Professional Development Environment Research Articles

Cole-Programming: Shaping Collaborative Learning Support in Eclipse

In the teaching of those subjects related to computer programming competences, a teaching/learning methodology based on problem solving is often used, which sometimes involves the application of techniques such as pair programming. In addition, to perform the programming-related tasks, it is common to use professional integrated development environments. Thus, it may be interesting to integrate tools in these environments so that they can support the teaching/learning process. This paper discusses how we have adapted an existing eclipse-based system for learning programming, so that now it has support for collaborative tasks. The new features have been specially designed to solve programming-related assignments and integrated into the learning environment. We also analyze the first impressions gathered from students in the initial experiences made on the system.

Students’ views on higher education learning environments for professional teacher education

There is a national debate about the connection between the physical environment and learning (McGregor, 2004), and the importance of designing the physical space to enhance the quality of learning (DfES, 2004a, 2006, 2007; JISC, 2006; SMG 2006a). This two year research project considers the views of 174 higher education students, who have undertaken professional initial teacher education programmes, on what makes an effective higher education learning environment for professional development and their evaluation of their current experience. Results confirmed the importance of high quality higher education environments to support a range of learning and teaching approaches, presenting challenges to HE in designing flexible, appropriate spaces for professional programmes.

Teachers learning in a London school: autonomy and development in the 1950s

In the first two decades after the war L1 (English) teachers in Walworth School, an ‘experimental' state secondary school in a working-class area of London, worked out, essentially by themselves, a common curriculum and pedagogy for the entire ability range of students. In developing their widely influential approach the teachers constituted themselves as a professional learning community, engaged equally in developing practice in a school and participating in the hopeful politics and culture of post-war Britain. A current research project is investigating this history. Walworth was ‘experimental' in that it was a pilot, set up in 1946, for the comprehensive schools that were intended eventually to constitute the entire London system. Unlike those in the traditional segregated system, these schools would take the full range of children rather than a group selected by results in a test. Walworth attracted both new and experienced teachers with a commitment to a democratic and non-selective model of education. In a period when there was almost no support for teachers in the form of professional development courses, governmental guidance or prescribed curricula, London teachers, together with individuals from teacher education institutions, formed a professional association for English teaching. The association discussed aims and methods, organized research groups and campaigned for a fairer system of public examinations. The article describes how Walworth English teachers, in sympathy with many in the London Association for the Teaching of English, achieved both greater understanding and more effective practice. It focuses on developments in a specific area of English: the relationship between spoken and written language. The account follows a succession of teachers who built for themselves a professional development environment in which they collaborated as intellectual equals with colleagues in higher education on a working theory of language learning. New approaches to children's talk in the classroom opened up ways to fluency in writing, while members of the English department of the University of London Institute of Education developed the concept—initially not part of teachers' working understanding—of ‘language' as a function with spoken and written modalities the relationships between which were fluid and, potentially, mutually fructifying. Ideas from psychology and linguistics were crucial to the eventual formulation of something like a theory, though the impetus came as much from what teachers were finding in working with children of all abilities, not least in the new comprehensive schools. For teachers in this period to act as full professionals despite the austere conditions of an economy still recovering from the war points to the power of their belief in education as a social and political project and their commitment to an ideal of democratic collaborative working. Teaching was influenced by the interaction in teachers’ lives between professional concerns and political and cultural engagement. The learning that some English teachers experienced in working collaboratively on developing the subject with an awareness of current research and ideas, in association with committed academics and as a contribution to building a more equal society, made their time at Walworth the most rewarding of their careers.

Evidence Base for Mentoring Women in Academic Medicine

Evidence Base for Mentoring Women in Academic Medicine

The Satellites, Weather and Climate (SWAC) Teacher Professional Development Program: Making the Case for Climate and Geospatial Literacy

ABSTRACTIn July 2008, a new professional development program called Satellites, Weather and Climate (SWAC) began at the University of Vermont. Its goal was to enhance the competency of in-service K–12 science and mathematics Vermont teachers in the atmospheric, climate, and geospatial sciences. The pilot program ran until 2010, during which time 14 teachers representing three cohorts were exposed to the eight training modules developed specifically for the program. The SWAC program is social constructivist in nature and implemented in such a way that participating teachers built upon prior SWAC content knowledge with each passing year in the program. SWAC modules were based on inquiry, problem, and project-based techniques and were presented in lectures, outdoor observation, and remote sensing laboratory settings. Participating teachers typically began the program during a weeklong, intensive summer program that covered the core SWAC concepts and skills. This was followed by two 1-h workshops every month during the academic year in which participants focused on a specific content module, geospatial skill, or technique. These content and skill workshops alternated with lesson planning sessions to allow teachers to develop lessons, units, or projects with SWAC materials. Program effectiveness was quantified by pre- and posttest evaluations of the modules, a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis in January 2010, and a comprehensive survey of participants' pedagogical changes, as well as the skills and attitudinal changes of the 927 students they taught during the pilot phase. Teachers reported that participation in SWAC transformed their pedagogical approaches and in-class effectiveness while dramatically improving their students' observational abilities, critical thinking skills, and understanding of geospatial technology. An additional outcome of the SWAC program was the Teacher Learning Community that developed, in which participants were able to share activities and challenges across grade levels, school systems, and institutional barriers in a setting not found anywhere else in their professional development environments.

БЛОГ ЯК СЕРЕДОВИЩЕ НЕПЕРЕРВНОГО ПРОФЕСІЙНОГО РОЗВИТКУ ВЧИТЕЛІВ АНГЛІЙСЬКОЇ МОВИ

Дана стаття присвячена питанню відповідності рівня підготовки вчителя англійської мови вимогам, які висуває інформатизація суспільства. У статті розглядається блог як середовище професійного розвитку вчителів англійської мови в післядипломній педагогічній освіті. Також розглянуто можливості використання блогу як середовища для організації неперервного підвищення кваліфікаційного рівня педагога. У статті подано деякі аспекти створення і підтримки блогу, для чого визначено функції і критерії його оцінювання. Досліджено ставлення вчителів англійської мови до використання блогу в професійній діяльності, як засобу розвитку професійних компетентностей.

Hybrid teacher leaders and the new professional development ecology

This two-year study examines an emergent model for promoting classroom change amidst systemic professional development efforts – the hybrid teacher leader (HTL). Utilizing ecological and teacher social network frameworks, the relative strengths and weaknesses of educators who both teach and lead teachers are explored. In-depth qualitative data from six HTLs across four Washington state school districts are examined to look at the ways that HTLs navigate and shape the change-oriented professional development environment, as well as the conditions under which the ‘teacher’ and the ‘leader’ are synergetic. Findings include that HTLs have a significant capacity to serve as a bridge between multiple subgroups within the larger educational system, making them an essential human resource within their environments. At the same time, role confusion, mismanagement of time and tenuous relationships across the sites reduced the impact of HTLs on colleagues’ professional learning – necessitating sharp intentions and boundaries to maximize efficiency.

An exploration of the value of an educational excursion for pre-service teachers

This paper addresses the question: What is the value of an educational excursion for first year students enrolled in a 4 year pre-service professional teacher education degree at the University of Johannesburg in South Africa? The excursion is an integral part of a first year module that focuses on the personal and professional development of teachers. This article compares the nature of student learning during the excursion with students’ learning and interaction in the traditional formal lecture room and argues that it operates as two different activity systems. Drawing on student reflections, questionnaire data and focus group interviews and using Veresov’s notion of ‘dramatical collisions’ and Cultural-Historical Activity Theory as a lens, this study highlights and explores the unforeseen dynamics and tensions created during the excursion. It focuses on the importance of social interaction during the excursion and how it affords students the opportunity to learn how to live and learn together and to work co-operatively in a natural setting. The major findings are that the excursion provides a different learning environment for personal and professional development and this assists students in planning their professional trajectory. These, it is claimed, hold much promise for teacher education.

Identifying early warning signs for diagnostic errors in primary care: a qualitative study

ObjectiveWe investigate the mechanisms of diagnostic error in primary care consultations to detect warning signs for possible error. We aim to identify places in the diagnostic reasoning process associated with...

Evidence-Based Practice and a Nursing Journal Club

Healthcare organizations are interested in promoting best patient outcomes and a shared-governance, professional development environment for nurses. A nursing journal club achieves the goal of patients receiving evidence-based care by empowered staff leading the journey. This article will demonstrate the successful process for implementing a hospital-wide nursing journal club.

Exploratory investigation of factors affecting dietetic workforce satisfaction

AbstractAim: The purpose of the present study was to explore factors cited by metropolitan dietitians as being critical to their workforce satisfaction in the literature and a previous study.Methods: Twenty dietitians from three metropolitan hospitals in Brisbane, Australia, were recruited by convenience sample to participate in seven focus group sessions. Group discussion transcriptions were thematically analysed by two independent researchers.Results: Participants identified career progression, professional development, resource availability, team and physical environment, reward and recognition as impacting upon their satisfaction. Overwhelmingly, they identified the availability of flexitime arrangements as symbolising workplace flexibility, which was considered the most influential of satisfaction factors. Intangible forms of reward and recognition were also desired and highly valued.Conclusions: Workplace satisfaction among this sample of metropolitan dietitians is multifactorial. Increasing perceived flexibility in work hours may increase satisfaction. Provision of intangible reward and recognition is likely to be well accepted. Future research should involve another survey of a representative sample of practitioners and managers, with the view to developing practical initiatives to improve satisfaction and maintain service delivery.

Nurses’ Views on Need for Professional Development in Nepal

This study explores the nurses' views on need for professional development and barriers in Nepal. This is a qualitative content analysis study conducted among nurses from different health institutes. In-depth interviews and focus group discussions were used to obtain their views on need of professional development and major barriers against professional development in Nepal. Eleven nurses for in-depth interviews and three groups of six nurses each for focus group discussions were selected purposefully from Kathmandu University Hospital, Dhulikhel and Tribhuban University Teachng Hospital, Kathmnadu. Five themes emerged from qualitative data. "Continuing professional development", "supportive management", "nursing leadership", "recognition and respect" and "professional networking" were considered as essential factors for professional development. Lack of "commitment by the nurses", "female gender professional" and "lack of autonomy" were felt as barriers for the nursing professioanl development. Continuing professional development and supportive working environment are crucial to make nursing profession more dynamic and appealing in Nepal.

The effects of Professional and Pedagogical Program Development Environments on Novice Programmer Perceptions

Novice programmers generally have difficulty learning to program and one of the problems contributing towards this is the program development environment used at tertiary institutions. A number of pedagogical program development environments have been developed specifically for novice programmers, but these have not been compared experimentally with professional program development environments. A study was conducted that compared the perceptions of novice programmers using a representative
 professional program development environment to a pedagogical program development environment during an Introductory Programming module at a tertiary institution. It was found that the use of a pedagogical program development environment had a positive effect on the feelings of achievement and learning while learning to program, while the perceived ease of using the program development environment and the perceived difficulty of practical assignments were not affected.

Identifying professional development environment for mentor teachers at a Learning Centre

This paper argues with evidence that conditions for teacher professional development can be enhanced for mentor teachers through a Learning Centre (LC) project which has been introduced in Hong Kong as a collaborative project between the government, a primary school, a secondary school, and the Hong Kong Institute of Education. The LC teachers perform the role of mentor teachers to enhance professional development of other teachers through web‐based workshops or forums, face‐to‐face teacher education workshops, and school‐based support. While the LC teachers are expected to gain professional development themselves as mentors, as suggested in the literature, the environment that may enhance their own professional development is not clear. Using structured interviews, the authors identified the professional development environment that the LC teachers experienced. The paper concludes with recommendations for environmental conditions enhancing the professional development of teachers in schools and conditions to support LC teachers.

Design of Online Professional Development in Science Content and Pedagogy: A Pilot Study in Florida

The Exploring Florida Science project goals were: (1) increasing content knowledge of secondary science teachers, specifically in topics that are important to the future of the state, and (2) providing secondary science students with digital media for use in project-based learning. A team of instructional designers, educators, scientists, web designers and teacher educators designed an online professional development environment. Needs analysis included identification of the high incidence topics on the state science achievement test and topics of socio-scientific importance in the state. Development followed tenets of design-based research, and was guided by E-Learning for Educators standards and evaluated for content, pedagogy and usability using rubrics based on established guidelines. This paper details design, development, and evaluation frameworks, and summarizes pilot testing outcomes.

Investigation and analysis on job stressors among army and non-active civil servant nurses in operation room

Objective To investigate and analyze the job stressors and coping styles among army and non-active civil servant nurses. Methods Forty nurses were recruited and investigated with Job Stressor Scale and Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire. Results There was significant difference in the professional development, workload and working environment(P 0. 05). Conclusions There are different job stressors among army and non-active civil servant nurses. Nursing administrators should take corresponding measures to relieve nurses' job stress. Key words: Army nurse; Non-active civil servant nurse; Stressor; Coping style

Conceptualizing the Work of Leading Mathematical Tasks in Professional Development

Filling the knowledge gap in the limited research on professional development leaders is an urgent issue if teacher learning is to be improved. This research and development project is studying how leaders learn to cultivate mathematically rich professional development environments. The authors adapted two frameworks from classroom-based research—sociomathematical norms and practices for orchestrating productive discussion—to support leaders’ understanding of facilitation of mathematics professional development. In this article, the authors describe the use of these frameworks in their work and argue for a third framework—the mathematical knowledge for teaching. Based on the analysis of their work, they believe that mathematics professional development leaders need to cultivate particular sociomathematical norms for teacher explanation and employ practices for orchestrating discussions to achieve the purposeful development of teachers’ specialized knowledge of mathematics for teaching.

Effects of Video Club Participation on Teachers' Professional Vision

This study investigates mathematics teacher learning in a video-based professional development environment called video clubs. In particular, the authors explore whether teachers develop professional vision, the ability to notice and interpret significant features of classroom interactions, as they participate in a video club. Analysis for the study is based on data from two year-long video clubs in which teachers met monthly to watch and discuss video excerpts from each others' classrooms. Participating in a video club was found to influence the teachers' professional vision as exhibited in the video club meetings, in interviews outside of the video club meetings, and in the teachers' instructional practices. These results suggest that professional vision is a productive lens for investigating teacher learning via video. In addition, this article illustrates that video clubs have the potential to support teacher learning in ways that extend beyond the boundaries of the video club meetings themselves.

Science and Mathematics Teachers’ Experiences, Needs, and Expectations Regarding Professional Development

High quality teachers are essential to improving the teaching and learning of mathematics and science, necessitating effective professional development (PD) and learning environments for teachers. However, many PD programs for science and mathematics teachers fall short because they fail to consider teacher background, experience, knowledge, beliefs, and needs (Loucks-Horsley, Love, Stiles, Mundry, & Hewson, 2003). To develop more effective PD systems, it is necessary to assess and identify teachers’ PD needs, expectations, experiences and constraints. In this manuscript, we describe the findings from a study that examined the PD experiences, needs, expectations, and constraints of middle and high school science and mathematics teachers in one state in the U.S. We examine similarities and differences between science and mathematics teachers and among teachers from urban, suburban and rural schools. The findings from this study suggest that mathematics and science teachers participate in a minimal amount of PD and that a number of factors contribute to this reality. Furthermore, science and mathematics teachers do not experience effective PD learning environments described by Bransford, Brown & Cocking (2000) and there is a mismatch between teachers’ PD needs and experiences.

AgentService: a framework to develop distributed multiagent systems

This paper presents AgentService, a framework for developing Multiagent Systems (MAS). The key features introduced with AgentService are a flexible agent model and a modular platform. Agents can perform multitask activities as well as move among different platforms. The MAS is hosted in a modular environment so that the platform can be customised. Several tools come with the programming suite, in particular: a visual protocol designer and a set of language extensions integrated into a professional development environment to ease development.