Formal Professional Development Activities Research Articles

One size does not fit all - mapping informal and formal professional development activities of vocational teachers

ABSTRACT Vocational teachers continuously tailor their teaching to changes in occupational practice, technologies, and student diversity. Teacher professional development is crucial for dealing with these changes. A longitudinal study was conducted to study the professional development activities of vocational teachers in the Netherlands. It resulted in a typology of formal and informal professional development activities. This typology consolidates preceding typologies, and specifies these for the context of vocational education. During a two-and-a-half year period, 26 experienced teachers detailed their informal and formal professional development activities in learner reports. The 386 activities identified were grouped in six categories of informal professional development activities and in five categories of formal activities. In total, three quarters of the activities could be characterised as informal, embedded in daily practice. Our typology could encourage vocational schools in facilitating professional development more effectively.

Effectiveness of Formal Professional Development Activities in Vietnam: What Affects EFL Lecturers’ Perceptions

In the era of constant innovation in English language education, teacher professional development (PD) is of critical importance as it possibly contributes to changes in teachers’ attitudes and practices as well as changes in teaching and learning outcomes. Given this perspective, a vast number of teacher PD activities have been provided by administrative levels in Vietnam with a hope that teachers’ capacities will be enhanced for better teaching and learning. However, how effective these formal teacher PD activities are might be perceived differently by the stakeholders. The present study aims to investigate how EFL lecturers perceive the effectiveness of the formal PD activities provided for them and the reasons for their perceptions. The study employed the qualitative approach in which the data were collected via interviews with fourteen teachers from different universities. The findings showed that the provided PD activities were effective to a certain extent as perceived by the participant EFL lecturers. Their perceptions were affected by the elements of PD activities, the coherence between specific elements of PD activities and lecturers’ personal context or social context. The research findings possibly inform EFL lecturers, institution managers and PD organizers in Vietnam and comparable contexts about how to maximize the effectiveness of formal teacher PD activities.

Becoming a Researcher in Academic Medicine: An Autoethnography of Research Faculty Development

In the literature, research education is insufficiently addressed. Existing studies often document pre-/post-educational interventions. Accounts of individual scholars colored by their views and experience are rarely considered. This study describes the research experience of a faculty member in academic medicine and examines the values and practices that make up the subculture of research. Drawing on Hafler’s conceptual framework and autoethnography as a method, professional experiences related to research education are described and analyzed. Data were collected through the author’s journaled self-reflections. The findings were organized according to Hafler’s three suggested areas of faculty development. The first was the experience of formal professional development activities. There was a dearth of research education activities provided to faculty. The second was the experience of informal mentorship. Despite the tapestry of mentors, the types of relationships involved were unclear. The third theme is the experience of the culture surrounding promotion and funding. The quality of the research was challenged by the lack of funding. Current research education for faculty members are, in the author’s experience, modest. The research subculture encourages tacit strategies that orient faculty toward producing research on their own and influence scholarship decisions that produce works that do not necessarily have value and may not be considered impactful. A clearer purpose and more structured professional development that takes into consideration the three levels of faculty development—formal, informal, and cultural—are needed to help faculty fully realize their roles as researchers.

Nursing students’ perceived value of the work environment: A discrete choice experiment

The purpose of this study was to elicit graduating undergraduate nursing students’ perceived value of the work environment in aged care. Applying a cross sectional design, an electronic questionnaire was sent to 625 graduating undergraduate nursing students from three schools of nursing in Jiangsu Province, China. A discrete choice experiment questionnaire with eight choice-set questions was performed. In total, 267 nursing students (42.7%) responded to the questionnaire. We found that nursing students valued excellent working conditions the highest (OR = 3.632 [2.846~4.635]), followed by adequate formal professional development activities (OR = 2.252 [1.907~2.660]), good/excellent safety management (OR = 2.214 [1.828~2.682])/ (OR = 2.202 [1.758~2.759]), and 10% higher earnings (OR = 1.615 [1.360~1.919]). Based on these findings, the study provided information to improve the recruitment of nursing students to work with older adults. Findings suggest that students may be 44.07~73.41% more likely to choose working with older people when valued job characteristics are present.

Relocating Research on Teacher Learning: Toward Pedagogically Productive Talk

Most research and practice in teacher in-service learning focuses on formal professional development activities. This article calls for paying greater attention to the informal conversations that are embedded in teachers’ day-to-day work and through which they learn from one another what it means to be a teacher and how to perform their duties. The authors build on theory and research in teacher on-the-job discourse and learning in order to (a) argue that, as a field, we need to pay more focused and systematic attention to teacher on-the-job discourse; (b) offer a coherent conceptual framework for “pedagogically productive” teacher talk; and (c) highlight key research directions and challenges in investigating this and related phenomena.

Engaging With Quality Improvement Initiatives: A Descriptive Study of Learning in the Complex and Dynamic Context of Everyday Life for Family Child Care Providers

ABSTRACTResearch Findings: This article reports on family child care providers’ views about their engagement with professional development programs, including providers who were and were not participating in Quality Rating and Improvement Systems in Los Angeles, California. Most providers participating in the study were taking active steps to improve their work with children, but only a few providers described themselves as satisfied with the programs available. First, we report on why providers chose to engage (or not) in formal professional development activities; specifically, we explore the relationship between career phase and engagement and the levels of participation reported by seasoned providers. Second, we describe the way many providers strategically self-customized their quality improvement (QI) activities by drawing flexibly on available programs or by finding a coach who would work with them on their specific needs. Practice or Policy: Our findings suggest that in order to increase engagement with formal QI systems, designers of professional development supports must better align these supports with the needs and interests of family child care providers in terms of content and modes of delivery. We propose the concept of just-in-time professional development as 1 way to make QI offerings more responsive to some family child care providers’ needs.

Informal learning of primary school teachers: Considering the role of teaching experience and school culture

Teacher learning does not solely occur within formal professional development activities; in fact, the majority of learning occurs through daily practice. The current study focuses on this everyday learning and examines primary teachers' informal learning. Results showed that teachers learn through a variety of learning activities including ‘experimenting’, ‘reflection’, ‘learning from others without interaction’ and ‘collaboration’. In addition, differences between novice and more experienced teachers were identified. More experienced teachers learn as much as their novice colleagues, however they undertake different learning activities. Finally, results reveal that although collaboration is an important source of learning, primary teachers value their autonomy.

Development of Staff Cultural Capacity in an Intensive Environmental Stewardship Program for Urban Youth

Cultural competence training for environmental educators has typically focused on formal professional development activities. The current research examined how educators can develop cultural competence through interaction with youth in environmental stewardship programs. An online survey was conducted with staff working closely with youth in The Nature Conservancy’s Leaders in Environmental Action for the Future program, to study their learning experiences. Responses were available from 34 staff (completion rate = 51%). Open-ended responses revealed they had learned about cultural differences in urban and youth groups’ engagement with the environment compared to that of adults in rural areas. In contrast, their understanding of different racial and ethnic groups was already high, and had not been impacted meaningfully. Quantitative items indicated that cultural competence about multiple conservation viewpoints (M = 4.30, SD = .33) was higher than that about racial and ethnic groups (M = 4.07, SD = .37), t (33) = 4.30, p < .001. Across questions staff reiterated that contact with interns had helped them develop greater appreciation for conservation work than before for its relevance to a wider segment of society. Rethinking conservation priorities was emotionally taxing for some staff and suggested that structured strategies for reflections on their cultural understandings are imperative for a diverse environmental workforce for the present and future.

How teachers learn: the roles of formal, informal, and independent learning

A qualitative study of math and science teachers at two middle schools identifies how their system for learning to integrate technology into their teaching goes beyond what school leaders typically consider when planning for teachers’ learning. In addition to (a) the district-initiated, or formal, system of professional development (PD) and professional learning communities (PLCs), it includes (b) teacher-initiated, or informal, learning with colleagues as well as (c) teachers’ independent learning activities. Analysis of why and how they form their system highlights how by only supporting the formal PD activities and PLCs, the district not only loses the valuable collective knowledge of the districts’ teachers derived from their informal and independent learning activities, but also diminishes the learning teachers derive from the formal PD activities since informal collaborations and independent work after formal PD activities often helps to bring the learning from the training room to the classroom. We present teachers’ insights and then discuss implications for the design of a holistic approach to facilitate teachers’ formal, informal, and independent learning that is tied together and supported by technology. While research on formal, informal and independent teacher learning exists, with technology frequently mentioned as a potential support for each of these three modes, these approaches have not been considered together as interdependent parts of the same holistic system for teacher learning nor has the way technology might knit these modes of teacher learning together been imagined as a part of that system.

Professional development and the university casual academic: integration and support strategies for distance education

Professional development is imperative for the currency and relevancy of a proficient teaching workforce in distance education, and in turn, the quality of programs being delivered. As participation in distance education within Australian universities is growing, with increasing numbers of academics being required to teach, casual employment of academic staff is often undertaken. As a consequence, casual academics now undertake significant amounts of university teaching loads. In addition, although employed on a casual basis, casual academics often have ongoing relationships with the university, spanning more than one teaching period and in some cases, even years. Professional development is crucial to ensure the replenishment and vivacity of the university, its academics and students. Consequently, the goal of this constructivist grounded theoretical study was to explore the experiences of casual distance education academics, from which professional development emerged as a key theme. Twelve casual academics from a regional university discussed their work experiences through an in-depth semistructured interview. The findings revealed that distance education casual academics accessed a range of formal and informal professional development opportunities. Informal professional development included mentoring, which casual academics highly valued. Formal professional development activities provided by the university were also noted; however, casual academics were sometimes unaware that these existed. Finally, recommendations regarding successful professional development programs for casual academics are given, with particular emphasis on an Early Career Education Research group that operates at the university and is open to all staff.

The Business of Information

In a recent book on knowledge management, information professionals are urged to transform and brace themselves for a more active and dynamic role in the information and knowledge society. However are information professionals rising to the clarion call? This article takes challenging and deliberately provocative look at the role of the traditional information professional in an environment where others in information-related functions appear to take a more active part in the business, present a stronger image and ultimately may replace the role of the information professional. One of the main barriers to successful transformation that information professionals face is the need to change perceptions, behaviour and ways of working, and this theme runs throughout the article. The author highlights features relating to information work with the help of a SWOT analysis. Information professionals are also be urged to regard their service as a business in itself, and, as such, to promote and market the service, brand and if necessary re-launch the product. The need to develop traditional skills and to acquire new skills is emphasised, as is the need to use the softer skills. These initiatives together with formal professional development activities will ensure that the profession has a bright future ahead.

New technologies to support teaching for understanding

In this era of rapid change, educators increasingly recognize that students must learn how to develop and apply knowledge creatively, not simply remember what they have been told. To meet these demands, teachers need professional development opportunities that support them in a transformational process. New technologies appear to hold promise in overcoming the traditional limitations of professional development. In this chapter, we describe and analyze a program designed to provide such professional development. We begin by summarizing recurrent challenges and promising approaches to professional development organized around a set of qualities that characterize effective learning. Next, we use these qualities to describe a program that explicitly incorporates a model of teaching for understanding into the design of an online learning environment and professional development activities for educators. Finally, our analysis of this program emphasizes the Internet's unique advantages, as well as some remaining issues to resolve in online professional development for educators. In this era of rapid change, educators increasingly recognize that students must learn how to develop and apply knowledge creatively, not simply remember what they have been told. This goal requires shifting from traditional lessons based on transmitting information toward approaches that help learners build robust and flexible understanding. Such transformation of curriculum and pedagogy is a complex process for teachers who must develop new knowledge, skills and beliefs. To meet these demands, teachers need professional development opportunities that support them in a transformational process. Unfortunately, most learning opportunities for teachers fall short. They tend to be short-term workshops, focused on general topics rather than deep knowledge of subject matter and pedagogy, inattentive to teachers’ individual interests, disconnected from specific classroom practices, and isolated from ongoing support by coaches and colleagues. Formal professional development activities are often the antithesis of what is known to promote effective learning. New technologies appear to hold promise in overcoming the traditional limitations of professional development. The World Wide Web, with its rich trove of multimedia resources, interactive tools, and telecommunication facilities, accessible from anywhere on the planet, seems full of potential as a facilitator of teacher learning. Yet we know that mere access to technical resources is not sufficient to generate learning or to change practice. How might the Internet be used to support communities of reflective practitioners committed to teaching for understanding?