Means Of Professional Development Research Articles

Electronic Newsletters as a Professional Development Tool for Rural Educators

Rural educators need access to evidence-based instructional practices and technologies that meet the needs of our communities. Difficulty accessing quality professional development due to geographic isolation, limited access to specialists, cost constraints, staffing shortages, lack of access to resources and technology, and less time to participate in meaningful professional development are common barriers facing rural teachers. One way to disseminate evidence-based practices is through an electronic newsletter. This article shares how a behavior analyst developed an online newsletter to build relationships, offer resources, highlight staff achievement, provide instruction, and model evidence-based behavior interventions for school staff.

REFLECTING ON A COMPREHENSIVE TEACHER TRAINING EXPERIENCE

This article aims to analyze the impact of the training experience of university lecturers focusing on its effectiveness for their personal and professional development. Applying mixed-methods research, it examines the experiences and overall performance of university lecturers in the role of teacher trainers based on instructional scaffolding approach. Data collection for the analyses involves the questionnaire survey including open-ended and close-ended questions that provide statistical insights into their instructional practices as trainers. The analysis of the survey held among the participants of the project show the high level of satisfaction with the training experience. The data of the survey help to understand better the challenges of university lecturers who were assigned the role of teacher trainers and experienced professional transformation. Based on the research, the authors identify possible implications and opportunities of meaningful professional development of university lecturers through the experience of training secondary school teachers.

The Community Primary Care Champions Fellowship: a mixed methods evaluation of an interprofessional fellowship for physician assistants and physicians

BackgroundPrimary care in the US faces challenges with clinician recruitment, retention, and burnout, with further workforce shortages predicted in the next decade. Team-based care can be protective against clinician burnout, and opportunities for interprofessional education (IPE) on professional development and leadership could encourage primary care transformation. Despite an increasingly important role in the primary care workforce, IPE initiatives training physician assistants (PAs) alongside physicians are rare. We describe the design, curriculum, and outcomes from an interprofessional primary care transformation fellowship for community-based primary care physicians and PAs.MethodsThe Community Primary Care Champions (CPCC) Fellowship was a one-year, part-time fellowship which trained nine PAs, fourteen physicians, and a behavioralist with at least two years of post-graduate clinical experience in six content pillars: quality improvement (QI), wellness and burnout, mental health, social determinants of health, medical education, and substance use disorders. The fellowship included a recurring schedule of monthly activities in self-study, lectures, mentoring, and community expert evening discussions. Evaluation of the fellowship included pre, post, and one-year follow-up self-assessments of knowledge, attitudes, and confidence in the six content areas, pre- and post- wellness surveys, lecture and discussion evaluations, and midpoint and exit focus groups.ResultsFellows showed significant improvement in 24 of 28 self-assessment items across all content areas post-fellowship, and in 16 of 18 items one-year post-fellowship. They demonstrated reductions in emotional exhaustion and depersonalization post-fellowship and increased confidence in working in interprofessional teams post-fellowship which persisted on one-year follow-up assessments. All fellows completed QI projects and four presented their work at national conferences. Focus group data showed that fellows experienced collaborative, meaningful professional development that was relevant to their clinical work. They appreciated the flexible format and inclusion of interprofessional community experts in evening discussions.ConclusionsThe CPCC fellowship fostered an interprofessional community of practice that provided an effective IPE experience for physicians and PAs. The learning activities, and particularly the community expert discussions, allowed for a flexible, relevant experience, resulting in personal and professional growth along with increased confidence working within interprofessional teams.

Exploring the role of instructional leaders in promoting agency in teachers’ professional learning

This qualitative study used structural analysis of conversational episodes and content analysis to examine how two instructional leaders fostered teacher agency and collaboration in planning ongoing structures and content during a yearlong professional learning experience in one elementary school. Framed within a theory of agency, we found a merging of insider and outsider knowledge in the interactions between university partners and the two leaders of the English language arts leadership team that occurred across time, that agentive discourse was topically coherent among the leadership team as a collective group, and that the collective group maintained reflective and forward-looking common professional learning goals. We argue that meaningful professional development contexts position all participants in ways that value and trust their individual contributions and prompt them to act agentively to meet individual learning goals while maintaining a focus on the school’s collective goals.

Impact of School-University Partnerships and Professional Learning Communities

School-university partnerships and professional learning communities (PLCs) are important approaches to school reform that have the potential to improve teaching and learning and improve student outcomes. School-university partnerships are collaborative relationships between schools and universities that aim to improve teaching and learning outcomes by providing access to resources and expertise and by developing new curricula and instructional materials. This study analyzes the positive impact of partnerships and communities on teaching and learning outcomes but also acknowledges the challenges they face such as time constraints, funding, and cultural differences. The research method uses Systematic Literature Review (SLR). The data collection process is carried out by identifying and evaluating scientific articles that are relevant to the topic. A literature search was conducted through academic databases, such as PubMed, ERIC, and Google Scholar. The data found analyzed to identify patterns, trends, and consistencies in the findings. Drawing on existing literature and case studies of successful partnerships found that these collaborative models have the potential to significantly improve educational outcomes for students while providing meaningful professional development opportunities for teachers. Success factors include building relationships based on mutual respect and trust, ongoing communication and collaboration and structured professional development. It was concluded that implementing partnerships will create a culture for continuous improvement within the school community.

From Mandatory to Meaningful: Setting the Stage for Accessibility, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ADEI) Professional Development in Technical Services

Developing knowledge and understanding related to accessibility, diversity, equity, and inclusion (ADEI) is critical to transforming libraries into more socially just institutions. However, building organizational structures that foster meaningful professional development can be challenging. At Western Washington University, leadership in the Western Libraries initiated a three-part effort to encourage and support employee ADEI growth, including the implementation of a SharePoint-based professional development repository, deployment of an employee engagement survey, and an analysis of employees’ experiences with ADEI professional development. In this presentation, Western Libraries Director of Collections Madeline Kelly presents each component of the effort in detail, including aspects of the work that can be applied at other institutions.

Early Years Staff Experiences in a “Culture of Learning” Regarding Inclusion in a Nursery Class in a British School: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

Less than 20% of the early childhood education and care (ECEC) staff members working in British early childhood centres agree that the inclusion of all children is an essential part of their working agenda, as they feel unqualified to take care of children with complex SEN or disabilities. This study makes a novel contribution by drawing on data compiled from a one-year ethnographic study which addressed the in-service learning experiences of seven teaching staff members that work inclusively. The participants included 2 classroom teachers, 1 SENCo (Special Educational Needs Coordinator), and 4 teaching assistants from a preschool class that teaches 92 children between the ages of 3 and 4, located in a primary school in England. We explore what professional learning means for the participants’ role, which professional learning opportunities are meaningful to them, and under which circumstances had been offered. This study not only does consider their opportunities for professional development on the job but also outside of work. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews, artifact analysis, and ongoing participant observation over one academic year. Data were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). The results demonstrate that this case study offers a unique perspective of a microsystem that could be at risk due to a lack of awareness by leaders and administration. The study is divided into four themes that directly impact inclusive professional service-development practices: (1) challenges posed to continuous professional development by differing professional roles, (2) motives for in-service training: combining career, school, and authorities’ interests, (3) promotion of meaningful professional development experiences by school, and (4) self-determined classroom motivated by respect and recognition.

Practical and Pertinent: Describing the Need for Meaningful Professional Development Among Agricultural Educators

Practical and Pertinent: Describing the Need for Meaningful Professional Development Among Agricultural Educators

The Role of Mentoring in Recruiting and Retaining Minority Physician Assistant Faculty.

The physician assistant profession (PA) is experiencing a proliferation of PA programs nationally, creating a demand for PA faculty to educate and train future PA clinicians. Current data show that the number of minority PA educators is insufficient to train a diverse PA workforce. Previous studies have explored the high turnover rate of minority PA faculty, their retention, and attrition. Guided by the social-ecological model (SEM), the purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of Black and Hispanic minority PA faculty in PA education to gain further insights about the specific role that mentoring has played in their recruitment and retention. Qualitative data were collected from a purposive sample of 6 minority PA faculty using semi-structured telephone interviews. This study's findings identified specific SEM constructs-specifically individual, interpersonal, and institutional levels of mentoring-that may influence minority PA faculty recruitment and retention efforts. The participants in this study identified several recruitment and retention factors, including formal and informal mentoring, support, and guidance. Challenges related to lack of pedagogical training and lack of administrative support for meaningful professional development were reportedly overcome by the assistance of colleagues within and outside of their programs. The findings of this study provide insights necessary to inform professional practice initiatives among PA program leaders and institutional leadership to engage in dialogue and coordinate efforts involving the implementation of effective professional development and mentoring structures.

Teacher Inquiry: A Catalyst for Professional Development

Teachers seek and require meaningful professional development opportunities to truly grow in the profession. Teacher inquiry, or teacher research, is one way to accomplish professional development goals. Teacher inquiry is thought of as individualized, personalized, and meaningful professional development (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1999). In this paper we articulate the learning of a cohort of certificated professionals engaged in a year-long project that included asking research questions, designing data collection tools, and developing an independent study to examine their questions. Nine certificated professionals participated in the year-long project representing various grade levels and experiences. Data was collected through teacher reflections and professional development evaluations. The findings indicated that a trusting, supportive environment is paramount in developing a culture of inquiry. Further learning shows us that peer collaboration promotes professional growth when exploring individual projects. This paper furnishes further evidence of the importance of teaching inquiry in schools and provides a sample structure for schools wishing to develop a practice of teacher inquiry.

A tale of caution: Navigating special education teacher resistance to well-being professional development

Despite increased attention to special education teacher well-being in the past decade, special education teachers continue to leave the field at twice the rate of general education teachers (Boe, 2014; Fox et al., 2020). The current study investigated special education teachers’ responses to a school-wide professional development series focused on teacher well-being. Although many teachers embraced the opportunity to discuss well-being, some were resistant towards well-being professional development. Thus, researchers explored what drove resistance to well-being professional development and how researchers responded to resistance. Findings suggest that efforts to support special education teacher well-being should be attuned to teachers’ reactions and moments of resistance, offering opportunities for professional growth that are responsive to the needs of adult learners. We discuss how such attentiveness can support the design and implementation of meaningful professional development that is context specific, rooted in community strengths and values, and dynamic and reflective of teacher needs.

‘It’s Us, Or Maybe No One’: Yarning With Aboriginal Social and Emotional Wellbeing Workers From the Kimberley Region of Western Australia

Objective Social and Emotional Wellbeing (SEWB) describes the holistic model of health and wellbeing advocated for by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This research explored the experiences of Aboriginal peoples employed in SEWB service delivery to identify enablers, challenges, and requirements of growing a sustainable, and empowered SEWB workforce. Methods We used a yarning methodology with seven Aboriginal SEWB workers located at Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations across the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Results Three key SEWB service delivery themes were identified: 1) Role of cultural identity; 2) Barriers and enablers of SEWB service provision; 3) Building the future of the SEWB workforce. Lessons Learned SEWB services, as delivered by Aboriginal peoples within Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations, have great potential to comprehensively meet the health and wellbeing needs of Aboriginal peoples and communities. To optimally undertake their role, Aboriginal SEWB staff need to: have a clear understanding of their role; good relationships within their workplace; relevant sector knowledge; a strong sense of cultural safety within the workplace; and access to meaningful professional development. Understanding the barriers and enablers experienced by SEWB staff provides a platform to meaningfully develop the future Aboriginal SEWB workforce, and delivery of SEWB services.

Creating meaningful professional development opportunities for teaching assistants facilitating course-based undergradaute research experiences (CUREs)

Creating meaningful professional development opportunities for teaching assistants facilitating course-based undergradaute research experiences (CUREs)

Completing the Academic Leadership Fellows Program During the Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic caused the Academic Leadership Fellows Program (ALFP) of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy to shift to a virtual format for Cohort 17. Major differences compared to previous years included changes in networking strategies among fellows, lack of in-person team-building activities, and adjustments to the preparation and delivery of the team debates. Adaptations in fellow peer interactions and the learning approach proved that strong relationships and collaborations can be formed in a virtual setting. Concurrent mentorship and leadership opportunities at the fellows' home institutions remain fundamental components of the program to enhance personal growth. The ALFP program proved that it can still deliver a meaningful professional development opportunity for faculty leaders in a virtual setting.

Unpacking a huge messy box: using complexity theory to envision how a novice TESOL teacher emerged from university into the classroom

ABSTRACT The nature of support for novice teachers, especially those coming from non-Anglophone countries, will impact upon teacher retention and student learning outcomes. Lack of support can generally lead to novice teachers leaving the field specifically because of their inability to perform their roles satisfactorily. There is a significant lacuna in the literature, however, about how novice teachers in adult education work in institutions where they face difficulties and seek to overcome these challenges. Therefore, this study aims to provide an account of the professional development a novice adult education teacher, Author1, based on a self-study conceptually framed by complexity theory. It is revealed that Author1 adapted to her systemic conditions by enacting practices such as obtaining opinions and insights from colleagues outside her institution and also developing new pedagogical strategies. To conclude, we suggest that there is need for institutional support for novice teachers to engage in meaningful professional development experiences in order to enhance their skills and better facilitate student learning.

Learning from our mistakes, the alternative of training feedback

Clinical supervisors, who support and assess health students' clinical learning, encounter many challenges. Professional development opportunities for clinical supervisors to overcome the challenges are available but are often designed to meet organisational and tertiary provider administrative needs, rather than the needs of intended target groups.A qualitative action research study was designed to include a group of Australian nursing clinical supervisors in the design and implementation of meaningful professional development activities.Ten clinical supervisors, from one organisation, participated in three meetings to explore shared challenges and create solutions to resolve these challenges.Over a seven-month period in 2018–2019 data revealed clinical supervisors in this study experienced a variety of tensions. Participants prioritised three opposing tensions that were of shared concern; Doing and Thinking; Educator and Clinician and Negotiating and Challenging. Being able to visualise and articulate these tensions helps to empathise with the role complexity that clinical supervisors experience, and this led to the production of solutions which validate and advocate for the role and the values.The group created innovative solutions such as podcasts, posters, banners and flyers to assist them to harmonise the tensions and work more effectively in their role.

Analysis of faculty use and perceptions of ICT: planning for effective professional development at a Japanese HEI.

For more than 20 years, Japanese HEIs have focused on ICT integration as a means to help students develop twenty-first century skills. However, effective ICT integration is only possible if faculty have an awareness of the possibilities of technology and see the value of a student-centered approach to teaching. This study was conducted to assess the current state of these qualities at a specific Japanese HEI for the purpose of facilitating meaningful professional development. A survey covering ICT usage, barriers to its use, and reasons for ICT integration was distributed to all full-time faculty at this institution. Results showed that ICT integration was superficial and indicative of teacher-centered pedagogy. Another key finding was identifying the perception that ICT is seen as more of a tool to increase teacher productivity than to improve student learning outcomes. Major obstacles to ICT integration were identified as a lack of technical support and a lack of professional development. Results indicate that planning for professional development that will lead to meaningful change in practice requires more than just providing support for how and what faculty can do with ICT. Faculty need to see the value of reclassifying their views regarding their role in higher education.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s43545-022-00454-0.

The inquirer, the sense maker, and the builder: Participant roles in an online working group designed to support inquiry-oriented instruction

In light of the expansion of student-centered instructional approaches in mathematics education and a brightening spotlight on instructional supports, we look to Inquiry Oriented Instruction (IOI) and explore instructors’ participation in an online working group designed to support the implementation of IOI. By coordinating the tenants IOI, the format and goals of the online working groups, and the analytic framing provided by the Instructional Triangle, three roles for the IOI professional development participants emerged: the sense maker, the inquirer, and the builder. This framing guided our study of participant role enactment in an online professional development setting. Here we detail two instructors’ approaches to IOI, the roles they played in in the online working group, and ultimately shed light on the intricacies of IOI and meaningful professional development engagement. Such findings support the growing bodies of research centered around IOI, corresponding professional development initiatives, and community formation in online professional development settings.

From performative to professional accountability: re-imagining ‘the field of judgment’ through teacher professional development

ABSTRACT The rise of performative culture in education and intensifying forms of test-based accountability have subjected teachers to a ubiquitous ‘field of judgment’ through which they are held to account. Within this context, professional development is consistently deployed as a key solution to stagnant or declining student outcomes. In this paper, we examine how accountability might be reimagined through one approach to professional development known as Quality Teaching Rounds (QTR). We draw on Foucault’s notion of panopticism and Ball’s influential writings on performativity to analyse interviews with 21 educators from 14 schools in New South Wales, Australia, conducted during a 2014–2015 randomised controlled trial. Participants highlighted the pervasiveness of testing and test results in shaping their experience of teaching in a system of perpetual surveillance where numbers bite deep into practice. By contrast, participation in QTR afforded teachers rare spaces of freedom within the structure of performativity to collaboratively focus on pedagogy. We argue meaningful professional development can alter the field of judgment and enable teachers to reclaim accountability on their own terms, while maintaining a clear focus on student outcomes.

Opening the Pathway: An Example of Universal Design for Learning as a Guide to Inclusive Teaching Practices.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) provides a flexible framework for supporting a wide variety of learners. We report here on a conference that presented the UDL framework as a way to increase success of deaf and hard-of-hearing (deaf/hh) students in introductory biology courses. The Opening the Pathway conference was an NSF Advanced Technological Education project focusing on raising awareness about careers in biotechnology and student success in introductory biology, a key gateway course for careers in biotechnology. The participants were professionals who work with deaf/hh students at pivotal points in students’ educational pathways for raising awareness of biotechnology career options, including community college faculty, high school faculty at schools for the deaf, and American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters. The conference goal was to provide an effective, meaningful professional development experience in biology instruction. The conference explicitly addressed the role of a UDL approach in building accessible, inclusive, productive learning environments, particularly for deaf/hh students, and demonstrated how to make effective pedagogical practices, specifically case-based learning, inclusive and UDL-aligned in an introductory biology context. We describe the conference, conference outcomes for participants, and in particular the application of the UDL framework to create an inclusive experience.