Professional development

About: Professional development is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 81108 publications have been published within this topic receiving 1316681 citations.

Peer Coaching: A Relational Process for Accelerating Career Learning

Abstract: We examine the nature of peer coaching and frame it as a type of developmental tool that can enhance personal and professional development. We begin with a discussion of the relational perspective on career learning, which provides a context for peer coaching as a tool that can accelerate career learning. We distinguish between peer coaching and the related concepts of mentoring and peer mentoring and discuss factors that facilitate the development of this type of helping relationship. We offer a discussion of the key characteristics of effective peer-coaching relationships, and we provide an empirical test of the impact of these characteristics with a survey of MBA students. We also offer a theoretical model of peer coaching, along with propositions for future research. We conclude that when peer coaching works best for a person, it happens through a 3-step process of (1) building the developmental relationship, (2) creating success in development, and (3) internalizing the learning tactic by applying th...

Establishing a Collaborative School Culture Through Comprehensive School Reform

Abstract: Over the last decade, much research has been conducted regarding how successful school improvement can be achieved. One focus of this research has been the development of schools that are inclusive and meet the educational needs of all students, including those with disabilities. Research has shown that school change that improves teacher practice and student outcomes may be achieved through Comprehensive School Reform. Key aspects of this reform include the development of a collaborative culture, the use of high-quality professional development to improve teacher practices, and strong leadership for school improvement activities by the principal and other school leaders. The implications of these findings for research and practice are discussed.

Improving graduate education to support a branching career pipeline: recommendations based on a survey of doctoral students in the basic biomedical sciences.

Abstract: Today's doctoral programs continue to prepare students for a traditional academic career path despite the inadequate supply of research-focused faculty positions. We advocate for a broader doctoral curriculum that prepares trainees for a wide range of science-related career paths. In support of this argument, we describe data from our survey of doctoral students in the basic biomedical sciences at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Midway through graduate training, UCSF students are already considering a broad range of career options, with one-third intending to pursue a non-research career path. To better support this branching career pipeline, we recommend that national standards for training and mentoring include emphasis on career planning and professional skills development to ensure the success of PhD-level scientists as they contribute to a broadly defined global scientific enterprise.

Faculty Job Satisfaction: Women and Minorities in Peril. ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report No. 4, 1992.

Abstract: Focuses on developing and maintaining a satisfied faculty which reflects the cultural diversity of the population. Proposes solutions to the current situation to ensure that faculty of the future will reflect the diversity of the population, and discusses issues and strategies for recruiting and retaining that faculty.

Reframing research on faculty development.

Abstract: Research on faculty development has focused primarily on individual participants and has produced relatively little generalizable knowledge that can guide faculty development programs. In this article, the authors examine how current research on faculty development in medical education can be enriched by research in related fields such as teacher education, quality improvement, continuing medical education, and workplace learning. As a result of this analysis, the authors revise the old model for conceptualizing faculty development (preferably called professional development). This expanded model calls for research on educational process and outcomes focused on two communities of practice: the community created among participants in faculty development programs and the communities of teaching practice in the workplace (classroom or clinic) where teaching actually occurs. For the faculty development community, the key components are the participants, program, content, facilitator, and context in which the program occurs and in which the faculty teach. For the workplace community, associated components include relationships and networks of association in that environment, the organization and culture of the setting, the teaching tasks and activities, and the mentoring available to the members of that academic and/or clinical community of teaching practice. This expanded model of faculty development generates a new set of research questions, which are described along with six recommendations for enhancing research, including establishment of a national center for research in health professions education.