Model Of Teacher Learning Research Articles

An Exploratory Study of Teacher Development in the Implementation of Integrated Science Curriculum

This paper reports an empirical study of teacher development in the process of implementing an integrated science curriculum in a junior high school in China. Six science teachers with different subject backgrounds were invited to participate in this study. A pragmatic model of teacher learning that includes both cognitive and situated-learning perspectives was adopted with a focus on the professional, social and personal aspects of science teacher development. The data were collected from multiple sources, including in-depth interviews, direct classroom observations and participation in science teachers’ regular working meetings. The data analysis shows that the participants experienced various changes in the following aspects during the implementation of the integrated science curriculum: (1) updating science content knowledge; (2) reshaping the conception of science teaching; (3) establishing relationship with students; and (4) enhancing collegial interactions. The last part of this paper discusses these finding in the context of the literature on integrated science curricula and science teacher development.

A SELECTION OF METHODS AND TECHNIQUES PROFESSIONAL TEACHERS CAN APPLY TO THEIR OWN LIFELONG LEARNING

A selection of methods and techniques professional teachers can apply to their own lifelong learning.Education is the key to converting knowledge and experience into practical actions, their analysis and application. It plays a key role in the synthesis of new knowledge into research and innovation. Such thoughts on education were expressed in the resolution of the sixth World Education Congress in 2011. Today, when world education forums are widely discussing how schools can better organise the learning process, when ambitious long-term reforms are being implemented in the Latvian education system—the transition to competency-based educational content and teaching methods—it is essential to assess current situation and to bring innovative methods and techniques to our teachers' own learning process. The new knowledge and experience teachers gain through lifelong learning, through their experience and the understanding of how to share it, can be presented and guided by such methods and techniques that enrich a teacher's emotional and intellectual function. My own research has confirmed my belief that for a teacher to be confident and capable enough to help her students discover the joy of learning and gain new knowledge through the process of education, that teacher must herself have the experience of active learning, insight, and personal growth through the learning process.The author has selected a number of methods and techniques for lifelong learning based on the methods and techniques developed by a number of education researchers (Kolb, 1984; Koķe, 1999; Stueck, 2010; Vedins, 2011; Ščurkova, 2016; Robinson, 2013; Amonašvili, 2017), and on her own experience of leading and developing a professional lifelong education programme for teachers. The model of teacher learning presented here has been used in practice since 2012 and has been well-received. Teachers can develop themselves mentally, emotionally and spiritually through the learning process and in doing so increase their professional value.Objective for the Study. To create a model for teaching professional teachers in the context of their own lifelong learning, to assemble a selection of methods and techniques for professional teachers’ lifelong learning, including several designed by the author, and to assess them.

Learning from Analyzing Linguistically Diverse Students’ Work: A Contribution of Preservice Teacher Inquiry

One task of Feiman-Nemser’s teacher learning model—develop tools and dispositions to study teaching—frames how we organized learning opportunities during teacher preparation. We explored how and to what degree preservice teachers used teacher inquiry to analyze linguistically diverse students’ work through an asset-based lens, beyond deficit perspectives, attending to student learning that was present. Preservice teachers reflected on practice and varied in how they integrated knowledge of students and linguistic diversity in inquiry.

New Model of Teacher Learning in an Online Network

While many researchers have examined teacher participation and professional development in online networks and communities, few have looked at the factors and contexts that shape how teachers learn in these online spaces. Examining teachers' learning processes within these online spaces can yield important insights for scholars, school leaders, and teacher educators who are interested in designing online networks and communities or supporting teacher professional development within these spaces. This study was designed to shed light on the multifaceted nature of teacher learning within an online network environment. Data were collected through an online survey and in-depth interviews of members in the Edmodo math subject community. A thematic analysis was conducted across the two data sets in order to identify patterns of actions and factors that shaped the participants' learning processes. A new model of teacher learning was developed to display teacher learning as an iterative, multistep process that is socially constructed, distributed, and situated in the contexts in which teachers work. Implications and ideas for further research are discussed.

THE STATUS QUO OF TEACHER-TRAINING COURSES IN THE IRANIAN EFL CONTEXT: A FOCUS ON MODELS OF PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION AND DYNAMIC ASSESSMENT

Given that Teacher-Training Courses (TTC’s) have responsibility for assisting prospective teachers with building up a repertoire of technical and pedagogic knowledge, the systematically evaluation of such courses is regarded as seminal (Lynch, 2003 and Peacock, 2009). Therefore, the present study is an attempt to (a) probe into the way professional expertise is acquired by preservice Iranian EFL teachers, (b) analyze the instructional content of TTC’s currently held in Iran, with a focus on teachings on Dynamic Assessment (DA), and (c) examine preservice teachers’ and TTC trainers’ opinions about the TTC’s. To this end, 9 purposefully selected TTC’s were observed, employing participant observation, and content analyses were carried out on their syllabi. Also, 107 TTC participants filled out a questionnaire, and 14 TTC instructors were interviewed; the sampling of the TTC participants and instructors was nonprobability convenient. Results of descriptive statistics showed that accounting for 84.73% of all the instructional attempts, the craft model was the most frequently prevalent model of teacher learning. Content analyses and preservice teacher questionnaire results signified that writing skill was marginalized in all the courses, and none of them included instructions on DA in their syllabi. Open, selective, and axial coding as well as content analyses of the collected data gave rise to eight themes delineating major areas fueling the current research-practice divide in the TTC syllabi. Findings of the study provide an opportunity to examine the status quo, strengths, and weaknesses of the TTC’s. The eight identified impediments to the employment of research in pedagogy could help reach a framework for factors that might induce TTC organizers to disregard the implication of relevant research findings for the courses they run.

Teacher education pedagogy: disrupting the apprenticeship of observation

Teacher educators are challenged to enact a pedagogy that helps facilitate conceptual transitions in preservice teachers away from the naïve notions formed during their long apprenticeships of observation. This study examines one ‘educative experience purposefully embedded in meaningful pedagogical experiences’ using the three-level model of teacher learning. Findings indicate preservice teachers derived a range of learning from the educative experience, and most were found to be surfacing, confronting, and beginning to replace naïve notions of teaching, learning, and assessment. Findings also suggest several characteristics of teacher education pedagogy that disrupt the apprenticeship of observation, including the presentation of dramatically new ideas to elicit the awareness of unexamined assumptions about teaching and learning; the usefulness of affect in awakening that awareness; and opportunities to develop metacognition and process reactions through writing that surfaces prior ideas and articulates new understandings.

Learning about professional growth through listening to teachers

This article explores teacher learning and development, drawing on insights gained during two study visits and an international collaborative project. The article also charts a phase in the author’s own learning, reflecting a growing recognition of the complexities of professional growth, gained through listening to teachers. A tentative process model for teacher learning and development is constructed from related literature, which is used to analyse teacher accounts heard during study visits. While critical aspects of professional growth can be discerned in this model, interactions between purpose, opportunity and response are inadequately framed, leading to further interpretations through complexity thinking. In particular, teacher agentive responses appear to interact recursively with development purposes and opportunities, with implications for further research and development in this field. It is suggested that more useful insights are likely to emerge through studying the detail and nuances of interactions and intra-actions in specific contexts, rather than seeking average effects across samples.

Teachers’ preflection in early stages of diffusion of an innovation

Teachers play an important role in the process of diffusion of an innovation. In our endeavour to achieve the diffusion of a curricular innovation from one seeding school to five other schools, we have investigated the learning of a group of teachers through an across-schools collaborative seeding journey. A preflective learning model for teachers is proposed with the aim to prepare seeded teachers in reflection-for-action and to build their capacities in designing and enacting the curriculum. In this paper, we describe this model and explore its effectiveness, especially with regards to teachers’ perception towards the innovation and their buy-in. We found that the seeded teachers from the five schools, regardless of their own teaching profiles and school contexts, have obtained high degrees of buy-in of the innovation and developed their readiness towards implementation for the next phase. It is envisioned that such a learning model will inform the design for teacher professional development and achieve innovation diffusion to create a wider community of teacher practice.

Meningkatkan Hasil Belajar Siswa Melalui Penerapan Pembelajaran Kooperatif Tipe Think Pair-Share(TPS)

The low student’s achievement in physics is supposed because of the lack of variation in teacher learning model used. It has an impact on students' social skills. Their skills are lower and the students tend to be passive. For that reasons the writer conducts this research and aims to improve student learning result through cooperative learning type TPS on the subject of elasticity and Hooke's law. The data analysis was used through descriptive, qualitative, and quantitative. The results of this research were: (1) teachers' skills in cycle I, II and III respectively 80,11%, 88,07%, and 96,59% are very good category (2) increase student's social skills each cycle in good category, (3) completeness student learning results in the classical also increased each cycle respectively 47,06%, 76,47%, and 97,06%, (4) student responses during the learning process is good categorized, for interest of 3,86 while the motivation by 3,94. It appears on result average for every statement in the good category. According to the results, it can be concluded that the student learning result of grade XI IPA 3 MAN 2 Model Banjarmasin at elasticity and Hooke's law subject are increasing after the application of cooperative learning model type TPS.

Viewing teacher transformation through the lens of cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT)

Technology-Enhanced Formative Assessment (TEFA) is an innovative pedagogy for science and mathematics instruction. The ‘Teacher Learning of TEFA’ research project studies teacher change as in-service secondary science and mathematics teachers learn TEFA in the context of a multi-year professional development programme. Applying cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT) to the linked activity systems of professional development and teachers’ classroom practice leads to a model of teacher learning and pedagogical change in which TEFA is first introduced into classrooms as an object of activity, and then made useful as a tool for instruction, and then—in rare cases—incorporated into all elements of a deeply transformed practice. Different levels of contradiction within and between activity systems drive the transitions between stages. A CHAT analysis suggests that the primary contradiction within secondary education is a dual view of students as objects of instruction and of students as willful individuals; the difficulties arising from this can either inhibit or motivate TEFA adoption.

How to foster collaborative learning in communities of teachers and student teachers: Introduction to a special issue

Teachers in secondary education mainly feel responsibility for their own classroom practice, resulting in largely autonomous and isolated work and private learning activities. Most teachers teach separate classes behind closed doors and learn about teaching by teaching, which often is described as trial and error (Hodkinson and Hodkinson 2003, 2004). Moreover, teacher professional development mostly takes place outside school, thus removing teacher learning from the workplace (McMahon 1999). Recent educational literature focuses on teachers as professionals working in a particular school culture, being affected and motivated by the way in which they develop and maintain relationships and mutual interests with colleagues. There is particular attention for the way in which teachers can work and learn in what are called teacher communities (Grossman et al. 2001; Hammerness et al. 2005; Little 2002, 2003; Westheimer 1999). Along with situated learning theories such as those described by Lave and Wenger (1991), many scholars have come to emphasise learning as a dynamic and social participation process (see, for a review, Roth and Lee 2006). Various related terms have been used to indicate the way in which people work and learn in communities, such as communities of practice (Lave and Wenger 1991), learning communities (Brown et al. 1989) and knowledge building communities (Scardamalia and Bereiter 1994). The widespread interest in professional communities indexes a view of learning and knowledge as being integral in social practice (whether captured in collaborative activities, working artefacts, routines, stories or language). This image of learning is increasingly adopted by social scientists (Sfard 1998). Both the organisational and educational fields have started to look for ways to organise or facilitate professional communities as a way to stimulate and facilitate learning (Hildreth and Kimble 2004). In their conceptual framework of how teachers learn, Shulman and Shulman (2004) recognise the importance of communities and work context. In their model of teacher learning, Shulman and Shulman distinguish three interrelated levels of analysis: the individual, communal and policy. At the communal

Teacher education lesson observation as boundary crossing

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to test and develop a new tool for lesson observation and feedback within the context of initial teacher education. The tool was designed to align with the practitioner enquiry model of teacher learning underpinning the course, and as such it drew mentors into the mode of responding to their students’ questions.Design/methodology/approachThe research was undertaken as a Design Study. The design of the tool led to an iterative, collaborative, process‐focused approach to the development of the observation tool. Students and their mentors were encouraged to experiment with and report on their observation experience.FindingsThe observation tool altered the quality of the mentoring relationship through focusing on enquiry as its foundation. Feedback from student teachers and their mentors helped us to define the role of observation in the process of professional learning and to review the nature of the mentoring relationship which emerged.Practical implicationsSignificant professional development and learning can be triggered by crossing both real and metaphorical boundaries and as such it is essential that the tools offered to students and their mentors are supportive of divergent learning outcomes, through which each student teacher has the opportunity to transform teaching practices, not simply replicate existing ones.Originality/valueObservation and feedback in the classroom can be viewed as a “boundary” practice. This new tool can be regarded as a “boundary object” which promotes the use of questions to support the “framing and reframing” necessary for the professional learning and development of the beginning teachers.

Organizational Models for Teacher Learning

From the earliest reports regarding middle level education to the most recent ones, teacher learning has been central to effective middle level schools. Alexander, Williams, Compton, Hines, and Prescott (1968) asserted, Even the most enthusiastic and well-qualified teachers must have the support of congenial organizational framework, abundant resources, pertinent inservice programs, and appropriate procedures to assure continued optimum performance (p. 88). In the seminal Turning Points document, the Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development (1989) highlighted how teachers working collectively can solve problems, experience professional support and less isolation, and coordinate instructional programs. In Turning Points 2000: Educating Adolescents in the 21st Century, Jackson and Davis (2000) recommended that middle level schools not only be staffed with teachers who are expert at teaching young adolescents but also engage teachers in ongoing, targeted professional development opportunities. More recently in This We Believe: Keys to Educating Young Adolescents, National Middle School Association (NMSA, now Association for Middle Level Education [AMLE], 2010) named ongoing professional development as one of its 16 tenets, explaining, is ... initiatives (p. 30).It is important that professional development experiences provide continued participation over an extended period of time, collaborative approaches, and ongoing assessment of the effectiveness of the professional development initiatives. (p. 30)Professional development experiences can take many forms, yet collaborative organizational models, in particular, can facilitate teachers' discussions about professional readings, student work and data, instructional practices and assessment techniques, and school improvement goals. The professionalization of teaching is dependent upon teachers having opportunities to contribute to the development of their own knowledge, engage in collegial relationships, and grow intellectually throughout the process (Holmes Group, 1986). Such collegiality among teachers can exist teachers work together on shared project toward some shared goal through mutually constructed contributions (Angelle & Anfara, 2008, p. 52). Despite the focus on collaborative teacher learning, too many teachers, including middle grades teachers, still work in isolation and engage solely in individual professional development.The purpose of this article is to explore organizational models for teacher learning that are being used in middle level schools, including common planning time, professional learning communities, and critical friends groups. After offering brief definition of each model of teacher learning, we describe the theoretical underpinnings of the models, summarize the relevant research regarding the use of these models, and offer concluding remarks with implications for middle level education.Agreeing on language regarding the organizational models that support teacher learning is good starting point. First, common planning time is a regularly scheduled time during the school day when teachers who teach the same students meet for joint planning, parent conferences, materials preparation, and student evaluation (Kellough & Kellough, 2008, p. 394). It affords interdisciplinary teams of teachers- teachers from different content areas (e.g., language arts, mathematics, science, social studies)-time to collaborate. Second, professional learning communities are collaborative teams of teachers who routinely analyze their practice for the purpose of improving student achievement (DuFour, DuFour, & Eaker, 2008). Often, they are organized in discipline-specific groups or teams. Third, critical friends groups are groups of teachers who gather regularly to consider ways to improve student learning through collaboration and inquiry. Unique to critical friends groups is the use of structured protocols. …

CAN BE THE PRESERVICE SCIENCE TEACHER A RESEARCHER?

In this theoretical research an impersonal style should be used the status of teacher research in science education, examine the advantages of science teacher research, and consider possibilities for the role of science teacher research. In literature teacher research or teacher action research was mentioned only briefly as a part of qualitative research or science teacher education. This lack of attention to science teacher research might reflect the relatively late entry of science teachers into the teacher research movement. Teacher research is an effective model for teacher learning and development. Teacher research can make valuable contributions to the knowledge base for science teaching. Teacher researchers step outside their own assumptions and preconceptions and maintain a healthy skepticism about their observations of themselves and their students. One semester action research project was implemented in observing teaching practice course at the preservice science teachers training at Faculty of Science Palacky University in Olomouc. Students during this semester observed science lessons in upper secondary schools. They analyzed pedagogical events that happened in the class. They also developed a research-base rational paper describing how they will teach science. During this semester students examined one aspect of this rationale in an action research project carried out in collaboration with the host teacher. Science teacher research can contribute to the development of prospective science teachers and the development of a knowledge base for science teaching and learning. This is a particularly interesting moment in time to examine the contributions and potentials of science teacher research. Key words: science education, preservice science teacher training, science teacher research, development of preservice science teachers, action research, preservice science teacher as a research.

The impact of science content and professional learning communities on science teaching efficacy and standards‐based instruction

AbstractThis study examines the impact of standards‐based professional development on teacher efficacy and instructional practice of elementary and middle school science teachers. Professional development activities were conducted over a period of 3 years and included content courses as well as teacher involvement in professional learning communities. Teacher efficacy was assessed at five time points using the Science Teacher Efficacy Beliefs Instrument (STEBI), and instructional practice was evaluated at four time points with classroom observations using the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol (RTOP). Results indicate that there was significant growth in teacher self‐efficacy but not in outcome expectancy. There was also significant growth in the extent to which teachers implemented inquiry‐based instruction in the classroom. Additionally, a positive correlation was observed between changes in self‐efficacy and changes in the use of inquiry‐based instructional practice. These results are discussed in terms of a model of teacher learning wherein changes in teacher beliefs and changes in classroom practice mutually influence each other, and also in terms of the impact of collaboration on teacher efficacy and practice. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., Inc. J Res Sci Teach 48: 534–551, 2011

Teacher learning for inclusive education: understanding teaching as a cultural and political practice

In this article, we describe a model of teacher learning which is grounded in an apprenticeship approach to developing both practical knowledge and a critical understanding of the everyday practices that result in marginalisation. Beginning with an exploration of self and the lenses that teachers use to understand, assess and predict the performance of their students, apprentice teachers explore their practice from cultural perspectives. An intense focus on learning after the grounding in identity and culture braids psychological and social cultural perspectives to deepen teachers’ understanding of the learning process. The apprenticeship experience culminates in a final theme around assessment. To summarise, this teacher learning model is organised to prepare teachers who design learning environments that respond to the cultural histories, intellectual experiences and psychological characteristics of each learner.

How teacher education can make a difference

Many studies reveal a huge gap between theory and practice in teacher education, leading to serious doubts concerning the effectiveness of teacher education. In this paper, the causes of the gap between theory and practice are analysed. On this basis, and grounded in a three‐level model of teacher learning, the so‐called ‘realistic approach’ to teacher education has been developed. It takes the causes of the theory–practice divide into account, and shows a new direction in the pedagogy of teacher education. Several evaluative studies into the realistic approach will be summarised. They lead to significant conclusions about the need for careful programme design based on: (1) an elaborated view of the intended process of teacher learning; (2) specific pedagogical approaches; and (3) an investment in the quality of staff members. The conclusions and implications are put into an international perspective.

The role of lesson analysis in pre-service teacher education: an empirical investigation of teacher learning from a virtual video-based field experience

A video-based program on lesson analysis for pre-service mathematics teachers was implemented for two consecutive years as part of a teacher education program at the University of Lazio, Italy. Two questions were addressed: What can preservice teachers learn from the analysis of videotaped lessons? How can preservice teachers’ analysis ability, and its improvement, be measured? Two groups of preservice teachers (approximately 140 in total) participated in the program. A three-step lesson analysis framework was applied to three lesson videos: (1) goal(s) and parts of the lesson; (2) student learning; and, (3) teaching alternatives. Preservice teachers’ ability to analyze lessons was measured through an open-ended pre- and post-assessment. In the assessment, preservice teachers were asked to mark and comment on events (in a lesson not included in the program) that they found interesting for: teachers’ actions/decisions; students’ behavior/learning; and, mathematical content. A coding system was developed based on five criteria: elaboration, mathematics content, student learning, critical approach, and alternative strategies. In both studies, the ability to analyze instruction improved significantly on all five criteria. These data suggest promising directions for the development of both an instrument to measure lesson analysis abilities and a model for teacher learning.

Reaping the Systemic Benefits of Lesson Study: Insights from the U.S.

Professional development fads come and go, with little lasting impact. But as lesson study takes hold in the U.S., it increasingly reveals its potential to advance the entire teaching profession. Ms. Chokshi and Ms. Fernandez assess the current state of U.S. lesson study and detail how its practitioners can capitalize on and extend its influence. MOST READERS of the Kappan will know that lesson study is a Japanese approach to teacher professional development that has recently become popular in the U.S. Indeed, lesson study activity has been spreading rapidly for several years and continues to proliferate today. However, to date, most of the discussion and research about U.S.-based lesson study has focused on how individual groups of teachers can implement this practice or become engaged in it more deeply and fruitfully.1 Our goal here is to expand these discussions by considering the broader systemic issue of what the teaching profession as a whole can gain from this activity. Our work observing and supporting a number of U.S. lesson study groups has positioned us to monitor national lesson study activities and track their growth. We wish to discuss the potential of lesson study, identify some pitfalls that could undermine its influence, and offer a few concrete suggestions for avoiding these pitfalls. Our goal in sharing these insights is to help U.S. educators think about how to transform lesson study from the latest professional development fad into a sustainable, broad-scale activity, so that it does not end up in the graveyard of U.S. education reforms alongside so many other trendy innovations. BACKGROUND Lesson study begins with a group of teachers identifying a common goal (e.g., helping students become autonomous and critical thinkers) and a content area (e.g., mathematics) to focus on. Then, as a concrete way to explore how to achieve their chosen goal, teachers work collaboratively on a small number of lessons by planning, teaching, observing, revising, and reteaching them. Although lesson study came to light in the United States during the early 1990s, it did not garner widespread interest until the publication of The Teaching Gap in 1999, a volume that discussed the findings from the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) Video Comparison Study in an anecdotal, narrative manner. Even though lesson study was not the intended subject of the TIMSS study, authors James Stigler and James Hiebert introduced the idea in approving terms: We are attracted to the Japanese notion of lesson study because it lays out a model for teacher learning and a clear set of principles or hypotheses about how teachers learn. Lesson study embodies a set of concrete steps that teachers can take, over time, to improve teaching. These steps may need to be modified to work in the United States. But we believe it is better to start with an explicit model, even if it needs revising, than with no model at all.2 The great popularity of The Teaching Gap, coupled with the images in the TIMSS videotapes, may have helped convince others about the need for a similar approach in the U.S. and certainly helped spark the rapid growth of U.S. lesson study activity. Indeed, we have identified over 150 clusters of lesson study activity, ranging from large-scale initiatives to small groups of teachers at a single school, that span 31 states and involve at least 2,200 teachers. These numbers probably underestimate the actual scope and extent of lesson study activity in the U.S., since it is difficult to keep tabs on new initiatives, which are constantly forming, and on existing lesson study clusters, which continue to evolve. We are also seeing a growing number of meetings and conferences, websites and listservs, and preservice courses or workshops devoted solely to lesson study. Given its current appeal, lesson study appears well-positioned to exert a significant impact on education in the U. …

Linking teacher and student learning to improve professional development in systemic reform

Professional development is key to standards-based reform, yet there is little empirical evidence upon which to base decisions of design or implementation. This paper presents a model of teacher learning and an analytic framework linking professional development to student and teacher learning. Our approach begins with an analysis of relevant content standards, and uses evidence of student performance to gauge areas of need. Professional development is evaluated using a combination of teacher reflection, classroom observation, and ongoing assessment of student performance. An example of this framework and process in use is presented in the context of an urban systemic reform program in science.