In-service Professional Development Research Articles

The Effectiveness of Inservice Professional Development of English Language Teachers by Teaching Associates and Its Impact on L2 Learning in Foundation Schools

This study was intended to investigate teacher’s professional development initiative by an educational foundation in free of cost foundation schools. The appointment of teaching associates is done by the educational foundation funded by Government of Sindh as English language specialists for English language teachers to enhance their knowledge, improvement in teaching practices, learning different language teaching methods and strategies and developing their overall teaching skills. For this purpose data was collected through semi-structured interviews of English language teachers and Teaching Associates to gain knowledge of their perceptions regarding effectiveness of in-service professional development. Observations of language teachers were also conducted to deeply investigate the extent to which Teaching Associates have been successful to achieve objectives set for English language teaching by foundation and the extent to which in-service professional development by Teaching Associates has been implemented in English language classrooms of foundation schools. The data obtained by semi-structured interviews has been analyzed thematically. Whereas, data obtained from observations has been analyzed through SPSS Version 26. The results showed that the in-service professional development has put positive effects on capacity building of teachers. Majority of teachers have been benefited in terms of Instructional planning, proper lecture delivery, Usage of relevant methods and strategies, Error analysis and error correction in language classes along with usage of consolidation and assessment techniques to improve their performance as well as the performance of language learners. The study recommended proper consideration towards usage of English language in the language classes and attention towards conceptual clarity. Thus, TAs need to work more on their planning for professional development of language teachers in foundation schools. Keywords: Professional development, Teacher education, Model classes, Training sessions, class observations, Foundation schools. DOI: 10.7176/RHSS/10-17-03 Publication date: October 31 st 2020

Unpacking the Processes of Materials Use: An Interdisciplinary Perspective of Language Teachers’ Use of Materials in China

In light of the growing agreement on the critical impact that materials can have on teaching and learning, classroom-based research on materials use in natural educational contexts has become increasingly urgent. This study aims to explore language teachers’ use of instructional materials in classroom settings. Drawing on the analysis of materials, interviews, and lesson observations from cases of three Chinese English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers and their six students, this study identified six interactive processes of materials use, based on which teachers’ pedagogical reasoning that enabled each process of materials use was unpacked. Through the theoretical lens of Keller and Keller’s anthropology of knowledge and Wartofsky’s categorization of artifacts, this article unraveled the relationship between teacher knowledge and practice in materials use and disentangled the multilayered roles of curriculum materials. The findings not only contribute to the conceptualization of materials use in language education but also suggest effective ways of enhancing the inservice professional development through materials use and development in natural educational contexts.

Exploring the racial achievement gap on US history written-response state assessment items

PurposeMany states are restructuring their US history state assessments to include written-response assessment items that evaluate students' literacy skills in high-stakes environments. The purpose of this study was to investigate how the addition of an extended-response item to a US history state assessment was associated with an increase in the racial achievement gap.Design/methodology/approachThe theoretical framework included linguistic complexity of standardized assessment items and academic language demand and utilized a difference-in-difference research design.FindingsThe findings indicate that the achievement gap between students of color and White students increased when an extended-response assessment item was added to an exclusively multiple-choice item exam and that this increase in the achievement gap may be contributed to a literacy gap.Research limitations/implicationsThe continued investigation of how students of color perform on different types of extended-response standardized assessment items. And, the continued investigation of evidenced-based instructional practices that focus on developing students' literacy skills in US history as well as culturally responsive instructional practices.Practical implicationsThe knowledge and implementation of literacy instruction and culturally responsive instruction in US history classrooms as well as in preservice teacher education programs and in-service professional development programs.Originality/valueThe current study is one of the first large-scale investigations into the racial achievement gap on US history written-response standardized assessment items and in identifying a literacy gap between students of color and White students on US history written-response state assessment items.

Toward More Inclusive Japanese Language Education: Incorporating an Awareness of Gender and Sexual Diversity among Students

Many educational institutions in North America have declared a commitment to enhancing the diversity of their students, and to providing a learning environment free of discrimination. This diversity unequivocally includes sexual orientation as well as gender identity and expression, and we teachers are expected to play a role in fulfilling this commitment. Nevertheless, there are few opportunities for us to learn about the diversity of gender and sexuality in pre-service training or in-service professional development for Japanese-language education. This paper addresses issues that may create challenges for LGBTQ learners of Japanese, paying special attention to heteronormativity in Japanese language teaching materials and linguistic norms and ideology regarding gendered expression in Japanese, and suggests ways teachers might deal with these issues in order to create an inclusive learning environment for all students regardless of their gender and sexuality.

School Psychologists Involvement in and Knowledge of Secondary Transition: Results from a Statewide Survey

Secondary transition has traditionally been the domain of special education, but recent research has explored potential avenues for school psychologists to become involved in secondary transition. The purpose of this study was to explore school psychologists’ knowledge of and involvement in secondary transition. Using a survey methodology, 3.5% of school psychologists in the sample reported receiving training in secondary transition during their graduate program. Most trainings in this area occurred as a result of in-service professional development. School psychologists reported being involved most often in helping students to understand their disabilities. The implications of these findings and opportunities for further research as well as training opportunities for school psychologists are discussed in this article.

Analyzing Eight Years of Mathematics Teacher Educator Articles: Where We Were, Where We Are, and Where We Are Going

In this editorial, an analysis of articles published in the Mathematics Teacher Educator journal (MTE) from 2012 to 2020, which describes the knowledge base for mathematics teacher educators addressed by MTE authors, is presented. This analysis builds on similar work conducted four years ago (Bieda, 2016). These more recent findings demonstrate that articles focusing on teacher knowledge; mathematical content; student thinking and reasoning; and models of teacher preparation or in-service professional development (PD) have been the most frequently published in MTE. In contrast, a limited number of articles have focused on discourse; diversity, equity, and language; technology; and methods of research. This examination allows us to assess as a community where we were, where we are, and where we might go in the future.

Tales of change: effective professional development in the light of educational systems reforms in Austria and England

The authors of this article each present the current situation of their respective educational systems regarding music teacher education, schools and professional development: all of which have undergone massive changes in the last decades. In the UK, this lead to a shift of teacher education away from universities toward school-based training and an orientation toward accountability and performance. In Austria, teacher education that had formerly been divided into two—academic courses for secondary education, and a nonacademic teacher training program in primary education—became streamlined and integrated into all academic BA-MA based programs at universities and pedagogical colleges. The authors trace the ramifications of these changes in the provision of professional development programs for music and arts teachers that mirror these organizational changes. They criticize the artificial divide that exists between learners in formal education and post-college lifelong learning, and propose a change in mindset: one in which tertiary education students are seen as continuing their lifelong learning path. They present current frameworks for effective in-service professional development as they have been discussed in international literature. An overview of research then allows them to highlight five different forms of effective in-service programs that have recently been implemented in music teacher professional development around the world. These five forms are discussed and linked to current developments in both countries before the article closes with recommendations for policy, which reflect the differences in political situation and educational contexts in both countries and their implications for future development of lifelong learning.

Professional development for classroom management: a review of the literature

ABSTRACT The ability of teachers to manage their classrooms is critical to achieving positive educational outcomes for students. Many teachers receive limited pre-service training in classroom management, creating a need for effective in-service professional development (PD). This literature review summarizes the results of 74 empirical studies examining the effects of PD on teachers’ classroom management behaviours. It identifies the characteristics of the existing literature base, the most frequent components of effective PD, and teacher and student outcomes related to PD. The results support a prior review that also suggested effective PD (i.e., desired changes in teacher and student behaviour) is predominantly studied at the elementary school level and, in addition to generic in-service trainings, most frequently includes didactic (direct) instruction, coaching, and performance feedback. These results have important implications for developing effective PD opportunities in the area of classroom management for in-service educators.

Exploring teachers’ attitudes toward implementing new ICT educational policies

ABSTRACT To understand how information communication technology (ICT) educational policies have been put into practice in educational settings, we used the acceptance model to analyze the role of teacher characteristics in their acceptance of educational policies. By reframing the present technology acceptance model for the context of ICT educational policy, we employed two external factors to explore the correlates of perceived ease of understanding policy (ease of understanding) and perceived ease of incorporating policy (ease of incorporating) into teaching settings to predict the perceived value of the students’ learning (value to students). Questionnaires were delivered by email to those participants who attended in-service professional development programs in Taiwan, and data of 372 teachers were collected for confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling. The results showed that personal traits (self-efficacy and innovativeness in information technology) were positively related to ease of understanding and ease of incorporating; both ease of understanding and ease of incorporating were positively related to value to students; and value to students was positively related to attitude toward implementing future ICT educational policies. The findings of this study may be particularly useful to policy-makers in those countries which often change their ICT educational policy.

Filipino and American Teachers: Their Differences in Psychological Needs, Performance, and Culture

This study addresses the dearth of literature about the Filipino international teachers whose presence continues to pervade the K-12 education system of the United States. Through quantitative analyses and the self-determination theory framework, it seeks to answer how basic psychological needs are addressed in higher education institutions set in different cultural settings and whether culture has a role in Filipino international teachers’ performance. The findings of this study may have an implication on home country’s teacher education, US teacher recruitment, and in-service professional development of international teachers. The ultimate goal of this study is how to fully prepare and support international teachers for the best of the American youth.

Using Japanese Lesson Study to Merge Inservice Professional Development and Preservice Clinical Experiences

For many years, lesson study has been woven into the professional lives of Japanese teachers. Recently, it has become more widespread in the U.S. Core elements of Japanese Lesson Study include collaborative lesson design, empirical trials of lessons, collective analysis of empirical trials, and subsequent lesson re-design. We describe how these core elements were implemented in a teacher education project that brought together prospective and practicing secondary-level science and mathematics teachers in interdisciplinary groups facilitated by university faculty members. The four groups described in this report designed and analyzed lessons about attending to scale factor in the context of microscopic images, constructing a geologic timeline, examining states of matter, and building a scale model of the solar system. The Japanese Lesson Study process helped these groups reflect on the nature of the content being taught, pedagogical concerns, and content-specific pedagogy. We found that discursive moves such as connecting separate strands of conversation and identifying mistakes helped facilitate group reflection. A growing body of research suggests that Japanese Lesson Study can be implemented in a wide array of contexts; we encourage others to include it among clinical experiences for prospective teachers because of its potential to give more undergraduates access to the most skilled mentor teachers and to counteract feelings of professional isolation that cause many to leave teaching. We offer our own experiences facilitating lesson study and dealing with challenges along the way to help others start to implement the model in their own professional settings.

Preschool teachers’ learning opportunities in their initial teacher education and in-service professional development – do they have an influence on preschool teachers’ science-specific professional knowledge and motivation?

ABSTRACTPreschool teachers’ science-specific competences have been shown to influence their science instruction, which in turn appear directly related to the development of children’s science competences. Initial teacher education and in-service professional development may include learning opportunities to acquire science-specific competences necessary for teaching science in preschool. Knowledge about the effects of learning opportunities in initial teacher education and in-service professional development on preschool teachers’ science-specific competences is limited but highly relevant for research, policy and practice. This paper examines the effects of learning opportunities in preschool teachers’ initial teacher education and in-service professional development on their science-specific professional knowledge and motivation regarding early science education. Controlling for preschool teachers’ socio-demographic and educational background and their learning opportunities in their initial teacher education, regression analysis revealed significant positive relations between in-service professional development courses and their self-efficacy beliefs, enthusiasm and science-specific content knowledge. With regard to science courses in initial teacher education, controlling for preschool teachers’ socio-demographic and educational background and the number of professional development courses taken, we found significant positive relations between the courses in initial teacher education and their science-specific pedagogical content knowledge and self-efficacy beliefs. These results indicate that the provided learning opportunities provided could promote preschool teachers’ competences. However, due to the heterogeneity in the learning opportunities and science-specific competences, policymakers and professional development providers may ensure that all preschool teachers receive sufficient learning opportunities to further their professional competences.

Correlations Between Effective Teachers’ Clusters System and Enhanced Classroom Practices in South Africa

In-service professional development of teachers plays prominent roles in determining quality education in any country. Professional development of teachers has become fundamental to education system in developing African countries. This study evaluated the use of clusters system as one of the in-service professional development approaches for teachers in South African high school. Andragogy theory was used as theoretical framework to underpin the study. Questionnaire was administered with 40 teachers; 3 Heads of Departments were engaged in semi-structured individual interviews while 5 teachers were engaged in a focus group interview. Findings revealed that clusters system existed among the various subject-teachers, and these clusters were beneficial to teachers; classroom practices were enhanced, and teachers could be supported by experienced colleagues. However, findings revealed that contents of these meeting were not relevant to the teachers, there was no proper monitoring or follow-up on the teachers’ activities there. The study therefore recommends that clusters system should be well structured to attend to classroom needs of the teachers, while proper follow-up mechanisms should be put in place.

Educational media and educational technology within specific education in Egypt and KSA: Challenges and prospects for development

Introduction.The technological development of media has a growing impact on various spheres of life, including education. New technologies enhance access to information and could affect the quality of training. The term “media education” was developed. Media education implies the study of impact and the use of media (press, television, radio broadcasting, advertising, the Internet with all its applications) not only by specialists in this field, but also by ordinary consumers of information for critical perception and good application. These media tools make the static and passive learning process more dynamic and interactive inside and outside the school. In specific education (musical, theatrical, sports, etc.), educational media combined with traditional techniques also begin to be involved as the tools, which motivate students for studies. Above all, educational media provide greater opportunities to identify students’ talents, to develop their abilities and skills (e.g., language, vocal, designer, household, etc.).The aimof the present analytical study is to diagnose the problems of carrying out professional activities and to study the needs of teachers, specialising in educational media and working in specific pre-university education systems in Egypt and Saudi Arabia.Methodology and research methods.Data collection was carried out by means of a survey questionnaire that was administered to a sample consisting of 100 teachers (50 from Egypt and 50 from KSA) working at various pre-university education levels in both countries.Results and scientific novelty.The results revealed that the major obstacles facing Egyptian teachers lied in budgetary and facilities shortage. Saudi teachers, however, were hindered by the administrative deficiency, lack of competencies in the use of the latest, constantly improving educational media and lack of in-service professional development. Moreover, all the participants reported the pivotal need to offer continuing professional in-service training opportunities for educational media and educational technology specialists. For experts in the field of educational media technologies, the advantages and benefits of this tool are obvious when conducting extra-curricular classes and activities, which allow providing more intensive intellectual development of students, as well as strengthening discipline and improving children behaviour.Practical significance.The authors formulated the recommendations on reforming the system of specific educational services, improving their quality due to the fastest, synchronous promotion of technological innovations, implementation of modern equipment and support of teachers’ competencies at the proper level. The importance of media education development actualises the creation of academic programmes at universities for the training of qualified teachers in the field of specific education, especially for countries, which do not have the same experience of training, since media education is becoming compulsory in the contemporary world, increasingly affecting the formation of individuals, culture and society. A number of proposals have been made to continue research in this direction.

What Do Educators Know and Want to Know about Childhood Brain Injury?

ABSTRACT Educators report a lack of knowledge and preparedness to work with students with traumatic brain injury. A total of 330 Australian educators completed a cross-sectional online questionnaire examining current knowledge of available resources related to traumatic brain injury in their school and community, and educators’ perspectives on what additional resources or training would help to improve their capacity to teach students with experience of brain injury. The majority of participants (60%; 197/330) reported that their school did not provide informational resources following a concussive event at school or they were unaware if such information existed. Many participants (40%; 127/315) were not able to identify services within the wider community that could assist and support students with traumatic brain injury. Qualitative analysis indicated that participants were aware of their lack of knowledge regarding traumatic brain injury and wanted access to further training opportunities. Incorporating training on traumatic brain injury into undergraduate teaching curricula and in-service professional development programmes may enhance educators’ confidence and capacity to support students with traumatic brain injury in the school environment.

A New Model of Team Teaching for Teacher Professional Development: A Case Study of In-Service English Teachers

Teachers’ professional development through collaborative arrangements has been emphasized in the literature despite the lack of sufficient interest and practice in Turkey. This study proposes a new model of team teaching as an in-service professional development program that draws on the principles of effective continuous professional development (CPD) practices. The new team teaching model is practiced in five phases and contains research, collaboration, and reflection stages with a focus on learner-centered instruction. The research adopted a qualitative approach exploring a case study of three English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers regarding their reflections on the model. The data for the study were obtained from semi-structured interviews and archival records. The findings of the study suggested that the teachers’ reflections on the new team teaching model centered on what they did through the phases of team teaching, what they learned thanks to the model, what they thought about the model, and how they felt from the beginning to the end of its implementation. Furthermore, the results revealed a gradual shift from negative to positive views on team teaching by the end of the study.

Exploring the nature of associations between educators’ knowledge and their emergent literacy classroom practices

Educators’ content knowledge is considered a key determinant of classroom practices and thus children’s learning. In this study, we examine the nature of associations between early childhood educators’ literacy content knowledge and their classroom emergent literacy practices. Specifically, we apply generalized additive modeling to consider three hypotheses regarding the functional form of these associations: (1) educators’ content knowledge must reach a threshold before demonstrating associations with practice, (2) educators’ knowledge is associated with practice until reaching a plateau, or (3) educators’ knowledge is linearly associated with practice. We measured educators’ (n = 437) content knowledge using an adaptation of the Moats (1994) knowledge survey, observed their classroom practices in the fall and spring of one academic year, and applied standardized coding schemes to code the latter with respect to the quality and quantity of emergent literacy practices. In general, results indicated positive, linear associations between educators’ knowledge and classroom practices. We discuss findings relative to prior work and conjectures concerning these associations as characterized by thresholds or plateaus. We also discuss implications for future research, preservice educator preparation, and inservice professional development.

Using visual representations to realise the concept of “heat”

ABSTRACT Science teachers often use visual images to help students visualise the abstract concepts of science. Yet, they may not support students in making sense of these visual representations, wrongly assuming that the students can intuitively do it on their own. Pre- and in-service teacher professional development programmes also seldom explicitly teach how visual representations can be purposefully selected and utilised to help students comprehend abstract concepts of science. Thus, the aim of this study is to examine how an elementary science teacher made use of visual representations to realise the meaning of the concept of “heat”, and to identify design considerations when using visual representations for concept teaching. Using multimodal analysis, the findings showed how the teacher orchestrated a sequence of ensembles of visual representations which bore conceptual, pedagogical, and epistemological roles in unpacking the concept of “heat” to facilitate his students’ understanding. The findings indicate the importance of teachers developing representation-content-pedagogical competences in order to select representations apt for the targeted content knowledge, the students’ profile, the learning environment, and the nature of the science.

The principal’s role in promoting a revised model of teachers’ in-service professional development – the case of Israel

The principal’s role in promoting a revised model of teachers’ in-service professional development – the case of Israel

Technical In-Service Needs of Agriculture Teachers in Georgia by Career Pathway

A teacher’s content knowledge, coupled with skilled teaching and a disposition for classroom service, all have a positive effect on student outcomes. This study assessed the in-service professional development needs of Georgia agriculture teachers’ in the seven career pathways defined in the Agricultural Education curriculum: Agribusiness Systems, Animal Systems, Environmental Service Systems, Food Products and Processing Systems, Natural Resources, Plant Systems, and Power and Technical Systems. Multiple areas within pathways were found to be beneficial for professional development according to teachers including: lab management, lab safety, greenhouse management, nutrition, feeds and feeding, market research, business plan development, etc. Teachers at all levels of experience noted additional professional development in plant systems and lab safety would be beneficial and teachers with less than 10 years expressed need for training in power and technical systems. Significant differences were found between male and female teachers in the area of power and technical systems, with males expressing need for additional professional development. Rural teachers saw more benefit in food processing professional development than their urban counterparts. Future research should investigate trends in professional development as it pertains to gender to provide a more tailored understanding of factors contributing to the individual needs of teachers, especially in the power and technical systems pathway. Additionally, research is needed to assess other elements of effective professional development in Agricultural Education such as the value of duration, collaboration, and reflection.