Design Of Professional Development Research Articles

Historical trends of the professional improvement of the doctor in primary health care for the early diagnosis of alterations in oral comunication

Introduction: oral communication (OC) disorders as a health problem constitute a starting point for the design of professional development of professionals working at the Primary Health Care (PHC) level. Objective: to characterize the historical tendencies of professional development of physicians in PHC for the early diagnosis of OC disorders. Methods: the dialectic method was used as the guiding method. At the theoretical level: historical-logical, analytical-synthetic and inductive-deductive. From the empirical level: documentary review. Results: as national tendencies of the professional improvement of the physician in PHC for the early diagnosis of OC alterations were found in this research: the professional improvement of the Comprehensive General Practitioner (MGI) in relation to OC disorders and their early diagnosis has not been identified as a learning need; recognition of the importance of the MGI in the early detection of OC disorders, according to national demands; and the demands of a professional improvement in relation to OC disorders that enhances the real scenarios where child care is performed and prioritizes the participation of the MGI. Conclusions: in correspondence with the international tendencies of postgraduate studies, as a strategic development instrument, the professional improvement of physicians in PHC for the early diagnosis of OC disorders shows tendencies that are oriented to the professional improvement and to the quality of life of the population.

The Use of Professional Development to Enhance Education of Students with Autism: A Systematic Review

The study objective in this article was to present the state-of-the-art on teachers’ professional development to enhance educational quality for students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in primary and secondary education. A systematic review was conducted, following the PRISMA guidelines. Quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods studies were eligible for inclusion. Fifteen studies were identified and summarized. To identify the eligibility criteria, we applied the SPIDER framework. Quality appraisal was applied using the MMAT. A thematic summary and narrative synthesis of the included studies was conducted to establish a comprehensive understanding of what makes a difference in preparation for teachers of autistic students. Two key factors were found regarding the design of professional development for teachers to enhance their skills to teach autistic students. Firstly, teachers’ developed autism-specific knowledge, and secondly, the need for practice-based training with a focus on the challenges teachers meet at their own schools. Multiple ways of addressing teachers’ need for professional development regarding autistic students may further contribute to inclusive values and actions.

Saudi teachers' perspectives on flipped learning: Are they ready and willing?

PurposeIncorporating flipped learning (FL) into teaching English as a foreign language may improve student learning outcomes. This study gathered information on Saudi EFL teachers' readiness and willingness to apply FL. So, it aims to describe Saudi EFL teachers' readiness and willingness to apply FL in language classrooms and to find suitable guidelines for Saudi EFL professional development (PD) designers to follow.Design/methodology/approachThis descriptive study involved 153 male and female Saudi EFL teachers as participants, investigating the perspectives and perceptions of these teachers within the context of foreign language teaching in Saudi Arabia. Surveys in Qualtrics were employed as the primary data collection tool for the study.FindingsResults showed that teachers' self-efficacy of their current teaching was high. Most participants had positive attitudes and abilities related to FL, although they also identified potential challenges related to its engagement and assessment. Teachers expressed a strong willingness to participate in PD in this area, with a preference for online videos and group workshops.Originality/valueThe study emphasizes the importance of PD for Saudi EFL teachers. In addition, it offers guidelines for planning effective PD.

Building Teacher Capacity for Inclusive Education: A Professional Development Model Using Technology and UDL

This study proposes a professional development model for building Teacher capacity in Inclusive Education, utilizing technology and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles. The model was developed based on a review of literature on inclusive education, teacher professional development, technology integration, and Universal Design for Learning (UDL). The proposed model includes three phases: (1) pre-training activities, (2) training activities, and (3) post-training activities. Pre-training activities involve a needs assessment, goal setting, and preparation for the training. The training activities include synchronous and asynchronous online sessions, collaborative activities, and self-paced learning modules. The post-training activities focus on ongoing support, coaching, and evaluation. The proposed model incorporates Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles to ensure that the training is accessible and effective for all teachers, regardless of their learning preferences or disabilities. Universal Design for Learning UDL works on three principles. The model incorporates the use of technology to facilitate the training and support phases, including an online learning platform and virtual coaching sessions. The UDL framework is used as a guiding principle throughout the model, ensuring that teachers have the tools and knowledge to design instruction that is accessible to all students, regardless of their learning needs or abilities. The study concludes that the proposed professional development model can effectively build teacher capacity for inclusive education and promote positive outcomes for students with diverse needs.

Designing a framework for teachers' integration of computational thinking into elementary science

AbstractAs professional science becomes increasingly computational, researchers and educators are advocating for the integration of computational thinking (CT) into science education. Researchers and policymakers have argued that CT learning opportunities should begin in elementary school and span across the K‐12 grades. While researchers and policymakers have specified how students should engage in CT for science learning, the success of CT integration ultimately depends on how elementary teachers implement CT in their science lessons. This new demand for teachers who can integrate CT has created a need for effective conceptual tools that teacher educators and professional development designers can use to develop elementary teachers' understanding and operationalization of CT for their classrooms. However, existing frameworks for CT integration have limitations. Existing frameworks either overlook the elementary grades, conceptualize CT in isolation and not integrated into science, and/or have not been tested in teacher education contexts. After reviewing existing CT integration frameworks and detailing an important gap in the science teacher education literature, we present our framework for the integration of CT into elementary science education, with a special focus on how to use this framework with teachers. Situated within our design‐based research study, we (a) explain the decision‐making process of designing the framework; (b) describe the pedagogical affordances and challenges it provided as we implemented it with a cohort of pre‐ and in‐service teachers; (c) provide suggestions for its use in teacher education contexts; and (d) theorize possible pathways to continue its refinement.

‘So basically I have to speak less and give students some freedom’: how committing to a value influences a teacher’s enactment of an inquiry-based science unit

ABSTRACT Teachers’ practices and interactions with curriculum materials are influenced by a host of factors, which include their values. The mechanisms of this influence may benefit from elucidation. Here, we describe a case of a teacher enacting an inquiry-based learning unit (LU) as part of a school science enrichment programme. The teacher’s interactions with the LU appear to be influenced by her self-stated idea of giving students ‘freedom’. We track these influences through the course of the teacher’s planning, enactment, and reflection of the LU. Because of how ‘freedom’ guides her actions, we argue that it serves the function of a value. Furthermore, we contend that the teacher’s commitment to ‘freedom’ represents an exercise of her deliberative agency. This commitment to ‘freedom’ is supported by her interactions with her context, which include labelling of her preliminary ideas with the term ‘freedom’, being asked to choose between curriculum materials, reflective conversations with the researcher, and reframing the site of enactment. We also describe challenges that the teacher faces with respect to student guidance, resulting from her commitment to ‘freedom’. From this work, we suggest implications for the design of curriculum materials and teacher professional development.

Corporate Digital Literacy Mandates

Envision an employee showing up faithfully every day for work but cognitively checked out every minute (i.e., quiet quitting). This article adapts a futurist perspective to describe the adult education pedagogy of experiential learning in juxtaposition to the limitations of behaviorist employee training incentives. The authors conceptually apply Spiral Dynamic Theory (SDT) based predictive strategies to capitalize on the assumptions of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation themes among contemporary adult workers. The field of Adult and Continuing Education caters its teaching and learning to people who are 25 years of age and older. As employees, they bring to the corporate work environment a unique set of skills and life experiences that require pedagogical delivery that is innovative and motivating. Research shows that older adults are often technology averse. Therefore, scaffolding the employee’s use of technology and social media as expectations of the work tasks could help improve low digital literacy and increase self-efficacy. This paper offers Spiral Dynamic Theory (SDT) as an instrument for adult training and professional development design.

Teacher learning for transformation: a framework

ABSTRACT Teachers working to transform classrooms towards equity and justice must resist the continual press of dominant culture, which seeks to reproduce longstanding arrangements of inequity and injustice. Little is known about the learning that supports teachers in this resistance. This article offers the Teacher Learning for Transformation (TLT) framework, which is built from two theoretical pillars: Wenger’s articulation of four aspects of learning in Communities of Practice: meaning, practice, identity, and community; and Holland et al.’s notion of Figured Worlds. The resulting conceptualisation of TLT is a holistic view of multiple aspects of teachers’ learning, which are embedded in and mediated by socio-historical and socio-cultural contexts. I offer an illustrative example of an articulation of the framework to support research on teacher learning towards transformation in a particular context. I comment on ways in which the framework might support further research and design of professional development which aims to support transformative learning towards greater justice in classrooms.

The Design and Content of an Online Continuous Professional Development Course in Special Education for Teachers in Irish Immersion Primary and Post-Primary Schools

This article discusses the design and content of an online continuous professional development (CPD) course in special education provision for students in Irish immersion (IM) primary and post-primary schools. The course was developed using the data from a mixed methods study on the needs of teachers in this area. This article describes the ABC course design method used. It presents the five modules of the course: (1) bilingualism and second language acquisition, (2) assessment, (3) inclusive pedagogies, (4) universal design for learning, and (5) ICT for the inclusion of all students. It also includes data from a course evaluation form completed by participating teachers (N = 25) in relation of the areas of the course that were effective, areas that they would like to learn more about, and recommendations on how the course could be improved. It is anticipated that this article will be of interest to immersion teacher educators internationally.

The Conceptual Framing, Design, and Development of Mobile-Mediated Professional Development for Primary Mathematics Teachers

This paper examines the design and development of a mobile-mediated professional development program for primary school teachers. It explores learning design frameworks and strategies to offer effective, 24/7, anywhere-anytime PD using mobile technology. The study highlights the significance of design requirements and best practices in mobile-mediated TPD, and presents a conceptual framework incorporating various pedagogical/andragogic approaches and instructional design possibilities enabled by mobile technology. The framework is based on the integrative learning design framework (ILDF), CSAM, RASE, Keller's ARCS, and TPACK framework. The resulting framework enacts evidence-informed and theory-led models, and best practices to cater to instructional design requirements for creating meaningful mobile-based learning experiences for teachers.

Data Scientist Professional Revisited: Competences Definition and Assessment, Professional Development and Education Path Design

Data Scientist Professional Revisited: Competences Definition and Assessment, Professional Development and Education Path Design

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.

Investigating the effects of explicit instructional approaches on students’ understanding of scientific models and modeling

ABSTRACT Research purposes and design This study aimed to compare the effects of different explicit approaches used in modeling-based instruction on students’ understanding of scientific models and modeling (USMM). In Study 1, a self-study approach was compared to a preliminary explicit approach. In Study 2, preliminary explicit approach and embedded explicit approach were compared. Methods For the data analysis, t tests and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) were used to compare students’ USMM under the conditions of using different explicit approaches. Findings Results showed that in the first study, no statistically significant difference was found between self-study approach and the preliminary explicit approach in any of the USMM subscales. In the second study, students who learned with the embedded explicit approach had better understandings in all subscales of USMM, but not in the changing nature of scientific models (CNM) subscale, than those who learned with the preliminary explicit approach. Through qualitative analysis of the data, categories and examples of the teacher’s embedded epistemic guidance were illustrated. Suggestions for future professional development and research instrument design are provided.

Leadership Innovations During COVID-19 Pandemic: Practices of Filipino Principals in Teacher Professional Development

This study was focused on how principals manage the professional development of their teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic. This also explored their practices in providing necessary learning opportunities to teachers during the sudden shift of learning modality. In addition, the practices of principals in managing teachers’ professional development have also been investigated. This study utilized the case study method of research using in‐depth semi‐structured topic‐related interviews with six (6) principals each from elementary, junior high school and senior high school in a division in the National Capital Region in the Philippines. Despite the sudden disruption in education, the principal assumes the responsibility in managing the teacher professional development through employing practices that are temporary in nature suited to the current situation and needs of the organization. First, the principal plans the management of teacher professional development through strategic planning that involves conducting needs analysis and self-assessment among teachers to identify their priority needs. In addition, consulting and engaging stakeholders during planning helps the principal to set clear goals and objectives in managing the teacher professional development. Second, the principal organizes the teacher professional development to coordinate the available resources and planned activities. During the sudden shift in education delivery, online platforms emerge where principal assures that the gap between the learning delivery and activities are being addressed using these platforms. Third, the principal leads the teacher professional development in dealing with changes brought by the pandemic. Leading enables the principal to focus on innovative practices in the content, delivery, and design of the teacher professional development. The principal controls the teacher professional development through conducting monitoring and evaluation.

Developing English language teachers’ and learners’ ELF awareness: the background, design and impact of the ENRICH project’s continuous professional development programme

Abstract The paper presents the background, design, implementation and impact of the Continuous Professional Development (CPD) programme of the EU-funded ENRICH Project, which ran from 2018 to 2021. The programme, which has been freely available online since January 2022 (http://enrichproject.eu), aims at implementing the principles and processes of ELF awareness in empowering English language teachers to integrate the role of English as a Lingua Franca in their multilingual classrooms. We begin by justifying the development of the ENRICH Project with reference to the policies of the European Union supporting multilingualism and go on to discuss the principles of ELF awareness that informed the ENRICH CPD programme. We also present the priorities, target groups, key objectives and innovative practices of the ENRICH CPD programme. The paper is rounded up with a sample of participants’ responses to certain CPD activities and with an appreciation of the impact of the programme on participant teachers and their learners.

Teachers’ preferences for online professional development: Evidence from a discrete choice experiment

This paper reports on teachers' preferences for online professional development programmes in Indonesia. Relying on data from 330 university English teachers, the results of our discrete choice experiment suggest a significant positive preference for synchronous interaction but a negative preference for costly programmes, programmes offering no certificates of participation or completion, conducted over a longer period and using digital reading materials on teachers' preferences. Subgroup analyses also show that age, gender and experience with online professional development programmes influence teachers’ preferences. Based on these findings, implications for the design of online professional development and gaps for future research are discussed.

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.

Assessing Satisfaction of Science School Subject Teachers and Leaders in Rwanda on the Continuous Professional Development through Online Learning

In Rwanda, social, economic, and educational activities have recently been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. After its outbreak, schools closed, and one of the alternatives opted for was online learning. This study assessed the satisfaction of school subject leaders (SSLs) and school leaders (SLs) with online learning and identified opportunities and challenges for the improvement of online learning. The study was guided by a professional development framework and design for online teaching. Data were gathered through an online survey and a Zoom meeting with 158 SSLs and 120 SLs purposively chosen from the University of Rwanda's continuous professional development (CPD). Findings indicated that the most commonly used materials are laptops and mobile phones, while the most entertaining activities include doing online quizzes and interactive discussions. Furthermore, the study revealed a high level of satisfaction with online facilitation, even though teachers still need support from facilitators. In addition, males are more motivated to continue with online learning than females. It was also revealed that both SSLs and SLs still have challenges in uploading assignments, contributing to forum discussions, and understanding the subject content. This study recommended the increase of videos, online quizzes, and face-to-face sessions to improve online learning.

Trends and exemplary practices of STEM teacher professional development programs in K-12 contexts: A systematic review of empirical studies

STEM teachers are critical mediators of knowledge, and their performance can directly impact students' learning experiences and knowledge acquisition. To ensure the quality of STEM instruction, countries worldwide have launched STEM teacher professional development (TPD) programs. It is paramount to know how these programs have been implemented and what lessons can be learned from them. In this study, to capture the trends in publications on K-12 STEM TPD, we systematically reviewed relevant journal papers published in the Web of Science database from 2006 to 2020. We analyzed the (1) knowledge foci, (2) professional development approaches, (3) outcome measurements, as well as (4) data sources of the STEM TPDs. In addition, to inform future professional development designs, we selected and developed narrative descriptions of three exemplary cases. These cases showcased high-quality TPD and covered pre-service and in-service teachers in formal and informal settings. We reviewed the knowledge foci of the STEM TPDs using the technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) framework. The results showed that the types of knowledge delivered in the STEM TPD programs were mostly pedagogical knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge, while a certain number of programs focused on technological content knowledge and technological pedagogical content knowledge. Most of the studies adopted mixed professional development approaches, featuring activities like learning by design, learning by doing, reflective learning, and group work. These approaches emphasized the active participation of teachers in the process, built links between content and classroom practices, and encouraged collective participation in developing expertise. However, the data were mostly collected through interviews or survey instruments. Future research should move beyond analyzing data on teachers’ perceptions to explore processes (e.g., online participation logs, teacher-peer interactions) and products of performance (e.g., lesson plans, handmade crafts) to further examine the effects of STEM TPD activities. It would also be desirable to establish greater consistency in data collection approaches, such as by using validated interview or observation protocols that are generalizable to different school settings.

The teaching of Arabic as a community language in the UK

ABSTRACT This paper provides an overview of UK Arabic language teaching in supplementary and mainstream schools from available research papers and provides a synopsis of recent developments in supporting Arabic teaching at school level and pathways to Higher Education. The largest study cited is the 2016 research collaboration between the British Council, the Universities of Leeds, Edinburgh, Goldsmiths, and London, and Alcantara Communications [Snowden et al. (2016. Teaching Arabic as a Foreign Language in the UK – Strand 1 Research: How Arabic is Being Taught in Schools. London: British Council)], exploring current teaching techniques, teachers’ perceptions of diglossia and variation in Arabic, and these are incorporated when designing teaching activities and materials. With surveys, interviews and lesson observations, Snowden et al. show teachers believe in the importance of communication as a learning aim and are familiar with the communicative approach but many base learning activities on traditional writing tasks and less on listening and speaking. It shows that Arabic diglossia remains a challenge with teachers stating that learning dialects is important, yet they struggle to find appropriate approaches and materials for it. This paper presents challenges faced by Arabic teachers including foundational teacher training, continuous professional development and material design, concluding with recent developments in supporting teaching Arabic as a community language and recommendations for addressing current challenges.