Showing papers on "Professional development published in 2004"
TL;DR: Teacher professional development is essential to efforts to improve our schools and as discussed by the authors provides an overview of what we have learned as a field, about effective professional development programs and their impact on teacher learning and suggests some important directions and strategies for extending our knowledge into new territory of questions not yet explored.
Abstract: Teacher professional development is essential to efforts to improve our schools. This article maps the terrain of research on this important topic. It first provides an overview of what we have learned as a field, about effective professional development programs and their impact on teacher learning. It then suggests some important directions and strategies for extending our knowledge into new territory of questions not yet explored.
3,861 citations
TL;DR: This article proposes an alternative framework to account for individual differences in attained professional development, as well as many aspects of age-related decline, based on the assumption that acquisition of expert performance requires engagement in deliberate practice and that continued deliberate practice is necessary for maintenance of many types of professional performance.
Abstract: The factors that cause large individual differences in professional achievement are only partially understood. Nobody becomes an outstanding professional without experience, but extensive experience does not invariably lead people to become experts. When individuals are first introduced to a professional domain after completing their education, they are often overwhelmed and rely on help from others to accomplish their responsibilities. After months or years of experience, they attain an acceptable level of proficiency and are able to work independently. Although everyone in a given domain tends to improve with experience initially, some develop faster than others and continue to improve during ensuing years. These individuals are eventually recognized as experts and masters. In contrast, most professionals reach a stable, average level of performance within a relatively short time frame and maintain this mediocre status for the rest of their careers. The nature of the individual differences that cause the large variability in attained performance is still debated. The most common explanation is that achievement in a given domain is limited by innate factors that cannot be changed through experience and training; hence, limits of attainable performance are determined by one’s basic endowments, such as abilities, mental capacities, and innate talents. Educators with this widely held view of professional development have focused on identifying and selecting students who possess the necessary innate talents that would allow them to reach expert levels with adequate experience. Therefore, the best schools and professional organizations nearly always rely on extensive testing and interviews to find the most talented applicants. This general view also explains age-related declines in professional achievement in terms of the inevitable reductions in general abilities and capacities believed to result from aging. In this article, I propose an alternative framework to account for individual differences in attained professional development, as well as many aspects of age-related decline. This framework is based on the assumption that acquisition of expert performance requires engagement in deliberate practice and that continued deliberate practice is necessary for maintenance of many types of professional performance. In order to contrast this alternative framework with the traditional view, I first describe the account based on innate talent. I then provide a brief review of the evidence on deliberate practice in the acquisition of expert performance in several performance domains, including music, chess, and sports. Finally, I review evidence from the acquisition and maintenance of expert performance in medicine and examine the role of deliberate practice in this domain.
2,492 citations
TL;DR: A review of recent research on teachers' professional identity can be divided into three categories: (1) studies in which the focus was on teachers’ professional identity formation, (2) studies that were focused on the identification of characteristics of teachers professional identity, and (3) studies where professional identity was (re)presented by teachers' stories.
2,355 citations
01 Jan 2004
TL;DR: The idea of improving schools by developing professional learning communities is currently in vogue as discussed by the authors, and people use this term to describe every imaginable combination of individuals with an interest in education, such as grade-level teaching teams, a school committee, a high school department, an entire school district, a state department of education, a national professional organization, and so on.
Abstract: The idea of improving schools by developing professional learning communities is currently in vogue. People use this term to describe every imaginable combination of individuals with an interest in education—a grade-level teaching team, a school committee, a high school department, an entire school district, a state department of education, a national professional organization, and so on. In fact, the term has been used so ubiquitously that it is in danger of losing all meaning.
1,035 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the learning that occurred as four middle school mathematics teachers participated in a year-long series of video club meetings and found that discourse in the video clubs shifted from a primary focus on the teacher to increased attention to students' actions and ideas.
639 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focus on the implementation and development of ICT in the education sector, challenging and developing the traditional learning environment whilst introducing new educational tools including e-learning.
Abstract: In this article, we focus on the implementation and development of ICT in the education sector, challenging and developing the traditional learning environment whilst introducing new educational tools including e-learning. The paper investigates ICT as a tool empowering and developing learners lifelong learning opportunities. It defines a model of ICT development and identifies three core development stages through which basic skills, ICT skills, and lifelong learning skills are acquired. The paper further gives a description of the ICT impact on labour and education markets, the current state of development of ICT at school in EU and the needs for further investment in this area. The findings of this paper suggest that such investment is likely to have positive effects when geared towards blended learning approaches built on comprehensive policy ...
617 citations
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01 Sep 2004TL;DR: Action research has recently gained increasing credibility in the academic world as a form of inquiry particularly relevant to the professions as mentioned in this paper, and it has been used in practitioner research, teacher education, professional development, curriculum development, evaluation, policy development, and social change.
Abstract: This article presents an overview of the development and current status of action research. Emerging first in the 1940s, this form of inquiry has recently gained increasing credibility in the academic world as a form of inquiry particularly relevant to the professions. The article describes the variety of definitions, approaches, and perspectives encompassed by those who practice action research, and provides insight into the philosophical differences that underpin these different orientations. It also describes the different applications of action research in educational settings, including its use in practitioner research, teacher education, professional development, curriculum development, evaluation, policy development, and social change.
610 citations
TL;DR: A structured analysis of more than 300 research-based articles on mentoring across three discipline areas is drawn on in an attempt to make more valid inferences about the nature and outcomes of mentoring.
Abstract: The sheer volume of literature on mentoring across a variety of disciplines is an indication of the high profile it has been afforded in recent years. This article draws on a structured analysis of more than 300 research-based articles on mentoring across three discipline areas in an attempt to make more valid inferences about the nature and outcomes of mentoring. It begins by reporting on the findings compiled from a database of research articles from educational contexts. These research-based articles are examined to determine the positive and more problematic outcomes of mentoring for the mentor, mentee, and the organization. A discussion of the findings from two other databases, namely, 151 research-based articles from business contexts and 82 articles from medical contexts, is provided, and commonalities across the three databases are highlighted. The article concludes with a discussion of key issues that administrators responsible for establishing mentoring programs should consider to maximize the experience of mentoring for all stakeholders.
597 citations
01 Apr 2004
TL;DR: Barab et al. as mentioned in this paper proposed a model for virtual communities in the service of learning, and used social network analysis to study online learning communities with a focus on personal, interpersonal, and community aspects.
Abstract: Part I. Coming To Terms With Community: 1. Introduction: designing for virtual communities in the service of learning Sasha Barab, Rob Kling and James Gray 2. Models of community learning and online learning in communities Margaret Riel and Linda Polin Part II. Designing for Web-supported Community: 3. Designing system dualities: building online community Sasha Barab, James MaKinster and Rebecca Scheckler 4. Characterizing collective behavior online: the social organization of hangouts, clubs, associations, teams and communities Rob Kling and Christina Courtright 5. Online teacher communities: technology snake-oil or powerful catalysts for professional development? Mark Schlager and Judi Fucso 6. Community of practice a metaphor for online design? Thomas Schwen Part III. Characterizing Community/Member Participation: 7. Autonomy, interaction and knowledge-building as bases for learning at the math forum Ann Renninger 8. An exploration of community in a knowledge forum classroom: an activity system analysis Jim Hewitt 9. Co-evolution of technological design and pedagogy in an online learning community Amy Bruckman 10. From ambitious vision to partially satisfying reality: an evolving socio-technical design supporting community and collaborative learning in teaching education Sharon Derry, Julia Lee, Jong-Baeg Kim and Jennifer Seymour Part IV. Researching Online Community: 11. Using social network analysis to study online learning communities Emmanuel Koku and Barry Wellman 12. Computer-mediated discourse analysis: an approach to researching online communities Susan Herring 13. Shared 'we' and shared 'they' indicators of group identity in online teacher professional development Kirk Sluder and Sasha Barab 14. Sociocultural analysis of online professional development: a case study of personal, interpersonal, and community aspects James Gray and Deborah Tatar.
552 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors describe an effort to evaluate California's Mathematics Professional Development Institutes (MPDIs) using novel measures of knowledge for teaching mathematics and find that teachers participating in the MPDIs improved their performance on these measures during the extended summer workshop portion of their experience.
Abstract: Widespread agreement exists that U.S. teachers need improved mathematics knowl- edge for teaching. Over the past decade, policymakers have funded a range of profes- sional development efforts designed to address this need. However, there has been little success in determining whether and when teachers develop mathematical knowl- edge from professional development, and if so, what features of professional devel- opment contribute to such teacher learning. This was due, in part, to a lack of measures of teachers' content knowledge for teaching mathematics. This article attempts to fill these gaps. In it we describe an effort to evaluate California's Mathematics Professional Development Institutes (MPDIs) using novel measures of knowledge for teaching mathematics. Our analyses showed that teachers participating in the MPDIs improved their performance on these measures during the extended summer workshop portion of their experience. This analysis also suggests that program length as measured in days in the summer workshop and workshop focus on mathematical analysis, reasoning, and communication predicted teachers' learning.
537 citations
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01 Jan 2004
TL;DR: Wilson as discussed by the authors discussed the need for autonomy and obligation in teaching, and the need to learn from experience in order to achieve knowledge growth and knowledge and teaching in the context of educational reform.
Abstract: Sources. About the Author. Acknowledgments. Foreword (Pat Hutchings, The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching). Introduction (Suzanne M. Wilson, Michigan State University). 1. Reconstruction of Educational Research. 2. Psychology and Mathematics Education. 3. The Psychology of School Subjects: A Premature Obituary? 4. Autonomy and Obligation: The Remote Control of Teaching. 5. The Practical and the Eclectic: A Deliberation on Teaching and Educational Research. 6. Those Who Understand: Knowledge Growth in Teaching. 7. Knowledge and Teaching: Foundations of the New Reform. 8. The Wisdom of Practice: Managing Complexity in Medicine and Teaching. 9. Disciplines of Inquiry in Education: A New Overview. 10. Teaching Alone, Learning Together: Needed Agendas for the New Reforms. 11. The Paradox of Teacher Assessment. 12. A Union of Insufficiencies: Strategies for Teacher Assessment in a Period of Educational Reform. 13. Research on Teaching: A Historical and Personal Perspective. 14. Teacher Portfolios: A Theoretical Activity. 15. Aristotle Had It Right: On Knowledge and Pedagogy. 16. Joseph Jackson Schwab (1909 1988). 17. Calm Seas, Auspicious Gales. 18. Teaching as Community Property: Putting an End to Pedagogical Solitude. 19. Just in Case: Reflections on Learning from Experience. 20. Communities of Learners and Communities of Teachers. 21. Professional Development: Learning from Experience. 22. Theory, Practice, and the Education of Professionals. 23. Professing the Liberal Arts. Index.
TL;DR: This paper presented a conceptual framework for deconstruction of deficit thinking through staff development, and discussed assumptions and beliefs about culturally diverse students and families that they have encountered in low performing schools, and illustrate how such beliefs may be successfully challenged and reframed.
Abstract: Studies of comprehensive school reform suggest that such efforts often fail because of educators’ unwillingness to examine the root causes of underachievement and of failure among students from low-income and racially or ethnically diverse backgrounds and because of their tendency to locate the problem within students, families, and communities. Drawing on their research and professional development experiences, the authors present a conceptual framework for the deconstruction of deficit thinking through staff development. Next, they discuss assumptions and beliefs about culturally diverse students and families that they have encountered in low performing schools, and they illustrate how such beliefs may be successfully challenged and reframed.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss the time needed to develop expertise in teaching and the highly contextual nature of the expertise in pedagogy, in general and expertise in education in particular.
Abstract: Propositions about the nature of expertise, in general, and expertise in pedagogy, in particular, are discussed. The time needed to develop expertise in teaching and the highly contextual nature of...
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01 Oct 2004TL;DR: The authors and their collaborators present in this article data on the formative experience, practices, and development of psychotherapists at all career levels across national borders across the world.
Abstract: The authors and their collaborators present in this book data on the formative experience, practices, and development of psychotherapists at all career levels across national borders. Includes over 50 tables compiled in appendices.
TL;DR: The authors describe a professional development model with promise for supporting meaningful shifts in practice, with a focus on explicating the interface between collaborative inquiry in a learning community and teachers' self-regulated learning.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present a list of schools and school districts with successful teacher induction programs, all easily replicable and easily adaptable to individual schools and districts, with a focus on teacher and teaching quality as the most powerful predictors of student success.
Abstract: This article features schools and school districts with successful induction programs, all easily replicable. Increasingly, research confirms that teacher and teaching quality are the most powerful predictors of student success. In short, principals ensure higher student achievement by assuring better teaching. To do this, effective administrators have a new teacher induction program available for all newly hired teachers, which then seamlessly becomes part of the lifelong, sustained professional development program for the district or school. What keeps a good teacher are structured, sustained, intensive professional development programs that allow new teachers to observe others, to be observed by others, and to be part of networks or study groups where all teachers share together, grow together, and learn to respect each other's work.
TL;DR: The results show statistically significant increases on curriculum-based test scores for each year of participation and the strength of the effects grew over the years, as evidenced by increasing effect size estimates across the years as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: Science education standards established by American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and the National Research Council (NRC) urge less emphasis on memorizing scientific facts and more emphasis on students investigating the everyday world and developing deep understanding from their inquiries. These approaches to instruction challenge teachers and students, particularly urban students who often have additional challenges related to poverty. We report data on student learning spanning 3 years from a science education reform collaboration with the Detroit Public Schools. Data were collected from nearly 8,000 students who participated in inquiry-based and technology-infused curriculum units that were collaboratively developed by district personnel and staff from the University of Michigan as part of a larger, district-wide systemic reform effort in science education. The results show statistically significant increases on curriculum-based test scores for each year of participation. Moreover, the strength of the effects grew over the years, as evidenced by increasing effect size estimates across the years. The findings indicate that students who historically are low achievers in science can succeed in standards-based, inquiry science when curriculum is carefully developed and aligned with professional development and district policies. Additional longitudinal research on the development of student understanding over multiple inquiry projects, the progress of teacher enactment over time, and the effect of changes in the policy and administrative environment would further contribute to the intellectual and practical tools necessary to implement meaningful standards-based systemic reform in science. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 41: 1063–1080, 2004
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01 Feb 2004
TL;DR: Guskey et al. as discussed by the authors presented a critical overview of the role of CPD for professional development in the development of teachers in the recent Australian experience and highlighted the need for evidence-based practice.
Abstract: Foreword, Tom Guskey Part 1: A Critical Overview Chapter 1, 'Professionalism, Performativity and Empowerment: Discourses in the Politics, Policies and Purposes of Continuing Professional Development', Christopher Day and Judyth Sachs Chapter 2, 'Literature, definition and models: towards a conceptual map', Ray Bolam and Agnes McMahon Part 2: Regional Case Studies Chapter 3, 'Rhetorics and Realities of C.P.D. across Europe: from Cacophony towards Coherence?', Ciaran Sugrue Chapter 4, '"Looking at Student Work" in the United States: Countervailing Impulses in Professional Development', Judith Warren Little Chapter 5, 'Continuing Professional Development Policies and Practices in the Latin American Region', Beatrice Avalos Chapter 6, 'Teacher Professional Development - Themes and Trends in the Recent Australian Experience', Shirley Grundy and Judith Robison Chapter 7, 'Case Studies from Sub-Saharan Africa', Pam Christie, Ken Harley and Alan Penny Chapter 8, 'Teachers Networks: a new approach to the professional development of teachers in Singapore', David Tripp Part 3: CPD for Professional Renewal Chapter 9, 'CPD for Professional Renewal: Moving Beyond Knowledge for Practice', Geert Kelchtermans Chapter 10, 'Critical Practitioner Inquiry: Towards Responsible Professional Communities of Practice', Susan Groundwater-Smith and Marion Dadds Chapter 11, 'Using Research to Improve Practice: The notion of evidence-based practice', John Elliott Chapter 12, 'Evaluating Continuing Professional Development: an overview', Daniel Muijs, Christopher Day, Alma Harris and Geoff Lindsay
01 Jan 2004
TL;DR: This book discusses the uses of learning journals journals in teaching and learning in HE journals in professional education and development learning journals and personal development, and reflective writing examples of journals activities to enhance learning from journals.
Abstract: Background and introductions to learning journals learning from learning journals the uses of learning journals journals in teaching and learning in HE journals in professional education and development learning journals and personal development starting to write a learning journal assessing journals and other reflective writing examples of journals activities to enhance learning from journals.
TL;DR: In this article, supervision is proposed as a core competency area in psychology for which a number of elements reflecting specific knowledge, skills, and values must be addressed to ensure adequate training and professional development of the trainee.
Abstract: Supervision is a domain of professional practice conducted by many psychologists but for which formal training and standards have been largely neglected. In this article, supervision is proposed as a core competency area in psychology for which a number of elements reflecting specific knowledge, skills, and values must be addressed to ensure adequate training and professional development of the trainee. Supra-ordinate factors of supervision viewed as permeating all aspects of professional development are proposed. These include the perspective that professional development is a lifelong, cumulative process requiring attention to diversity in all its forms, as well as legal and ethical issues, personal and professional factors, and self- and peer-assessment. A competencies framework is presented with particular elements representing knowledge (e.g., about psychotherapy, research, etc.), skills (including supervising modalities, relationship skills, etc.), values (e.g., responsibility for the clients and supervisee rests with supervisor, etc.), and meta-knowledge. Social contextual factors and issues of education and training, assessment, and future directions also are addressed, with specific elements listed. Suggestions for future work in this area are addressed, including the need to refine further and operationalize competences, develop clear expectations for accreditation and licensure regarding supervision competencies, and expand the description of developmental levels of supervisors from minimal to optimal competence. This is one of a series of articles published together in this issue of the Journal of Clinical Psychology. Several other articles that resulted from the Competencies Conference: Future Directions in Education and Credentialing in Professional Psychology will appear in Professional Psychology: Research and Practice and The Counseling Psychologist.
TL;DR: There has been a burgeoning interest in competency-based education and credentialing in professional psychology and this movement gained momentum at the Competencies Conference: Future Directions in Education and Credentialing in Professional Psychology.
Abstract: There has been a burgeoning interest in competency-based education and credentialing in professional psychology. This movement gained momentum at the Competencies Conference: Future Directions in Education and Credentialing in Professional Psychology. After defining professional competence, the auth
TL;DR: In this article, the authors report the findings from a survey of all self-reported disabled students in a single UK higher education institution, which was taken as the initial phase of a project that focuses upon students' experience of learning in higher education.
Abstract: This article reports the findings from a survey of all self‐reported disabled students in a single UK higher education institution. Undertaken as the initial phase of a project that focuses upon students' experience of learning in higher education, it is one of the first systematic analyses to be undertaken of the experience that disabled students in higher education have of barriers to learning. The article reports both statistical data about the quality and variety of 173 students' experience of learning as well as qualitative comments from the students about learning and assessment. Analysis of the survey points to the need for attention to be paid to issues of parity and flexibility of provision and to staff development in making the ‘reasonable adjustments’ required by recent disability legislation.
TL;DR: This work states that the capability to reflect consciously upon one's professional practice is generally considered important for the development of expertise and, hence, for education but no empirical research has been conducted into the nature of reflective practice in medicine.
Abstract: BACKGROUND The capability to reflect consciously upon one's professional practice is generally considered important for the development of expertise and, hence, for education. However, to our knowledge no empirical research has been conducted to date into the nature of reflective practice in medicine. PURPOSE To study the structure of reflective practice in medicine. METHODS A questionnaire based on the literature was developed and administered to a group of primary care doctors. The data were subjected to confirmatory factor analysis using structural equations modelling. RESULTS A 5-factor model of reflective practice emerged. It consisted of the following factors: deliberate induction; deliberate deduction; testing and synthesising; openness for reflection, and meta-reasoning. The model fitted the data sufficiently. CONCLUSION A multidimensional structure of reflective practice in medicine was brought to light by the study. Its components in terms of reasoning processes, behaviours and attitudes were identified and measured among doctors. Once conceptualised and measured, reflective practice can be studied to gain a better understanding of its relation to expertise development in medicine. In addition, training students to apply reflective practices may become a goal in medical education.
TL;DR: This paper argues that graduate medical education in the UK is in danger of being subsumed in a minimalist discourse of competency.
Abstract: Background Graduate medical education in the UK is in danger of being subsumed in a minimalist discourse of competency.
Argument While accepting that competence in a doctor is a sine qua non, the author criticises the construction of a graduate and specialist medical education based solely upon a competency model. Many competency models follow the concepts of either academic competence or operational competence, both of which have lately been subject to criticism.
Conclusion The author discusses the need for replacing such criterion-referenced models in favour of a model that engages the higher order competence, performance and understanding which represent professional practice at its best.
TL;DR: In this paper, the importance of interaction in the online teaching environment and the important role of staff development in developing teacher presence online is explored, and recommendations for staff development for online teaching are made.
Abstract: This paper explores the importance of interaction in the online teaching environment and the important role of staff development in developing teacher presence online. Professionally developing staff to use information and communication technologies is viewed from the standpoint of diffusion of innovation, moving from early adopters to mainstream majority, and targeting staff development at this latter group. Approaches to staff development using information and communication technologies are described, and recommendations for staff development for online teaching are made.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors identify key issues and look into the current experience associated with implementation approaches to implement sustainability education in Australian tertiary institutions. But despite the apparent widespread support for the concept of student education in sustainability, there is little implementation.
Abstract: The concepts of environmental education and education for sustainability have been acknowledged by many tertiary institutions for over a decade. An appreciable number of institutions have signed agreements to educate students in all disciplines about sustainability. Although several Australian institutions of higher education have signed the Talloire Declaration, a recent survey finds little indication that their curricula have been changed to include sustainability education. Despite the apparent widespread support for the concept of student education in sustainability, there is little implementation. The experience of Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University suggests that those concerned about education and environment/sustainability need more than conviction and vision. A strategic approach – based on change management and supported by staff development – is needed to implement these sorts of changes. Rather than attempting to outline a grand plan or model for implementation, this paper identifies key issues and looks into the current experience associated with implementation approaches.
TL;DR: The authors analyzed narratives written by three teachers of English as a second/foreign language set in three different instructional contexts and found that the activity of engaging in narrative inquiry created a mediational space where teachers were able to draw upon various resources, such as private journals, peers and theoretical knowledge, that allow them to reconceptualize and reinternalize new understandings of themselves as teachers and their teaching activiti...
Abstract: In the practice of teacher education, most would agree that critical reflection in and on the process of learning to teach and the activities of teaching play a central role in teachers' professional development. Using Vygotskian sociocultural theory, we examine how narrative inquiry functions as a culturally developed tool that mediates teachers' professional development. We analyzed narratives written by three teachers of English as a second/foreign language set in three different instructional contexts. Our analysis suggests an interwoven connection between emotion and cognition, which drove these teachers to search for mediational tools to help them externalize their experiences. The activity of engaging in narrative inquiry created a mediational space where teachers were able to draw upon various resources, such as private journals, peers and ‘expert’ or theoretical knowledge, that allow them to reconceptualize and reinternalize new understandings of themselves as teachers and their teaching activiti...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss the profile of program students and the teaching approaches that have been successful in addressing potential attrition issues with these learners, and stress the need to offer a well-managed program and faculty members who are both interested and competent in teaching in the online learning environment.
Abstract: Research regarding student cohorts entering the Georgia WebMBA$$ program (an online MBA program in the University System of Georgia) shows consistent demographic characteristics as well as students' reasons for joining the program, experience with online learning, and perceptions of teamwork. The program has a high retention rate, and in this article the authors focus on retaining online learners. They discuss the profile of program students and the teaching approaches that have been successful in addressing potential attrition issues with these learners. To retain virtual learners, the program provides a cohort- and team-based learning experience with extensive faculty feedback and interaction to address isolation concerns, provide application-based content and activities, and help students meet expectations for personal and professional growth. The authors also stress the need to offer a well-managed program and faculty members who are both interested and competent in teaching in the online learning env...
01 Jan 2004