaching and how they retrospectively value their teacher education. The results indicate that teachers are motivated both by working with their subject matter and by teaching. However, this study reveals a high rate of attrition, with 40 percent having left the profession.
Published: 2011
Updated: Dec. 29, 2011
178
This article investigates stakeholders’ views on the desirability of collaborative continuing professional development (CPD) and examines potential barriers from a Scottish perspective. This article draws on two empirical projects which each investigates the perceptions of Scottish teachers regarding CPD. The research discussed in this article suggests that a greater balance of forms and purpose of CPD is desirable. However, the policy context within which Scottish teachers currently work focuses on an individualized, standards-based framework.
Published: 2011
Updated: Dec. 29, 2011
179
This article examines three possible influences on the impact of teacher professional development as a mechanism for improving teaching and learning. These influences are those from the individual teacher, those from the school and those from the activities in which teachers participate. Data were collected from a national sample of primary and secondary teachers in England. The results reveal that teachers in high performing schools participate in professional development activities that are longer in duration, more active and more collaborative in implementation. In contrast, teachers in the lowest performing schools report high levels of performance management conditions and participate in activities that are short in duration.
Published: 2011
Updated: Dec. 07, 2011
180
This article examines a hypothesized model of teacher orientation to learning and its relationship to teacher learning change. The results show that teachers bring an internal, external and collaborative orientation to their professional learning. The beliefs and practices associated with these orientations are also shown to have a moderate influence on teacher learning change.
Published: 2011
Updated: Dec. 06, 2011