Topic
Professional development
About: Professional development is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 81108 publications have been published within this topic receiving 1316681 citations.
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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
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the type of professional community that occurs within a school and investigated both the organizational factors that facilitate its development and its consequences for teachers' sense of responsibility for student learning.
Abstract: Professional community among teachers, the subject of a number of recent major studies, is regarded as an ingredient that may contribute to the improvement of schools. The research reported in this article is grounded in the assumption that how teachers interact with each other outside of their classrooms may be critical to the effects of restructuring on students. The analysis focuses on the type of professional community that occurs within a school and investigates both the organizational factors that facilitate its development and its consequences for teachers’ sense of responsibility for student learning. The findings suggest that wide variation in professional community exists between schools, much of which is attributable to both structural features and human resources characteristics, as well as school level. Implications for current school reform efforts are discussed.
1,025 citations
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01 Jan 2010TL;DR: In many countries, policymakers view its potential for the capacity building needed to implement educational reform, while researchers are trying to gain greater nuanced and contextualized understanding of professional learning community as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: There is increasing consensus that the term professional learning community broadly refers to an inclusive and mutually supportive group of people with a collaborative, reflective, and growth-oriented approach toward investigating and learning more about their practice in order to improve students’ learning. In many countries, policymakers view its potential for the capacity building needed to implement educational reform, while researchers are trying to gain greater nuanced and contextualized understanding of professional learning community. This article probes the meaning and purpose of professional learning community, membership, identified characteristics, levels of impact, and process and processes of development.
1,016 citations
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine two distinct but closely related fields, research on teaching and research on teacher education, and argue that for research in teacher education to move forward, it must reconnect with these fields to address the complexity of both teaching as a practice and the preparation of teachers.
Abstract: In this article, the authors examine two distinct but closely related fields, research on teaching and research on teacher education. Despite its roots in research on teaching, research in teacher education has developed in isolation both from mainstream research on teaching and from research on higher education and professional education. A stronger connection to research on teaching could inform the content of teacher education, while a stronger relationship to research on organizations and policy implementation could focus attention on the organizational contexts in which the work takes shape. The authors argue that for research in teacher education to move forward, it must reconnect with these fields to address the complexity of both teaching as a practice and the preparation of teachers.
1,009 citations
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TL;DR: This paper found that teachers who felt successful with students and whose schools were organized to support them in their teaching were more likely to stay in their schools, and in teaching, than teachers whose school were not so organized.
Abstract: This article, based on a longitudinal interview study of 50 new teachers in Massachusetts, presents respondents’ reasons for staying in their schools, moving to new schools, or leaving public school teaching within their first 3 years of teaching. Although the respondents’ prior career orientations, financial situations, and preparation played a role in their career decisions, their experiences at the school sites were central in influencing their decisions. Teachers who felt successful with students and whose schools were organized to support them in their teaching—providing collegial interaction, opportunities for growth, appropriate assignments, adequate resources, and schoolwide structures supporting student learning—were more likely to stay in their schools, and in teaching, than teachers whose whose schools were not so organized.
965 citations