Professional development

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

Role of Student–Faculty Interactions in Developing College Students' Academic Self-Concept, Motivation, and Achievement

Abstract: Student–faculty interactions can be crucial in developing students’ academic self-concept and enhancing their motivation and achievement. Colleges and universities that actively foster close and frequent contact between their students and faculty members are more likely to reap a host of benefits from such initiatives. Faculty members taking an interest in their students’ academic progress could potentially make significant contributions in increasing their intellectual and professional development (Anaya & Cole, 2001; Chickering, 1969; Chickering & Reisser, 1993; Cokley, 2000; Terenzini & Pascarella, 1980). There is evidence that students successful in knowing even one faculty member closely are likely to feel more satisfied with their college life and aspire to go further in their careers (Rosenthal et al., 2000). Although most interactions with faculty tend to occur within the formal classroom setting, students who experience informal interactions tend to be more motivated, engaged, and actively involved in the learning process (Thompson, 2001; Woodside, Wong, & Weist, 1999). Informal interaction between students and faculty has been identified as a primary agent of college culture, and has an important influence on the attitudes, interests, and values of college students (Chickering & Reisser, 1993; Lambert, Terinzini, & Lattuca, 2007; Pascarella, 1980b; Pascarella & Terenzini, 1991, 2005; Thompson, 2001). However, although previous research has established that student–faculty interactions are important, we still need to identify which aspects of student–faculty interactions are helpful and how these could significantly influence students to stay in college, increase their desire to work hard, stimulate them to enjoy learning, and encourage them to strive toward high achievement standards (Bean, 1985). The current study addresses this gap in the literature by examining eight specific types of student–faculty interactions as predictors of academic self-concept and three types of academic motivation, as well as academic achievement in a sample of college students from a medium-sized, public university located in the Midwestern United States.

Teachers' work : individuals, colleagues, and contexts

Abstract: Reform efforts of the past decade have often focused on increasing collaboration among teachers, without paying attention to the conditions, character and consequences of the collegiality they espouse. In "Teacher's Work: Individuals, Colleagues and Contexts", volume editors Judith Warren Little and Milbrey Wallin McLaughlin, along with contributors including Andy Hargreaves, Michael Huberman, Mary Haywood Metz and Joan E. Talbert, examine the realities that confront classroom teachers and propose theoretical models to account for their findings. Part 1 emphasises the fundamental independence of classroom teaching and explores the inevitable tensions between individuality and professional community. Part 2 locates teachers' indentity and community in context, showing how the experience of teaching is shaped by the student population, the subject disciplines, the social structure and the school, and the workplace culture of school and district. Throughout there is a concern with the purposes and consequences of schooling, and with the need to keep benefit to students as a central consideration in any analysis. The concluding chapter also discusses the policy implications of the conclusions drawn by the contributors, stressing the importance of local responses in which policymakers "serve less to regulate than to inform and connect local actors". Researchers and practitioners concerned with teachers' professional lives and careers, and with the school as a workplace, should welcome this book as an important addition to their libraries. It should also be valuable as a text in graduate-level seminars on school organisation, teacher policy and teacher professional development.

A systematic review of faculty development initiatives designed to enhance teaching effectiveness: A 10-year update: BEME Guide No. 40

Abstract: Background: This review, which focused on faculty development initiatives designed to improve teaching effectiveness, synthesized findings related to intervention types, study characteristics, individual and organizational outcomes, key features, and community building.Methods: This review included 111 studies (between 2002 and 2012) that met the review criteria.Findings: Overall satisfaction with faculty development programs was high. Participants reported increased confidence, enthusiasm, and awareness of effective educational practices. Gains in knowledge and skills, and self-reported changes in teaching behaviors, were frequently noted. Observed behavior changes included enhanced teaching practices, new educational initiatives, new leadership positions, and increased academic output. Organizational changes were infrequently explored. Key features included evidence-informed educational design, relevant content, experiential learning, feedback and reflection, educational projects, intentional co...

Evidence-Based Practices in Interventions for Children and Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Abstract: Evidence-based practices (EBPs) are the basis on which teachers and other service providers are required to design educational programs for learners with autism spectrum disor- ders (ASD). As part of their work with the National Professional Development Center (NPDC) on ASD, researchers developed a process for reviewing the research literature and established criteria for identifying EBPs. In their review, they identified 24 focused intervention practices having sufficient evidence. In this article, the authors describe procedures for selecting specific EBPs appropriate for addressing specific IEP goals for learners with ASD. The authors emphasize the importance of systematic implementation of practices. BASING EDUCATIONAL PRACTICE on scientific evi- dence of its effectiveness has become a necessary feature of programs for infants, children, and youth with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). This policy is based in part on the precedents set in the fields of medicine and health care (Sackett, Rosenberg, Gray, Haynes, & Richardson, 2002), and educational policy in the United States that requires teachers and school systems to implement scientifically proven practices (U.S. Department of Education, 2008). Yet, a perusal of the professional literature may lead a reader to conclude that most practices are evidence-based because their developers or purveyors describe them as such. It is the brand put on many programs and practices. To date, however, there is not a universally agreed-on standard or set of standards by which to identify a practice as evidence- based, although the field is moving in that direction. Teachers and other practitioners working with children and youth with ASD and their families are required by agen- cies and insurance companies to implement evidence-based practices, but there may be little guidance regarding where to locate those practices and what criteria to use to verify that a practice is evidence based. The aims of the present article were (a) to provide a definition of evidence-based practices (EBP) used with infants, children, and youth with ASD and their families; (b) to describe a process for identifying EBPs; (c) to identify the practices that meet the offered definition and thus have sufficient empirical support to qualify as evi- dence-based; and (d) to describe how teachers and practitio- ners might use such information to select practices to address specific goals and objectives for individual children.