Professional Development Days Research Articles

Reflective practice and feedback – empowering university students’ teaching of dance in UK state schools

ABSTRACT A mixed methods approach for gathering data was adopted to report Level 5, 2nd (N = 34; F27, M7) and Level 6, 3rd (N = 29; M5, F24) year University students’ (N = 63) reflections of dance practice at Leeds Beckett University in the north of England. Five research instruments were utilised to gather data: questionnaires (including both open and closed questions), semi-structured interviews, reflective logs, pictorial evidence and observations. Reflections from practising primary (N = 9; F7, M2) and secondary (N = 8; M1, F7) teachers and their young people (N = 904, 5 to 18-year olds) also informed the students’ practice. The students’ production of original dance teaching resources (N = 17) delivered at the University based professional development days, attended by delegates (N = 121) from across the UK, served to qualify the suitability of the teaching and resources. The collaboratively created resources are highlighted as beneficial to enhance learning, teaching, self-efficacy, resilience and employability. The main aim and question therefore being realised, how to support and enhance the learning and teaching of dance in UK schools.

Professional development for evidence-based SRSD writing instruction: Elevating fourth grade outcomes

Writing is a critical skill for success in all areas of life, but it is one of the least taught skills in school. Teachers consistently report being unprepared to teach writing. In this study, set in a Southern U.S. boomtown, teachers received two days of practice-based professional development for a ten-week implementation of self-regulated strategy development (SRSD), an evidence-based writing intervention, to support student persuasive and informational writing as well as performance on the state standardized writing exam. This multi-site cluster randomized controlled study evaluated the effectiveness of SRSD on student writing outcomes including prompt adherence, elements, and holistic quality. Multilevel modeling analysis was used to evaluate data from 418 fourth -grade students (256 treatment, 162 control) nested across 33 classes (n = 17 treatment taught by 8 departmentalized teachers; 16 control, 9 departmentalized teachers) within 11 schools randomly assigned to condition. Teachers implemented SRSD with high fidelity (M = 92%; range 91–100%). SRSD had a statistically significant and large effect on prompt adherence (p < .001; Hedges’ g = 1.87), elements (p < .001; Hedges’ g = 0.84) and holistic scores (p < .001; Hedges’ g = 0.87), while holding gender and pretest scores constant. Effects of SRSD on all writing measures were not significantly moderated by students’ gender, students’ pretest scores, or schools’ pretest scores. There were complications with teacher observations, especially related to technology. Limitations and future directions are discussed.

Resist &amp; Rise: The One Love Method and Human Rights Performance

Resist & Rise:The One Love Method and Human Rights Performance Ayshia Mackiestephenson (bio) In Spring 2021, Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) students presented the performance Resist & Rise: Our Fight for Freedom at the Spring Arts Festival. In this performance, Black and Brown community college students created original works based upon the human rights concerns within their communities. I directed Resist & Rise1 as the professor for the learning community course "Introduction to Communication." There were performances on ending police brutality, criminal justice reform in the United States, and resisting white supremacy in pop culture. Students presented poetry, images, passionate speeches, archival Black history footage, and their own original films on these topics. The overall themes for the performance were to advocate for BIPOC human rights and to resist and rise above white supremacy. I used the One Love Method (One Love), a curriculum I designed to resist white supremacy in performance-based education and beyond to teach this course and direct the performance. The public performance was grounded in One Love as a means to empower Black and Brown students, encourage antiracist allyship, and serve our college community with inspiration, participation, and action. One Love is a tool to center Indigenous African epistemology and human rights activism in the performance studies and theatre classrooms, and the Resist & Rise performance is an example of its effectiveness. Analysis and Pedagogy "Love is necessary work and it is in love that we learn to resist, thrive, and lead under any circumstances." —bell hooks It is through human rights advocacy that this love can be expressed and realized. One Love is a performance studies pedagogy that recognizes all human beings as one, with one common African ancestry, and uses Yoruba rhetoric and philosophy as a way to dismantle racism in teaching and learning. It is a performance studies pedagogy, because performance is the study of how humans present their identity in culture and on the stage. The use of a Black framework is critical to Black and other BIPOC students presenting an identity that resists white supremacy and centers the subaltern's epistemology. The use of a Black and precolonial framework is in itself an act of social change and works to transform the performance space. Students used Yoruba philosophy as the foundation to their human rights project. One Love is also based upon the premise that using African Indigenous philosophy makes sense, because all human beings share African ancestry. It is based upon Black African (specifically Yoruba and Zulu) rhetoric and philosophy. At BHCC, I was inspired to design this method while teaching communication, performance studies, and theatre in 2019. One day, I was teaching a dualenrollment performance studies course and a Black high school student said that she hated having [End Page 139] no history and nothing that was hers alone and that she didn't have to take from white people. This statement from such a young woman really broke my heart and was the inspiration for this method. I knew that resisting white supremacy in education would take more than teaching Black history rooted in the US oppression and discrimination of Black people. Performance needs a means to move away from the centralization of white paradigms, of white ways of knowing and being and producing. I already knew that the field of performance studies and theatre in particular predominantly uses frameworks by white American and European artists (Viewpoints, Stanislavski, Meisner, and so on). Performance studies is highly influenced by Black scholars who have framed the field (D. Soyini Madison, Bryant Keith Alexander, Mary Weems, and so on), but there is little linkage to African epistemology or BIPOC human rights or the centering of African epistemology as a human right. I decided that my students needed a method of teaching performance-based work that centers African influence on performance and recognizes the human rights of Black and Brown people in our artistic practices. The young woman's cry for help coincided with my humanities division looking for faculty to train other faculty in innovative curriculum for Professional Development Day. I volunteered to design and lead the workshop "The One Love Method: An Antiracist Pedagogy." I continued to develop One Love over...

Reducing Burnout and Promoting Professional Development in the Palliative Care Service.

Previous research suggests that health care providers working with issues of death and dying may experience increased stress and risk of burnout. Despite previous research on the problem of burnout faced by palliative care providers, there have been few interventions studied to prevent further burnout. Research does support allowing time away from a stressful health care environment to promote wellness and to decrease burnout. This pilot study ensured that each palliative care advanced practice provider received an 8-hour day monthly to work on professional development activities remotely. The Professional Quality of Life Scale was completed before and after the addition of the professional development day to measure satisfaction, burnout, and secondary trauma impact. Qualitative feedback was also collected. Results indicated that this intervention decreased burnout, improved compassion satisfaction, and decreased secondary trauma for this team. Recommendations are to further investigate methods to further reduce burnout for this population of health care providers. Results from this pilot study demonstrate that professional development days should be expanded for those providers who are at a high risk for burnout in the hospital setting.

Four years of collaboration in a professional learning community: Shifting toward supporting students' epistemic practices

AbstractFew studies have examined how professional learning communities (PLCs) engage in collaborative inquiry over multiple years. This longitudinal study explored how a team of high school science teachers collaborated with researchers and district‐based coaches in a PLC over 4 years. We examined (1) how the PLC, which was situated in a culturally and linguistically diverse school that experienced high teacher and administrator turnover, shifted their collective inquiry and instruction from focusing on students' reproduction of knowledge to supporting students' epistemic practices and (2) how researchers and coaches facilitated the shift. The participants' collective inquiry took place on 12 job‐embedded professional development (PD) days where they collaborated to plan, implement, and reflect on lessons over 4 years. The PLC drew on Ambitious Science Teaching principles, practices, and tools. We collected and qualitatively analyzed video recordings of the participants' meetings and classroom teaching on the 12 PD days (96 h) and artifacts. We also conducted interviews with teachers and coaches. Data suggest that early in the project, the teachers focused on identifying and fixing students' misconceptions, but over time they came to focus on supporting students' epistemic practices—collaborative construction of evidence‐based models and explanations. Facilitators—researchers and coaches—played two major sets of roles—challenging teachers' view of students as reproducers of knowledge and engaging in co‐inquiry with teachers to identify and address problems of practice—that functioned complementary over the years and supported shifts in inquiry and instruction. This study provides implications about sustaining productive inquiry and partnership in PLCs.

Effectiveness Of Continuous Professional Development Program As Perceived By Primary Level Teachers

Incompetent and demoralized primary school teachers are the main cause of poor primary education in Pakistan. To overcome this issue, effective professional developments are provided to primary school teachers. DSD introduced a new teacher training program for the development of the primary teachers which is called a continuous professional development program framework. To know whether this program has attained its objectives or not this study has been conducted. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a continuous professional development program as perceived by primary level teachers. It was a descriptive study. The researchers employed a simple random sampling technique and questionnaire to collect data for the study. The questionnaire was developed on four components of the continuous professional development framework. These components were continuous professional development (training), continuous assessment, mentoring and professional development day. The researcher employed mean, frequency, and percentages. Z test was used for the analysis of area (rural and urban) and gender (male/female) and ANOVA was used for the analysis of demographic variables of the questionnaire were respondents' age, qualification, and teaching experience. The findings of this study exposed that the majority of the primary school teachers showed a positive attitude towards continuous professional development program. Significant recommendations for the study were; Continuous professional development may develop better interaction between students and teachers and continuous assessment should be included to improve the learning skills of students.

Supporting the Development of Novice Teachers: A Multi-tiered and Differentiated Approach

This article explored innovative methods of delivering novice teacher induction in support of assisting and retaining new teachers. Rather than conducting traditional mentoring and new teacher professional development days, the authors advocate for more personalized, differentiated, and systemic ongoing methods including assigning and training Support and Content Mentors, providing a Streamlined and Scaffolded Teacher Induction Program, and then offering in-depth Differentiated Instructional Coaching support in order to assist in developing and retaining new teachers.

P72 Examining Perceptions of Obesity-Related Training Opportunities and Needs for Head Start Health/Nutrition Managers

<h3>Background</h3> Head Start (HS) health/nutrition managers have identified obesity as the top health concern for their preschool children. However, little information exists related to perceived training needs and professional development (PD) training opportunities available for HS managers around obesity and related measurements. <h3>Objective</h3> To examine perceptions of obesity-related PD training needs and opportunities reported by Ohio Head Start health/nutrition program managers. <h3>Study Design, Setting, Participants</h3> Phenomenology was utilized for this research study. Semi-structured, in-depth telephone interviews (n = 13) were conducted with HS Health and Nutrition Managers across Ohio who were recruited via emails distributed by the HS Director of Professional Development. <h3>Outcome Measure/Analysis</h3> Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed. Open coding of transcripts was conducted by trained qualitative researchers. Significant statements were coded, defined, and organized into themes. Themes enabled the description of the types of opportunities and needs (the "what" and "how") of the phenomenon. <h3>Results</h3> Researchers identified 5 themes. Themes around professional development opportunities included attending professional health conferences (eg nursing/nutrition/early childhood/health) as part of the professional continuing education requirements; online food and nutrition-focused trainings (eg, webinars) through state and national resources, such as USDA; health-related trainings as part of professional development days organized by Head Start programs; and networking as informal education from internal staff, RD consultants, and partnerships with local universities and WIC. Participants identified a lack of knowledge and training specific to the understanding of BMI, BMI-for-age growth charts, and skills around BMI measurement. <h3>Conclusions</h3> There are a number of general nutrition, food, and health-related trainings from a variety of sources (professional organizations, USDA, Head Start), but there is a need identified for training to improve knowledge and skills specific to BMI and its measurement (height/weight) in preschoolers, and the interpretation of BMI-for-age growth charts.

Facilitating Leadership Coach Capacity for School Leadership Development: The Intersection of Structured Community and Experiential Learning

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to examine how the leadership coaching capacities of experienced school leaders can be developed to support less-experienced school leaders to lead continuous improvement efforts. In this article, we report the findings of a 2-year study of experienced school leaders who developed their leadership coaching knowledge, skills, and dispositions to enhance the capacities of less-experienced school leaders in a research–practice partnership called the Leadership Learning Community. Research Methods: We drew on qualitative research methodology to answer the study’s research question. To collect our data, we utilized participant observations of 12 professional development days and 70 job-embedded coaching sessions over a 2-year period, yearly semistructured interviews with the eight leadership coach participants, and other artifacts related to the Leadership Learning Community. We analyzed our data using multiple rounds of coding to arrive at the themes. Findings: The findings highlight the possibilities of developing leadership coaching capacity through a combination of community-based structured and facilitated learning opportunities and experiential learning. The findings also add to the limited research regarding leadership coaching as a strategy for enhancing school leadership development. Conclusion and Implications: The results of the study provide assistance to national and state administrator organizations, educational service districts, and school district administrators endeavoring to meet the learning needs of school leaders through leadership coaching. Further research should be conducted to understand how the leadership coaching capacities of leadership supervisors and developers can be facilitated.

Constructing written arguments to develop fraction knowledge.

Making sense of fractions is critical for building the mathematical competence of upper elementary students with and at-risk for a mathematics learning disability. The primary aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of teaching students with and at-risk for learning disabilities an intervention in which they learned to construct written arguments to develop their fraction knowledge. We sequenced the intervention using the 6 stages of Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD). The effects were tested using a pre–posttest cluster-randomized controlled trial in which 10 teachers were randomly assigned to treatment and control conditions. Measures included a far-learning fraction test and proximal writing measures that assessed quality of mathematical reasoning, total number of rhetorical elements, and total words written. Teachers in the treatment condition received 2 days of professional development before implementing the six-lesson intervention, 3–4 times per week for 30–45 min. Clustering effects were corrected to examine differences in pretest-to-posttest change scores using individual scores for students in the SRSD group (n = 28) and control (n = 31). Results favored students in the SRSD condition from pre- to posttest on fraction test (g = 0.60); quality of mathematical reasoning (g = 1.82); number of rhetorical elements (g = 3.20), and total words written (g = 1.92). Special education students in the SRSD condition (n = 16) demonstrated greater gains in fraction scores from pretest to posttest compared to their nondisabled peers (n = 12, g = 1.04). The findings from this study support the genre knowledge hypothesis of writing-to-learn. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)

Queensland Health Libraries Network Professional Development Day

A summary of the Queensland Health Libraries Network Professional Development Day, held 18 November 2019 at Gold Coast University Hospital.

Professional Development for Primary School Teachers in Cameroon: Is the Cascade PD Model Effective?

Teacher professional development (TPD), a constant concern on the minds of education leaders, is conducted in various ways in education systems around the world. Using Guskey’s professional development assessment model, we evaluated a cascade model of teacher professional development in Cameroon’s primary education system by examining the responses of the teachers who experienced these activities. Our findings indicate that the professional growth activities undertaken in cascade format, particularly professional development (PD) days, teacher evaluations, demonstration and group lessons did not adequately address the teachers’ training needs and expectations and this because this model of training is not suitable to improve teaching practices in the context.

Joint North Thames &amp; South Thames Faculty Continuing Professional Development Day, 27 November 2018

Joint North Thames &amp; South Thames Faculty Continuing Professional Development Day, 27 November 2018

Dramatherapy in a nursing home: Exploring resonances between sensory experience and embodied interaction in people with dementia through the use of fairy tales

This small-scale research study explores resonances engendered by sensory experience in people with dementia and discusses the key role interaction plays in their care. It was inspired by a spontaneous interaction from a client with severe dementia. Parlett and Deardon’s qualitative methodology of illuminative evaluation was employed within a structure delineated by Meekums and Payne and Grainger with the aim of developing understanding of the use of Dramatherapy in this context. The Dramatherapist assumed the role of practitioner-researcher within a person-centred paradigm. An eclectic redevelopmental model of Dramatherapy using fairy tales and song was underpinned by Jennings’s model of embodiment, projection and role (EPR) with the aim of supporting the well-being of the clients through creating interactive opportunities. Key findings showed that Dramatherapy methods enabled interaction contained in a model of practice that held meaning for the clients. Sensory experiences brought aspects of self into embodied being and a more positive state was noted after the sessions by the carers which, in some, had a lasting effect. Data were gathered from fieldwork during 12 session of 60 minutes held over 6 months with three residents at any one time and included verbal feedback from the clients, verbal and written feedback from the nursing home and questionnaires to participants attending a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) day where the Dramatherapist presented preliminary findings. The study shows there is room for this theme to be developed in Dramatherapy practice and research with this marginalised population.

Barriers to technology implementation in community college mathematics classrooms

Algebra has been called the gatekeeper to higher level mathematics, college success, and higher wages, but many community college students struggle to pass college-level mathematics courses. The National Educational Technology Plan for higher education (U.S. Department of Education 2017b) calls for the integration of technology, such as real-time formative assessments, to support student learning. Community college faculty, however, struggle to implement technology to support student learning. The purpose of this ethnographic study is to describe barriers to technology implementation from the perspectives of mathematics community college instructors. A rural community college in the southeastern United States had a goal of increasing student success rates in developmental and college algebra courses by engaging in professional development to incorporate classroom connectivity technology, the Texas Instruments Navigator system coupled with the Nspire calculator, within their algebra sequence. Over the course of 3 years, mathematics faculty participated in 27 professional development days, provided input for lesson creation and revision, and had ongoing classroom support. Faculty interviews were conducted postintervention and analyzed using a grounded theory approach (Charmaz 2006). Barriers to the implementation of classroom connectivity technology at the instructor level included faculty beliefs about mathematics teaching and learning and about students’ abilities. Other findings included lack of time for planning, inadequate technical support, lack of agency related to the college’s quality enhancement plan, and the perception of misalignment between the activities and the state-mandated curriculum. Implications for supporting technology implementation in higher education will be discussed.

The role of assessment in strategic planning

Not too long ago, a colleague and I presented a session at our college's Professional Development Days. The college is revising its strategic plan, so our assignment was to discuss assessment's role in the plan.

Mentoring for all: building knowledge and community

PurposeAfter many years working with mentors for beginning teachers, both through a formal, Ministry-sponsored program, known in Ontario as the New Teacher Induction Program (NTIP) and through a university-based Faculty of Education practicum, the authors cultivated an understanding of the value of both mentoring and the communities that foster it. The authors observed that pre-service mentors are not offered the same level of support as their induction mentor counterparts. The purpose of this paper is to explore the aforementioned gap by bringing together a small group of pre-service mentor teachers with several highly trained induction mentors from the NTIP program in two full days of professional development: one day of learning and community building among mentors, and the second day of collaboration by pre-service mentors alongside their teacher candidates (TCs). The authors learned that pre-service mentors need and desire professional learning and community mentoring support to develop foundational understandings about the role of mentors and the skills and strategies that support an effective mentoring practice. As a result, the authors advocate for sustainable professional development that leverages existing programs and the clarification of the pre-service mentoring role through continued study and collaboration over time.Design/methodology/approachThis qualitative study was designed to explore, understand, and interpret pre-service mentor teachers’ experience of professional learning about mentoring and the role of the mentor, including their responses to participating in a like community of learners. This study brought together educators serving as pre-service and induction mentors to engage them in formal professional learning about mentoring, within an environment that created the conditions for collaboration and community in the context of learning about mentoring.FindingsThis study surfaces the insights related to the types of knowledge and skills that mentors developed in this study in addition to pointing toward the knowledge and skills they perceive to be necessary to their effective participation in their roles as mentors. The study also identifies both the value that pre-service mentors perceived as a result of being invited into a learning space and the dynamics of professional learning and dialogue in collaboration with their induction mentor counterparts and their pre-service mentees.Research limitations/implicationsThis research study explores a research gap in the area of mentoring as it relates to pre-service mentors or cooperating teachers. Its unique feature involves bringing together two previously segmented groups of mentors: pre-service mentors supporting developing TCs and induction mentors supporting novice teachers. It describes the value and impact of mentoring as understood by pre-service mentors, in particular identifying the reciprocal benefits they experienced. The authors also investigate and shed light on the value and impact of pre-service mentor participation in a community that is intentionally created to support their professional learning about their role. It provides recommendations for practice and indicates areas of potential research.Practical implicationsThis study surfaces the potential benefits of professional learning and community for pre-service mentors who play an integral role in supporting TCs in the completion of their education degrees. It makes practical recommendations which point to uniting pre-service and in-service mentors as participants in learning communities that build leadership capacity and advance mentoring knowledge and skills to impact the mentoring relationship. This study advocates for a restructuring existing practice in the area of pre-service mentoring to encourage professional learning and interaction that connects the work of pre-service and in-service mentors, bridging two currently separate mentoring communities.Originality/valueThis study offers a re-visioning of mentoring as a community endeavor. It advances the notion that, supported by a targeted program of professional development and participation in communities of inquiry, knowledge creation and mobilization, mentors can build their mentoring and leadership capacity and extend their professional impact.

Professional learning as a predictor for instructional quality: a secondary analysis of TALIS

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this study is to examine the effect of teachers’ professional learning opportunities on instructional quality, which represents a combined approach of behaviorist, cognitivist, and constructivist principles in teaching. We incorporated professional learning communities (PLCs), professional development (PD) days, as well as 3 PD types (traditional, reform-based, and informal) to provide a comprehensive account of teachers’ professional learning opportunities. Using the extant large-scale data, the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS), from 3,213 middle-school teachers in Turkey, we found that PLCs and reform-based PD activities produced statistically significant effects on instructional quality, ranging from high to moderate effects, all other PD variables held constant. Discussion on the results was centered on the schools for being a venue for professional learning and the potential of collaborative structures to promote teachers’ development.

Working Alongside Scientists

Current curriculum demands require primary teachers to teach about the Nature of Science; yet, few primary teachers have had opportunity to learn about science as a discipline. Prior schooling and vicarious experiences of science may shape their beliefs about science and, as a result, their science teaching. This qualitative study describes the impact on teacher beliefs about science and science education of a programme where 26 New Zealand primary (elementary) teachers worked fulltime for 6 months alongside scientists, experiencing the nature of work in scientific research institutes. During the 6 months, teachers were supported, through a series of targeted professional development days, to make connections between their experiences working with scientists, the curriculum and the classroom. Data for the study consisted of mid- and end-of-programme written teacher reports and open-ended questionnaires collected at three points, prior to and following 6 months with the science host and after 6 to 12 months back in school. A shift in many teachers’ beliefs was observed after the 6 months of working with scientists in combination with curriculum development days; for many, these changes were sustained 6 to 12 months after returning to school. Beliefs about the aims of science education became more closely aligned with the New Zealand curriculum and its goal of developing science for citizenship. Responses show greater appreciation of the value of scientific ways of thinking, deeper understanding about the nature of scientists’ work and the ways in which science and society influence each other.

Preparing for the Classroom: Mental Health Knowledge Improvement, Stigma Reduction and Enhanced Help-Seeking Efficacy in Canadian Preservice Teachers

Mental health literacy is fundamental to improving knowledge about mental health, decreasing stigma, and, therefore, enhancing help-seeking behaviors. The purpose of this cohort study is to evaluate the impact of a mental health literacy program on preservice teachers’ knowledge, attitudes, and help-seeking efficacy. Sixty preservice teachers in a Canadian university participated in a professional development day and completed a survey of their mental health knowledge, attitudes toward mental illness, and help-seeking efficacy. Compared with baseline data, results demonstrated significant and substantial improvements on all three outcomes immediately following the session and after 3 months. Provision of mental health literacy education among preservice teachers may be an effective approach to help them better address student mental health needs in their future teaching career.