Showing papers on "Professional development published in 1985"

Mentoring at Work: Developmental Relationships in Organizational Life

Abstract: A close look at relationships in the work place that enhance an individual's performance, development and career potential during the early, middle and late career years. The author targets three distinct audiences: individuals at every career stage, practicing managers and employees in all occupations and finally, human resource specialists, organizational researchers and psychologists. Originally published in 1985 by Scott, Foresman and Company.

Teachers Coaching Teachers.

Abstract: The Purposes of Coaching Coaching has several purposes. The first is to build communities of teachers who continuously engage in the study of their craft. Coaching is as much a communal activity, a relationship among seeking professionals, as it is the exercise of a set of skills and a vital component of training. Second, coaching develops the shared language and set of common understandings necessary for the collegial study of new knowledge and skills. Especially important is the agreement that curriculum and instruction need constant improvement and that expanding our repertoire of teaching skills requires hard work, in which the help of our colleagues is indispensable. Third, coaching provides a structure for the follow up to training that is essential for acquiring new teaching skills and strategies. Researchers on teacher training agree that transfer of skills and strategies foreign to the teacher's existing repertoire requires more substantial training than the training we typically allot to such enterprises. Coaching appears to be most appropriate when teachers wish to acquire unique configurations of teaching patterns and to master strategies that require new ways of thinking about learning objectives and the processes by which students achieve them. Minor changes, which constitute the \"fine tuning\" of existing skills, can be achieved more easily by teachers themselves. have developed programs that help teachers firm up and improve their teaching repertoires. The Process of Coaching In most settings coaching teams are organized during training designed to enhance the understanding and use of a teaching strategy or curriculum innovation. The teams study the rationale of the new skills, see them demonstrated, practice them, and learn to provide feedback to one another as they experiment with the skills. From that point on, coaching is a cyclical process designed as an extension of training. The first steps are structured to increase skill with a new teaching strategy through observation and feedback. These early sessions provide opportunities for checking performance against expert models of behavior. In our practice and study of coaching, teachers use Clinical Assessment Forms to record the presence or absence of specific behaviors and the degree of thoroughness with which they are performed. Since all the teachers learn to use the forms during initial training sessions and are provided practice by checking their own and each other's performance with these forms, they are prepared to provide feedback to each other during the coaching phase. Whether teachers are …

Dimensions of same-gender student-faculty role-model relationships

Abstract: This study investigated factors important in the establishment of same-gender student-faculty role-model relationships. Subjects were 33 females and 24 male graduate students enrolled in the same academic department who responded anonymously to scales assessing four characteristics of the role model (personal attributes, life-style and values, power and influence, and professional achievement), three parallel areas of perceived similarity between student and role model (personality, attitudes and values, and professional goals), and students' self-esteem and achievement orientation. As predicted, female students rated the role-model relationship as more important to their professional development than did male students and rated the model's personal attributes and the model's life-style and values as more important in selecting a role model. Consistent with recent theoretical views, female and male students rated both the professional skills and the personal characteristics of the faculty role model as important in establishing the role-model relationship. These findings are interpreted within a framework that considers the continuing effect of belief systems about women's and men's roles on the professional development of women.

Self-evaluation in undergraduate medical education: a longitudinal perspective.

Abstract: Although self-evaluation is crucial in the practice of medicine, few educators have formally introduced self-assessment into the undergraduate medical curriculum. However, students in the baccalaureate-M.D. degree program at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, must complete a self-evaluation at the close of every medical school course and rotation during the last four years of a six-year curriculum. In this paper, the authors examine the self-ratings of 211 of these students as they progressed through the program in order to discover trends in and correlates of the self-assessments. Although the students' self-evaluations and faculty members' ratings of these students' performances rose year by year, the relationship between the students' and the faculty's ratings decreased through time. Yet, results suggest that self-evaluation has educational merit as a measure of noncognitive abilities associated with clinical performance and as a stimulus to further learning and professional development.

Ethical issues in graduate education: Faculty and student responsibilities.

Abstract: (1985). Ethical Issues in Graduate Education. The Journal of Higher Education: Vol. 56, No. 4, pp. 403-418.

Japanese Management: What About the “Hard” Skills?

Abstract: Many writers on Japanese management emphasize the importance of “soft” skill, staff, style, and superordinate goal factors in managing successful organizations. It is argued here that Japanese firms face turbulent environments, making the “hard” factors of strategy, structure, and systems necessary for success. The idea of organizational learning is used to explain how Japanese firms' hard skills have equalled and sometimes surpassed those of Western firms, despite the limited professional education of Japanese managers.

Skills for Successful School Leaders

Abstract: This textbook provides a curriculum for administrator preparation courses based on guidelines established in 1979 by the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) Advisory Committee on Higher Education Relationships. Each chapter provides ideas for successful practices and suggested activities to provide actual experience in each area of study, followed by a checklist of essential skills and a list of resources. After a brief introduction, remaining chapters are devoted to the following skills: (1) designing, implementing, and evaluating school climate; (2) building support for schools; (3) developing school curriculum; (4) instructional management; (5) staff evaluation; (6) staff development; (7) allocating resources; and (8) educational research, evaluation, and planning. The final chapter summarizes considerations in building and using these skills. An appendix entitled "Megachallenges" discusses current societal trends with compelling significance for school leaders.(TE) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** US. OFSARTNIENT OF SOUCA11011 NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION EOUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERICI t(This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization

Fieldwork Experience, Part I: Impact on Practice Preference

Abstract: Occupational therapy students and student supervisors in 65 fieldwork centers nationwide responded to a survey designed a) to appraise the relative value of the fieldwork experience in the occupational therapist's professional development and b) to identify the elements perceived as being essential to a good fieldwork experience. Three stages of professional development were examined: the preprofessional, the academic, and the fieldwork experience. Results suggest that the fieldwork experience stage has the greatest impact on the development of a therapist's preference for a specific area of clinical practice. This article discusses the primary influences in the three stages that contribute to this preference formation.

A taxonomy of objectives for professional education

Abstract: A discussion of available ways of analysing and specifying educational objectives shows that none is adequate for considering professional education. A new taxonomy of educational objectives designed to meet this need is described. The classification is based on a description of personal attributes under the main headings: knowledge, skill and personal qualities. The application of the taxonomy to the analysis and design of curricula is discussed together with implications for learning experiences and assessment. It is suggested that the taxonomy could have applications in other areas of education as an aid to clarity of thought about educational objectives.

Sources of strain between physicians and social workers: implications for social workers in health care settings.

Abstract: This paper analyzes the sources of strain between the professions of medicine and social work. The two professions are compared in relation to (1) the organization and socialization process of professional training; (2) perspectives on patient care, illness and role of the health care professional; (3) attitudes toward knowledge and data; (4) attitudes toward and preparation for team-work; (5) perspectives on the role of the patient; (6) perceptions of social work's function.

Student Satisfaction with Field Placement

Abstract: Students' perceptions of their field placements rarely are taken into account in the literature on field practicum and supervision. This survey of MSW students at a southern university examines factors associated with student satisfaction with field agency, field instructor, and field learning. The survey covers student and agency characteristics, learning goals and structure, supervision, and school-agency linkages. Students associated the quality of supervision and relevance of learning most highly with satisfaction in their placement experiences. Being treated as a professional in the agency, school-agency linkages, student characteristics, and amount of time engaged in specific social work activities were found not to be major factors in student satisfaction with field work.

Leadership and the Perceived Effectiveness of Department Chairpersons.

Abstract: In the last several years, considerable attention has focused on the role, function, and evaluation of the academic department chairperson [2, 5, 13, 17, 43]. This recent attention is long overdue. Although the department chairperson's position has been widely acknowledged as vital to the operation of colleges and universities, it has suffered from a general lack of attention from educational researchers.

Developmental Stresses of Psychology Internship Training: What Training Staff Can Do to Help

Abstract: This article, written from the perspective of both a recent intern and an internship director, discusses some of the major stresses of the internship year, including adjusting to a new program, developing a sense of trust in the training staff, questioning one's competence as a psychotherapist, taking risks to learn new skills with different patient groups, accurately assessing one's own strengths and weaknesses, and planning one's professional life after the internship. The internship year is viewed as part of the "professional adolescence" of clinical psychologists. In this year, interns pass through the stages of a separationindividuation 'process, similar to that described by Mahler and her colleagues. Internship staff members need to be aware of the personal and professional developmental needs of each intern. Helpful recommendations for training staff during each stage of the intern's development are presented. Although there is a wealth of information in psychology about emotional (Mahler, Pine, & Bergman, 1975), social (Erikson, 1968), cognitive (Piaget, 1952), and moral (Kohlberg, 1969) development, only recently has attention been paid to one's development as a professional (Hess, 1980; Lewis, 1978; Schuster, Sandt, & Thaler, 1972). During the internship year—a major stage in the professional life cycle of a clinical psychologist—a sequence of conflicts typically emerges. Viewing psychology interns from a developmental perspective helps the training staff to better understand the intern's experience and to suggest ways in which the staff can respond effectively. Just as parents need to be attuned to their children's developmental needs, supervisors, in general (Friedman & Kaslow, in press), and internship staff members, in particular, can offer more meaningful relationships when they are aware of their interns' professional and personal stages of development. Erikson (1968), in detailing the stages of the life cycle, described adolescence as the time in the individual's life when the crisis of identity is central. For many psychologists, graduate school represents the prolongation of their personal adolescence, and the internship year often is perceived as a transition period from professional adolescence to professional adulthood. One's internship, as with other facets of one's adolescence, is often accompanied by feelings of "sturm und drung" (Hall, 1905). It is perhaps surprising that the internship year, typically only one fifth of a graduate student's training, holds such significance for the intern. For example, applying for an internship is viewed as such a time of stress that the "Survival Guide for Intern Applicants" (Belar & Orgel, 1980) has been written. Just as adolescence encompasses that transition from childhood to adulthood, the internship year, for many, is a time of transition from being a student to being a professional. Interns are still in training, yet on most internships they have a good deal of professional responsibility. "Am I just a student or am I a competent professional who can function independently?" is a question interns frequently struggle with. Developmentally, adolescence is also a time when there are so many different demands that the adolescent feels torn in a variety

Performance Assessment for Teacher Development

Abstract: Interest in assessing teacher performance has heightened in the last decade. More than ever before, parents want assurance that teachers are competent professionals. Just when schools are plagued by spiraling costs, declining enrollments, and dwindling resources, educators are pressed to seek better ways of assuring quality instruction. Effective teacher evaluation is one way to reach that goal. Educators are concerned about teacher evaluation for many specific reasons. However, as Millman (1981) notes, we can distinguish between two major types of teacher evaluation: formative and summative. The goal of formative evaluation is to identify teachers' own strengths and weaknesses and plan appropriate professional development activities. Summative evaluation results, on the other hand, provide a base for administrative decisions involving hiring and firing, promotion and tenure, assignments and salary. Clearly, formative and summative evaluations serve different purposes, but both are important. Summative evaluations are designed to ensure that highly qualified educators enter the profession and continue teaching. Formative evaluations help those already teaching to develop and refine vital skills. Most teacher evaluation conducted today attempts to do both simultaneously. In practice, however, most evaluation practices address summative goals. Formative teacher evaluation-potentially important in instructional improvement and individual development-often assumes a secondary role. Neither summative nor formative teacher evaluations, as currently conducted, serve their respective purposes as well as they might. Neither the environment in which summative evaluation is conducted nor the assessment procedures used for that evaluation are as effective as they could be. Formative evaluation offers a potential seldom realized simply because it demands more time and effort than many evaluators can afford. In both cases, a new course of action is needed if the potential of teacher evaluation is to be realized. The research project described in this report is an attempt to chart part of that course. This investigation addresses problems and solutions associated with formative evaluation. We do not wish to imply that formative evaluation is necessarily more important than summative. Both are potentially valuable. But issues of teacher selection, retention, and promotion are already receiving widespread consideration; we feel teacher improvement needs more effort and attention. If overall school improvement is our primary goal, then teachers' professional growth and development become paramount. This research was conducted under contract #400-83-0005 with the National Institute of Education. Opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the position of NIE, and no official endorsement should be inferred.

Evaluating the Performance of Principals: A Descriptive Study.

Abstract: Building principals and district administrators were surveyed regarding procedures used to evaluate the performance of principals. Results suggest specific areas in which commonly used procedures could be improved. Differences of opinion between principals and their supervisors are discussed and implications are explored.

Enlightened Mentoring: A Characteristic of Public Management Professionalism.

Abstract: Mentoring in public service organizations is increasingly accepted as beneficial to management effectiveness. This research indicates that the long-term success of mentoring is contingent on implementation and on how it is perceived by those involved. Most readers of management literature are probably aware that the term "mentor" is derived from Homer's The Odyssey. Mentor was the friend to whom Odysseus entrusted his son, Telemachus, for wise care and development. The goddess Athena later disguised herself as Mentor to advise the young Telemachus. It is assumed that Telemachus more effectively learned much from Mentor in his formative years that enabled him to weather future challenges. Now, as in other fields, 20th century management appropriately uses the term mentor to mean a coach, a guide, or a teacher in a wide variety of one-on-one relationships for executive nurturing. Recently, government and business managers, as well as researchers, have recognized the increasing and important role which mentors perform in the development of executives. The value of mentors who contribute to the development of potential talents has been well documented in the arts and in the business world, but mentoring has not been rigorously evaluated in public management. Gerald Roche surveyed top business executives and found those who have a mentor derive greater satisfaction from their careers and work.' Gene Dalton et al.2 and others3 have described two major stages in the career development of business managers to include having a mentor and being a mentor. Dan Levinson et al. have described the mentor relationship as being important in the development of an adult.4 Harry Levinson has profiled the top executive as a wellrounded, mature adult, one who has likely been mentored.5 And Donald S. Perkins, chief executive officer of the Jewel Companies, has said, "Everyone who succeeds has had a mentor or mentors."6

Job Satisfaction of Community College Faculty.

Abstract: Community college faculty (_n = 390) completed the Job Satisfaction Inventory. Areas of greatest satisfaction included relationships with supervisors and colleagues as well as satisfaction with the actual task of teaching. Faculty were least satisfied with opportunities for professional development, time allocation, and somewhat less satisfied with the preparation and motivation of their students. Differences between men and women faculty are noted.

Six Major Functions of Staff Development: An Expanded Imperative:

Abstract: The characteristics of effective staff development programs and inservice activities are beginning to emerge. Furthermore, the author suggests, six specific purposes for staff development are impli...

Academic Development Units and the Improvement of Teaching.

Abstract: A survey of those educational development practices which directors of educational (academic) development units in Australia found most effective in their institutions for the improvement of teaching was conducted in late 1983. The responses are presented and discussed. Academic staff are one of the targets of educational development. A series of interviews with 100 academic staff of the University of Queensland at about the same time confirmed that the approaches taken by units for improving teaching are approved of by staff. In particular staff recognised and valued the connection between evaluation and development. The staff development programme at the University of Queensland responded to the expressed needs of staff for specific developmental activities. It is described as one example of a systematic approach to staff development with emphasis on formal workshops/seminar sessions and evaluation of teaching. Practicalities and problems are discussed.