Collaborative Professional Development Research Articles

Interrogating Practice or Show and Tell?: Using a Digital Portfolio to Anchor a Professional Learning Community of Science Teachers

ABSTRACT Teachers continuously engage in the relational work of sensemaking with students, but they generally do so isolated from colleagues, making individual decisions about their classrooms. Professional learning communities (PLCs), provide opportunities for collaborative professional reflection and development among peers centered on the analysis of teaching practice. However, PLCs can be difficult to implement in ways that reflect theories of adult learning and are manageable in light of the responsibilities of a teacher. We conducted a year-long case study of a PLC that engaged a group of middle school science teachers using artifacts from a digital portfolio and a framework for high-quality science teaching to explore their teaching practice. The PLC was divided into sessions facilitated externally by a member of the research team and sessions facilitated internally by the teachers themselves. Videos of all PLC sessions and baseline and final interviews indicated that unlike some PLCs described in the literature, participants focused their conversation and interactions on the content of science teaching regardless of who facilitated the session. The discussion was mediated by the digital portfolio tool, its artifacts and an introduced analytical framework. However, externally facilitated sessions revealed far more analysis of practice, compared to extensive reporting on portfolio artifacts when facilitated internally. The findings suggest that digital portfolios, when combined with analytical frameworks of practice can be important tools for teacher reflection, but attention must be paid to PLC structures and norms that move teachers past ‘show and tell’ and toward more in-depth conversations about practice.

Reciprocal Responsibility: why teachers should be the people to inspect schools

At a time of great threat to the education of the current school cohort caused by the prolonged COVID-19 lockdown, the phrase 'never let a good crisis go to waste' sounds apt. Education will have to change to meet new demands. The author wishes to advance the case for teachers, fully recognised as the key workers they are, to have their professional agency afforded greater respect in relation to school inspection. Teachers should become the inspectors. The article examines the current rationale for the inspectorate – one informed by politicians who have presided over reforms to public services which incorporate the logic of the free market. The author questions how appropriate such logic is to the provision of education. He advances the case for an alternative approach to ensuring high standards in schools – one which draws on the professionalism of serving classroom teachers and resembles a collaborative learning and professional development exercise. It is argued that this could be more efficient than the current approach, which strips teachers of their professional agency as part of a political agenda of deskilling that aims to make teachers more compliant and less costly. The author hopes to stimulate debate about how the assessment of teaching can be conducted and how the voices of serving teachers can be better heard.

Oral language teaching in English as First Additional Language at the Foundation Phase: A case study of changing practice

Background: Despite South Africa’s huge investment in professional development, there is not a lot of research that shows that teachers change their teaching practices by attending formal interventions. This article focuses on English as First Additional Language (EFAL) and explores how one Grade 2 teacher changed her practice of oral language teaching while enrolled for an Advanced Certificate in Teaching (ACT) programme. The programme was offered to Foundation Phase teachers to improve their teaching knowledge and ultimately change their teaching practices. Objectives: The article explores one teacher’s oral language teaching and use of teacher resources in a township school. The purpose is to understand how her instructional practices changed or did not change during the 18 months while she was enrolled with the ACT programme. Method: Data were collected over 18 months by observing six video-recorded literacy lessons, corroborated with interviews and field notes. These were analysed using principles of teaching EFAL espoused in the programme’s intended curriculum. Results: The two exemplars offered demonstrate a gradual shift in teaching of oral language and use of resources by the end of the programme. The teacher code-switched appropriately most of the time and adequately used various strategies. She created opportunities to develop learners’ oral vocabulary; however, explicit sentence building was absent. Findings further revealed that the teacher’s engagement with many collaborative professional development activities, school support, together with her goal-achieving character, contributed to instructional changes. Conclusion: This study highlights that there are a number of other factors, such as the school context, the teacher’s motivation and other informal learning opportunities that support teacher learning from a formal professional development intervention. It also advocates for more robust studies on how a teacher’s practices change as a result of formal professional development opportunities.

Teacher Enrichment Initiatives: Supporting Teachers Who Are at the Frontline of Our Nation's Future.

Teachers are charged with connecting classroom science to real-world applications; however, opportunities for teachers to experience real-world applications in the life and biosciences are limited. When provided the opportunity to engage in hands-on learning experiences, teachers' capacity to connect classroom activities to real-world applications increases. Through partnerships within the local STEM Ecosystem, the Teacher Enrichment Initiatives (TEI) provides teachers with experiences that enable them to strengthen the connections between classroom science and careers. Over the course of TEI's 25+ years, these collaborations between our teachers and partners have resulted in the production of over 350 individual hands-on, inquiry-based curriculum activities. In addition, the TEI has played a pivotal role in the growth of the STEM workforce by disseminating best practices and providing teacher professional development (TPD) experiences designed to improve teacher knowledge of STEM career options and the associated educational pathways for their students while enhancing teacher professionalism. Since 2011, the TEI has hosted 15 TPD conferences and 300 workshops with over 1,800 K-12 teachers participating annually. The number of students impacted through teacher participation exceeds 300,000, covering all grade levels. To date, over 83 scientists, engineers, and STEM-career professionals have participated in TEI sponsored events.

The roles of collaborative professional development, self-efficacy, and positive affect in encouraging educator data use to aid student learning

ABSTRACT This research tests a hypothesized model that links collaborative data-use professional development experiences and successful use of student data to aid instruction. A serial, regression-based mediation model is tested (from professional development to self-efficacy, to positive affect, to successful use of data). Survey data from over 200 K–12 educators from across the United States were collected; the sample reflected a purposeful quota based on age and gender. The hypothesized model was supported. In all, the analyses demonstrate the importance of collaborative learning in professional development experiences related to use of student data. Professional development providers can use this knowledge to design more effective experiences. Similarly, school leaders and teacher coaches can use this knowledge to guide educators to experiences that are likely to result in the development of data-use skills to aid in classroom instruction.

Lesson study as a vehicle for improving SEND teachers’ teaching skills

PurposeCollaborative professional development for inclusive teaching is a limited area of research, although there is an extensive need for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) teachers. Research findings of how teachers’ professional development can contribute to support the development of powerful learning situations for all students are presented in this special issue. The aim is to contribute to the knowledge of how the use of lesson study can develop teachers’ capabilities to offer high-quality education for students with SEND.Design/methodology/approachThe guest editor presents each of the papers and introduces key themes and concepts.FindingsThe collection of papers is divided into two themes; the first has a focus on lesson study used by teacher educators during SEND in-service training. In this theme, the teachers are the students who are studying different fields of SEND, supported by teacher educators. The second theme studies different forms of lesson studies carried out by researchers and teachers in the collaboration focused aspects of content that are of importance for students in SEND.Research limitations/implicationsThe papers focus on areas of education with a limited research tradition, and as a result, the studies may be seen as starting points for further research. The results so far lack generalisability. Therefore, the researchers have to test the findings further under different conditions and with wider groups of teachers and students.Practical implicationsThe results of the papers can be used to develop both SEND teacher education, and collaborative professional development for in-service SEND teachers. This issue will, therefore, be of interest to school and system leaders.Originality/valueThe papers contribute initial findings from an under-researched area and also combine lesson study with methods and designs not previously explored.

Never had it but now I have to Teach it: A Study into how Primary Teachers Implemented a New Curriculum Requirement in Teaching Practice

In 2017, a change to the national curriculum of New Zealand required primary teachers to implement a new component into the Technology area of The New Zealand Curriculum. This was to be fully implemented by the start of the 2020 school year. However, unless this was a personal area of ability, no primary teacher in New Zealand has been trained or prepared for this new addition. This study reports on how one school worked to implement this new requirement into their teaching practice. This study noted that for the participating teachers, teaching an unknown area of the curriculum required emotional work, political work, and pedagogical work. Over the course of the 2019 school year, these teachers in collaborative professional development (PD) sessions explored, experimented with, and enacted digital technology. Results from this study showed that students’ learner was enhanced through teachers’ meaningful and purposeful integration of digital technology in their programs of learning. This study offers insight into how primary teachers were able to work in authentic collaborative relationships to support each other in how to implement a new curriculum requirement that was not supported by any ministerial PD.

Developing a visual art community of practice: a participatory action research study of a museum-based partnership for art teachers in Los Angeles

ABSTRACT This article highlights the development and outcomes of a visual art educator community of practice (CoP) cultivated in partnership with the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, known as the MOCA PD Lab. Participating researchers were interested in examining how to bring visual art teachers together outside of schools and districts to pursue their own collaborative professional development (PD) that could accommodate time, distance, and expense needs. The study focused on increasing the capacity of group members to design and facilitate PD through examining the impact of the CoP on participants’ shared knowledge and reflective practices; exploring strategies to grow and sustain the CoP; and implementing organisational strategies for cultivating connections and empowering teachers to pursue ongoing professional learning (PL). Feedback from participants indicates the positive impact of this CoP on members’ self-directed PL in: building community, collaborating with colleagues, developing instructional practice, and engaging in critical reflection. Now concluding its fifth year, the MOCA PD Lab continues to meet monthly to engage in visual art PL experiences to meet participants’ individual learning goals. Our hope is that the MOCA PD Lab may serve as a model for educators and museums looking to create collaborative PL opportunities.

The necessity of vocational educational changes as perceived by Estonian vocational teachers

ABSTRACT The study discusses how vocational education changes in Estonia have been perceived by vocational teachers. Vocational teachers have been challenged in terms of making sense of and adapting to the educational changes triggered by reform policies introduced in recent decades. As reforms have often not been implemented as planned, it is essential to understand which changes teachers view as necessary in their professional work. The analysis is based on a quantitative survey conducted among vocational teachers. K-means clustering was used and three clusters of VET teachers were formed according to their evaluation of the necessity of the changes. Changes such as collaboration in professional development and the implementation of an EQF system were evaluated as most necessary. Teachers who evaluated the changes as most necessary tended to express greater self-efficacy, commitment to their profession and a higher degree of collaboration.

Integrating science and engineering practices: outcomes from a collaborative professional development

BackgroundThe Next Generation Science Standards accentuate engineering design along with scientific inquiry, emphasizing the relationship between scientific investigations and engineering design in solving problems and devising new ideas and technologies. The goal is for students to realize the importance of science and engineering in innovation and in solving many of today’s challenges. The Next Generation Science Standards contends that a working knowledge and practicality of engineering design prepares students for embracing the challenges of the future. To support students in developing these capabilities, teachers are tasked with the responsibility of facilitating science instruction that integrates science and engineering practices. This is a challenge since a majority of them have little to no understanding of engineering applications.ResultsAn interdisciplinary team, consisting of science education and mechanical engineering faculty and doctoral students from each discipline, and science, mathematics, and career and technical curriculum supervisors, collaborated with middle school science, mathematics, and career and technical education teachers to develop a framework for integrating engineering practices into their curricula. The exploratory nature of the project, and instructional outcomes with their students, supported teachers in developing an understanding and value for science and engineering practices. As a result, they were motivated to critique and revise their practices, aiming to develop and implement instruction that they perceived as beneficial to their students.ConclusionWith the surge in emphasis on preparing K-12 students for the STEM workforce, initiatives devoted to exposing teachers and students to STEM applications have also increased. The findings from this study could be useful for informing these initiatives, since they reveal the learning experiences of the teachers while processing instructional strategies for integrating science and engineering practices into their curriculum. The findings highlight factors that motivated these teachers to reform their instructional practices, as well as their deliberations while endeavoring to assimilate the strategies into their curricular activities.

School Book Buzz: A Professional Development Collaboration

Schools and libraries have a common mission of serving the local community, especially children and families. So why not bring those specialists together for some professional training? That was the goal behind the School Book Buzz initiative at Cuyahoga County (OH) Public Library (CCPL).

PreK–5 Teacher Views of Professional Development Integrating Common Core Language Arts With Science and Social Studies

Three preK–6 U.S. university methods instructors-researchers (literacy, science, social studies) joined 17 Title I school teachers for collaborative lesson planning and teaching within the preK–5 school setting. Each team’s goal was to create and teach interdisciplinary curriculum units using U.S. English language arts Common Core State Standards with social studies and science. A year-long instrumental case study design was used to examine (a) how teachers perceived collaborative professional development to create interdisciplinary unit plans and (b) how teachers viewed outcomes of teaching interdisciplinary units of their own design. Practice articles regarding Common Core State Standards curricula integration are plentiful; however, this study offers researched insights.Collectively, research from various locations and school cultures benefits those needing to structure realistic professional development designs.

Collaborative and individual professional development for english Teachers

University, academic lyceums, professional colleges and secondary schools -collaborative professional development (PD) has great potential impacts on English language teachers professionalism. The collegiality of PD built at among university, academic lyceums, professional colleges and secondary schools can provide positive atmospheres for all teachers who will have greater opportunities to discuss and to share with about the latest issues about and English teaching. In this article, we will discuss the advantages of university, academic lyceums, professional colleges and secondary schools collaborative professional development for English teachers and highlight the individual professional development in the period of global quarantine

Non-native English-speaking teachers in Korean English classrooms: reflections through critical performative pedagogy

ABSTRACTThis study explores non-native English-speaking teachers (NNESTs) and their critical awareness in the enacted classroom of South Korea. As a conceptual framework of this study, critical performative pedagogy (CPP) was applied to foster participants’ critical reflection, and issues pertaining to the larger social discourse were discussed. Specifically, a group of four pre-service Korean English teachers participated in a semester-long CPP process that included reflection on previous learning and teaching experiences through storytelling, performances of forum theatre, critical discourse analysis (CDA) of performances, and post-discussions. The transcripts of the forum theatres were analyzed using a CDA, and the participants’ written and spoken data from all activities in the CPP process were analyzed using a thematic analysis. The findings show that native speakerism is fostered in normative classroom discourse, which tends to produce marginalized learners and deficit NNEST identities. The analysis also revealed that participants can challenge the existing discourse by applying the concept of World English and the reconceptualized English teacher model. Implications of this study include the use of CPP as a mediational tool in the critical and collaborative language teacher professional development, with the potential for transformation in their real-life situations.

Persuasion and resistance. Large-scale collaborative professional development as a policy instrument

ABSTRACTThis study examined collaborative professional development (PD) as a policy instrument for relating external ideas to present teaching practices. The study interprets the global emphasis policymakers place on collaborative PD as a response to the devolution of responsibility in many school systems, accompanied or followed by increased external guidance to local actors. In relation to these tendencies, collaborative PD may function either as a support for professional self-governance or enable increased top-down control. Thus, by analysing collaborative PD as a policy instrument, the study contributes to the understanding of the contemporary governing of public education. The analysed empirical material derived from a large-scale PD program organized by the Swedish National Agency for Education. The results show that the investigated PD model appears as an instrument for persuading teachers to follow external ideas rather than for strengthening local self-governance. Collegial dialogue focused on the potential of enacting PD guidelines, and made teachers’ stances to external ideas visible, including expressions of resistance. Such visibility of resistance enabled suggestions for stronger adherence to guidelines. This focus on adherence may come at the cost of a meaningful adaptation of external ideas to local settings and decrease the sustainability of changes.

What We are Missing in Studies of Teacher Learning: A Call for Microgenetic, Interactional Analyses to Examine Teacher Learning Processes

Much of the work in the Learning Sciences and Computer-Supported Collaborated Learning communities have focused on understanding and designing for learning in collaborative spaces. This work utilizes methods such as Interaction Analysis and has attended to multiple dimensions and timescales of learning. It has redefined ideas about knowledge and competence and how they are acquired, thus providing important insights into the process of learning and the design of learning environments. However, we have not in the same way advanced our knowledge of teacher learning. Our understanding of the process and mechanism of teacher learning in in collaborative professional development (PD) environments is still quite thin. In this paper, we discuss how utilizing methods from Interaction Analysis, in particular, can offer insight into the process of teacher learning in these contexts. We illustrate how adopting a lens that shifts away from asking whether teachers are progressing toward a researcher-defined goal, toward one that asks how learning occurs in the moments of interaction, and the meaning it has for participants as they work to achieve PD goals, has the potential to shed new light on learning in teacher PD.

COLLABORATIVE LEARNING OF USABILITY EXPERIENCES: IMPROVING UX TRAINING THROUGH EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING

The Collaborative Learning of Usability Experiences (CLUE) training program1 is an NSERC CREATE grant that trains Canada's leaders in HCI. We aim to improve our trainees' capabilities across the disciplinary boundaries (Information Technology, Psychology, Computer Science, and Design), through collaborative professional skills development, experiential learning, and technical skills.
 Within human computer interaction (HCI), usability professionals employ research-based methods and principles to understand users’ conceptual models of tasks and design interfaces and experiences accordingly. There is an increased demand for skills in usability experience (UX) design and testing, yet we identify a lack of training in these skills in current graduate programs across Canada. Even in the context of multidisciplinary HCI programs, graduates often face a usability knowledge gap, which may be due to a lack of grounding in real-world contexts, without business constraints.

Creating Synergies for Change

Background/Context The challenges documented in the literature on research–practice partnerships and similar school–university collaborations are outlined in the literature review in this issue. Yet only a collaboration among multiple educational and community organizations could create a synergy powerful enough to achieve the multifaceted goals of this project: (1) enhance instructional practices to better meet the needs of diverse learners; (2) better prepare teachers and teacher candidates to engage families in support of their children's success; (3) develop a community of practice in which preservice teachers, teacher educators, in-service teachers, administrators, and other educational and human service professionals participate in ongoing, collaborative professional development; and (4) recruit and retain more teacher candidates from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study This study analyzes features and outcomes of a six-year school–university partnership funded by a large state grant. Project goals included developing innovative models for closing the achievement gap in an elementary school with a high percentage of English language learners and high-poverty measures. Using an inquiry-action model, the partners worked to better engage and support families as they enhanced teacher preparation and professional development. Research Design This case study uses mixed methods research to analyze how one research–practice partnership navigated the challenges inherent in such collaborative work. Data Collection and Analysis Data sources included student standardized testing data, teacher and intern surveys, semistructured interviews, a formative assessment of partnership processes, student and intern work samples, and observations in classrooms and teacher professional development activities. Conclusions/Recommendations This partnership avoided or overcame many of the challenges typical of school–university partnerships. Four factors appeared to be significant to the project's success. First, all the key coordinators of the partnership, including the school principal and teacher education faculty, remained in place for five years. Similarly, there was very low turnover among teachers in the school, which meant that professional development was sustained. Second, the personal and professional characteristics of the people involved in the partnership were the right mix for the task. Shared meaning was fostered and school–university status hierarchies leveled as late-career university faculty spent large amounts of time in the school, participating in professional learning communities with teachers and teacher candidates. Third, trusting relationships were fostered within the school by the principal; there was a high level of trust from the outset. Fourth, both school and university leaders waited for indications of “readiness” among teachers and faculty, drew on expertise within the team, and demonstrated a commitment to organic evolution.

Yemeni Pre-Service Teachers Educators' Perceptions of Lesson Study in Pre-service Teachers Preparation Program (an Exploratory Study): إدراكات معلمي المعلمين اليمنيين قبل الخدمة في برنامج إعداد المعلمين للدرس المبحوث (دراسة استكشافية)

Lesson study (LS), as a model for improving teaching and learning, has tremendous merits for both teachers and students during learning-teaching procedures. Thus, this study can serve in developing an awareness of the pre-service teachers' educators (PSTEs) toward LS as a collaborative professional development model. This study, therefore, aimed to explore the perception of participants who were selected purposively (i.e. using a purposive sample) from the PSTEs at faculty of education-Amran university, Yemen, about LS and its implementation (LSIs). To this end, an open-ended interview was conducted with six interviewees, participants mentioned above, in the second semester of the academic year (2017/2018s). The most important result of this study was that all of the PSTEs participated in this study were not aware about the LS and LSIs, too. Based on the study's results, some recommendations were recommended.

Promoting Sociopolitical Consciousness and Bicultural Goals of Dual Language Education: The Transformational Dual Language Educational Framework

ABSTRACTThis study examined Spanish-English dual language (DL) K-6 teachers in collaborative professional development as they worked towards achieving the bicultural goal of DL education, beyond traditional interpretations, and incorporating sociopolitical consciousness as a fourth goal. These two principles are part of the transformational DL educational framework. Classroom observations and teachers’ documents relevant to these objectives were recorded and analyzed, and teaching practices were categorized according to James A. Banks’ classic model of levels of integration of multicultural content. Findings show teachers’ trajectories varied throughout the school year. This article shows examples of multicultural teaching practices in three lessons, highlighting elements classified as contributions, additive, transformative, and social action, acknowledging hybrid forms. Results show that, when the principles of biculturalism and sociopolitical consciousness are intentional, educators can begin meeting these goals for equitable DL education.