Innovating Professional Development Program for Teachers: From theory-based to a more collaborative, practical, and reflective perspective

Abstract

Education and curriculum require a constant revision to attend the needs and assets of an everchanging society. In this sense, efforts to become more competent within the society have historically guided educators to engage in professional development programs that allow them to update and adjust their instructional practices for effective learning. However little improvement has been documented from using traditional theories and uncontextualized programs of professional development, mainly affecting learners’ academic success. The purpose of this study is (1) to explore how novel and experienced faculty members described their experience using Peer-Observation of Teaching as a novel structure to support their professional development; and (2) to discover whether a semester long intervention had an impact in the perception of teacher sense of efficacy of other faculty members and themselves. The study was applied for a semester long in three different higher education institutions across Ecuador. Data was gathered using a mixed method approach. For the qualitative part, a questionnaire with open-ended questions was given, followed by two rounds of focus groups; for the quantitative part, a peer-observation tool adapted from the Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale was applied to measure teachers’ abilities and self-efficacy perspective. The quantitative data was analyzed based on the three variables (student engagement, instructional strategies, and classroom management) through a two-tails paired sample t-test using SPSS software considering an alpha score of .05. The qualitative data was analyzed utilizing a constant comparative coding method. The results revealed differing degrees of experience based primarily on years of experience. While some experienced faculty members did not see much benefit in being observed from a less experienced peer, others expressed it was an opportunity to receive a fresh look at their performance. Novice faculty mostly saw benefits in being observed and provided feedback. Novice teachers did better on student engagement and instructional strategies while experienced faculty got higher scores in classroom management. It was concluded that using POT gave faculty members a valuable opportunity for a fresh and wise look at current teaching practices, as well as a space for improvement from two generations that complement each other.