Professional Development Experiences Research Articles

Smart-Phone Assisted Language Learning in a Public University in Saudi Arabia

The present study tried to investigate EFL teachers' and learners’ facilities regarding smartphone-assisted language learning (SALL) in the Faculty of Languages and Translation, King Khalid University (KKU), Saudi Arabia, including their attitudes, perceptions, levels of proficiency, and challenges they experienced. The study also pursued to inspect whether EFL teachers’ experiences have any significant influence on their facility of SALL. Investigation data was composed of (45) EFL teachers and (68) EFL learners. Two questionnaires were used to collect data. Some statistical analyses were used. The results showed EFL teachers' and learners’ positive perceptions of SALL. Participants stated that (SALL) is beneficial and has supported and enhanced EFL teaching and learning. Most EFL teachers said they needed more skills to advance SALL activities and mentioned some challenges they confronted. The results also indicated significant differences among participants’ SALL facility based on their professional development and teaching experiences, but no differences based on their gender were found. These results also showed that emphasizing professional development in SALL for KKU EFL teachers could promote greater proficiency and the facility to overcome challenges. The study concluded by providing recommendations on advancing SALL implications and suggestions. Keywords: EFL Learners, EFL Teachers, Facility, Implication, Smartphones

Understanding the Impact of Professional Development for a Cohort of Teachers with Varying Prior Engineering Teaching Experience

Engineering for US All (e4usa) is a National Science Foundation-funded first-of-its-kind initiative aimed at making engineering more inclusive and accessible to underrepresented populations. The ‘‘for us all’’ mission of e4usa encompasses both students and teachers. Paramount to the success of e4usa was the construction of professional development (PD) experiences to prepare and support teachers with different levels of engineering teaching experience as they implemented the e4usa yearlong course. The perspectives of nine teachers with varying degrees of engineering teaching experience were examined during two PD opportunities to compare experiences and dynamics between the teachers. Data sources consisting of focus groups and artifacts created during the PD were analyzed using inductive coding and the constant comparative method. The distinct themes that emerged included teachers redefining engineering, growing confidence to teach engineering, benefiting from the PD, receiving support from other teachers, experiencing imposter syndrome, and renewing a passion for engineering education. The results provide implications for how engineering education PD may be developed to allow for reciprocal support and mentoring that supports all teachers regardless of engineering teaching experience. The results also inform future e4usa efforts and aim to change the structure of high school engineering education.

The impact of learning styles on attitudes to interprofessional learning among nursing students: a longitudinal mixed methods study

BackgroundA functional interprofessional teamwork improves collaborative patient-centred care. Participation in interprofessional education promotes cooperation after graduation. Individuals tend to use different approaches to learning depending on their individual preferences. The purpose of this study was to explore nursing students’ experiences of professional development with a focus on the relationship between attitudes to interprofessional learning and learning styles.MethodsA longitudinal parallel mixed-methods design. The study was carried out at a Swedish three-year nursing program from August 2015 to January 2020. On enrolment, thirty-four students self-assessed their attitudes to interprofessional learning according to the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale, and their learning style according to Kolbs’ Learning Style Inventory. In the final semester the students participated in an interview focusing on their experiences and perceptions of teamwork and they self-assessed their attitudes to interprofessional learning again.ResultsOur findings indicated that 64.7% had a predominantly concrete learning style and 35.3% had a predominantly reflective learning style. No significant relationship with internal consistency reliability was identified among the participants between attitudes to interprofessional learning and learning styles. The content analysis resulted in four main categories: Amazing when it’s functional; Deepened insight of care; Increased quality of care; Understanding own profession which were summarized in the theme: Well-functioning teams improve patients’ outcome and working environment.ConclusionThe students’ attitudes to interprofessional learning were positive and it was considered as an opportunity to participate in interprofessional cooperation during internship. Transformative learning is a useful strategy in fostering interprofessional relationships due to the interdependence of various professions in interprofessional teams. When students are guided to use reflection to develop new perspectives and meaning structures, they acquire emotional and rational skills beneficial for interprofessional cooperation.

Teachers and school administrators' experiences with professional development feedback: The classroom strategies assessment system implementation.

To support teachers' evaluation and professional development valid assessments that measure teachers' classroom practices and capture teachers' strengths and areas in need of improvement are needed. The current study examined school administrators' and teachers' experiences of Professional Development (PD), with the use of the Classroom Strategies Assessment System (CSAS), a classroom observational assessment that measures universal classroom instructional and behavioral practices, and their perceptions of the usability of CSAS for supporting PD. The study also examined school administrators' ratings of elementary school teachers' use of evidence-based instructional and behavior management practices, as an illustrative example of how performance feedback was implemented. Three school administrators observed 31 elementary school teachers three times each using the CSAS Greek version. Following each observation, teachers received brief performance feedback based on CSAS scores from their school administrator. School administrators and teachers completed the System Usability Scale to assess the usability of the CSAS administration. Semi-structured interviews with 19 of the participating teachers were conducted to further explore teachers' professional development experiences. Overall, teacher interviews expressed their need for professional development in the areas of instructional and behavior management practices and perceived CSAS feedback helpful for instructional improvement. Findings also suggest some improvements in the frequency and quality of teacher instructional and behavior management practices as measured by the CSAS. Implications for practices and research are discussed.

Color-Evasive/Conscious? A Content Analysis of How Engineering Faculty Discuss Race and Racism in a U.S.-Based Equity-Focused STEM Professional Development Program

Against a backdrop of calls for increased access and participation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) in the United States have emerged as critical access points for Latina/o/x and other Students of Color. Federal grants can become important levers for building institutional capacity for broadening participation in STEM and transforming HSIs toward better serving Students of Color, specifically as it relates to curricula and pedagogy. In this study, we focus on the engineering faculty at an HSI who are participants in a National Science Foundation-funded, equity-focused professional development program. Operationalizing Bonilla-Silva’s color-evasive racial ideology framework, we use content analysis techniques to explore how engineering faculty discuss race and racism as part of the professional development experience. First, we find that engineering faculty largely rely on color-evasive racial frameworks (i.e., abstract liberalism, minimization of racism) when describing their motivations for participating in the program. Moreover, we find that engineering faculty responses depict a range of surprise and familiarity when reflecting on issues of race and racism. Finally, regardless of prior exposure to module concepts, at the end of the program, the majority of action projects reflect a recognition of race and racism as important.

Working Students: Educational Success and Subjective Well-being

Recently, there has been an increase in the number of students who combine study with work. This requires special attention of universities to such students and updates the study of educational success factors. The study is relevant as considers working students as subjects of learning and life, from the standpoint of personal and professional development experience acquired at the university, involvement in the educational process, satisfaction with learning, and well-being. The purpose of the empirical study is to identify the features of educational experience, subjective well-being and self-change potential among working students. The study involves 290 students of bachelor and specialist programs from five universities. The sample includes students who work for more than half a year (N=95), work from time to time (N=90) and study only (N=105). The results showed that the educational experience is most formed among those students who combine their studies with work in the specialty which is being received at the university. Long-term and occasionally working students differ from non-working students by a higher desire to participate in developmental activities, confidence in their ability to successfully solve the problems of learning and social interaction, self-directed learning skills, tendency to analyze and self-control their learning. Also, working students are superior to those who are just studying in the self-change potential and the subjective well-being level. It is concluded that the success and well-being of working students are largely determined by their resources of subjectness and aspiration for development. This allows them to function successfully, combining educational and labor activities as two areas of experience accumulation. Directions for improving university practice in terms of creating conditions for the educational success of working students are proposed.

Building Mathematics Professional Development With an Explicit Attention to Concepts and Student Opportunities to Struggle Framework

Two broad categories of instructional practices, (a) explicitly attending to concepts and (b) fostering students’ opportunities to struggle, have been consistently linked to improving students’ mathematical learning and achievement. In this article, we describe an effort to build these practices into a framework that is useful for a diverse set of professional development (PD) offerings. We describe three examples of how the framework is used to support teacher learning and classroom instructional practice: a state-mandated course, lesson studies, and a large-scale teacher–researcher alliance. Initial findings suggest that consistently emphasizing this framework provides both content and structural guidance during PD development and gives coherence and focus to teachers’ PD experiences.

How do graduate students approach college teaching? Influences of professional development, teaching assistantships, and Big Five personality traits

IntroductionGraduate students engage in college teaching with varied attitudes and approaches. Their teaching practices may be influenced by professional development experiences related to pedagogy, and their personality traits.MethodsThrough an online survey of graduate students teaching undergraduate courses (N = 109, 69.7% women, M age = 30 years, 59% psychology), we examined whether self-reported participation in professional development related to pedagogy, teaching assistantship (TA) experience, academic discipline (psychology vs. other), and Big Five personality traits were associated with variation in teaching practices.ResultsParticipation in professional development correlated positively with years of undergraduate teaching experience and with the trait of openness. Hierarchical regressions indicated that professional development served to promote student-focused practices and discouraged lecturing, while TA experience (mostly restricted to psychology instructors) promoted lecturing and discouraged a student-focused approach. Regarding academic discipline, psychology instructors gave higher endorsements to an information transmission, teacher-focused approach to teaching, lectured more, and were less likely to provoke debate than instructors of other disciplines. Such differences may be attributed in part to larger enrollments of psychology courses. Regarding personality traits, both openness and agreeableness were associated with some student-focused practices, while conscientiousness was associated with an information transmission, teacher-focused approach and with practices aligned with backward course design.DiscussionIn light of previous evidence that personality traits are malleable, graduate training programs may want to cultivate traits like openness as a means of encouraging graduate students to reflect on their pedagogy and seek ways to improve their teaching through professional development. Relatedly, graduate programs should aim to support students’ participation in professional development related to pedagogy and, in doing so, communicate its value.

Examining pre‐service elementary educators' perceptions of teaching science when integrated with poetry

AbstractResearch has revealed that a small percentage of weekly instructional time in the elementary grades is dedicated to teaching science. Additionally, elementary educators receive limited preparation to teach science concepts compared to math or literacy skills. Therefore, this study examined if utilizing poetry to teach science concepts had a significant influence on elementary pre‐service teachers' (PSTs) self‐efficacy (SE) and expected outcomes (EOs) toward teaching science. Instructors in elementary literacy and science teaching methods courses collaborated to model strategies that integrated poetry within a science unit and mentored the PSTs in creating poems. Following the three‐week integrative unit, analyses of the survey responses revealed significant increases in the PSTs' EOs resulting from their science teaching when integrating poetry. 92% of the PSTs believed poetry would help them integrate more science instruction and in greater depth. Moderate positive correlations were found between PSTs' SE toward teaching science and gains in: (a) perceived knowledge of science concepts, (b) belief that poetry would help integrate more science instruction, and (c) belief that integrating poetry would help students learn science concepts better. This study provides implications for informing teacher preparation programs, professional development experiences, and integrated curricula efforts to expand science instruction in elementary curricula.

Exploring the impact of teacher quality on student academic achievement in primary schools

There has been debate among scholars, policymakers, and practitioners regarding the effects of teacher quality on students' academic performance. This quantitative descriptive study seeks to determine the impact of teacher quality on students' performance and the relationship between teacher quality and student performance. Student performance was measured using regional assessments in mathematics and language arts. A survey was conducted to collect primary data from teachers, and both sets of data were analyzed using the t-test, ANOVA, and Pearson’s correlation coefficient (r) to test for performance differences and relationships between student performance and teacher quality. The findings revealed no significant differences in the academic performances among students taught by trained and untrained teachers, degree and non-degree teachers, and teachers with varying years of experience and hours of professional development. The interactions of the teacher quality variables had no practical effect on student performance, and there were no significant relationships between student performance and the teacher quality variables of experience and professional development. There are implications for reorganizing or advancing teacher professional development, training, certification and licensing. The study adds to the scarce literature in the region and can guide policy development in teacher workforce planning, retention, and hiring.

Developing Social Work Professional Identity Resilience: Seven Protective Factors

ABSTRACT The human service context is a complex space for social workers and service users, bringing both challenges and opportunities. The ability to navigate challenges is essential for social workers to appropriately support clients and maintain longevity in human service work. Practitioners are expected to possess resilience to mitigate these challenges. Social workers are familiar with the concept of resilience in relation to work with clients. However, it is important they develop their own resilience to withstand industry pressure and build professional identity resilience (PIR). In this article, we drew on an Australian grounded theory PhD study that explored the experience of professional identity development (PID) for newly graduated social workers, specifically the challenges they faced in relation to PID and the link between professional identity and resilience. PIR emerged as a key concept in the process of forming a social work professional identity and seven protective factors were identified that support the development of PIR. IMPLICATIONS Developing professional identity resilience can assist students and graduates to counter challenging experiences of being a social worker. Professional identity resilience plays an important role in the development and ongoing maintenance of professional identity and as such is essential knowledge for social work educators, professional associations, social work students and graduates.

The Institute for Future PUI Faculty (IFPF) and Its Impact on Participant Motivation and Perception of Being a Chemistry Faculty Member at a Primarily Undergraduate Institution (PUI)

The Institute for Future PUI Faculty (IFPF) is a new two-week professional development experience for chemistry graduate students and postdoctoral scholars interested in pursuing an academic career at a Primarily Undergraduate Institution (PUI). With the traditional graduate and postdoctoral chemistry experience being devoid of preparation for those interested in teaching-intensive academic positions, this Preparing Future Faculty (PFF)-style program hosts participants at Lafayette College to observe, teach in, and learn about a PUI environment. Through a demographic survey and semistructured interviews with the first cohort, we gathered participant perceptions of PUI faculty life and motivation for pursuing a PUI career both before and after the IFPF program. From these comments, it appeared that participants' motivations remained consistent but their interest and perceptions changed. In all cases, participants' responses after the program demonstrated that this PUI-specific educational experience clarified their desired career trajectories and their understanding of what succeeding in a chemistry PUI faculty position entails.

Beyond pedagogy: the role of epistemic orientation and knowledge generation environments in early childhood science teaching

ABSTRACT Policy documents in many nations, as well as international policies indicate that the goal of improved student science learning requires teachers to learn to use knowledge generation environments for teaching science. This is a particular challenge for early childhood teachers (kindergarten through grade two), who have historically valued practices like active inquiry, but have received little Professional Development (PD) focused on theories of learning and orientations towards knowledge. This explanatory sequential quantitative study explored the relationship between 30 early childhood teachers’ Epistemic Orientations (EOs) and their use of knowledge generation practices for teaching science. In particular, we noted patterns of teacher change in relation to a multi-year PD programme focused on teaching through knowledge generation environments. Findings revealed that overall, PD was successful at shifting approximately two-thirds of the teachers’ EO towards knowledge generation. In addition, teachers’ change in EO score over three timepoints was significantly positively related to their implementation of knowledge generation practices. This research suggests that most early childhood teachers’ EO is open to change through PD and teaching experience, but the degree of this openness differs between individuals. The implications of these differences for PD and research are discussed.

ДОСВІД АВСТРАЛІЇ З ПІДГОТОВКИ, ОСВІТИ І ПРОФЕСІЙНОГО РОЗВИТКУ ПРАЦІВНИКІВ ОПЕРАТИВНО-РЯТУВАЛЬНИХ СЛУЖБ

The article describes the experience of professional training and development of workers of operational and rescue services of Australia. The experience accumulated by specialists of operational and rescue services of Australia in the fight against the elements, disasters, liquidation of the consequences of various emergencies, which quite often occur on its territory, is invaluable and deserves study. Each state and territory has its own services that ensure the civil safety of the population and their property: police, fire service, emergency service, emergency agencies. Australia builds its emergency management policy on four main principles: preparedness, prevention, response and recovery. The assignment of responsibility for emergency response to schools is due to the fact that in Australia the school itself is considered a key center for the community. Teachers are perceived as potential leaders in emergency situations, whose task is to perform any action before, during or after an emergency. As part of the reorganization of the operational rescue service system, its training programs were formalized and professionalized. In most institutions of higher education, there is a policy of re-enrollment of credits and recognition of the results of previous informal education. The professionalization of specialist training is achieved through targeted programs from higher education institutions, which are designed specifically to order from the national government, state and territory governments or an employer. The aforementioned training programs are a valuable addition to on-the-job training. Some universities have opened emergency research centers that carry out scientific research in the field of civil security and emergency management, which contributes to obtaining reliable scientific results, a closer connection between theory and practice, the highest level of practices in the area of emergency management, indicates ways of its optimization, determines the content of training courses. In order to focus on one platform the maximum number of areas of educational activity on emergency situations, the Australian Knowledge Center the so-called "Knowledge Hub" was created. It is a national open platform that provides an opportunity for everyone to find everything they need for familiarization, training, self-education, professional development in the field of emergencies. Keywords: operational rescue service, emergency situation, civil safety, higher education institution, management in emergency situations, professional development, training of specialists.

A Portfolio Coach-Informed Professional Development Framework.

A majority of US medical schools have incorporated faculty coach-supported educational portfolios into the curriculum. Existing research describes coach professional development, competencies, and program perceptions. However, limited research exists on how programs address coach professional development needs. Our sequential objectives were to (1) explore faculty coach professional development experiences within medical student coaching programs and (2) develop a preliminary framework for medical faculty coach professional development. Faculty portfolio coaches who completed 4 years of a longitudinal coaching program were recruited to complete a semi-structured exit interview. Interviews were transcribed using detailed transcription. Two analysts inductively generated a codebook of parent and child codes to identify themes. They compared themes to the professional development model proposed by O'Sullivan and Irby. Of the 25 eligible coaches, 15 completed the interview. Our team organized themes into two broad domains paralleling the established model: program-specific professional development and career-relevant professional development. Four program-specific professional development themes emerged: doing; modeling; relating; and hosting. Three career-relevant professional development themes emerged: advancement; meaning; and understanding. We then applied themes within each domain to propose strategies to optimize coach professional development and develop a framework modeled after O'Sullivan and Irby. To our knowledge, we propose the first portfolio coach-informed framework for professional development. Our work builds on established standards, expert opinion, and research responsible for portfolio coach professional development and competencies. Allied health institutions with portfolio coaching programs can apply the framework for professional development innovation.

Female Agriculture Teachers’ Lived Experiences and Perceived Professional Development Needs when Teaching Students with Special Needs

Although previous research in agricultural education has described the needs of SBAE teachers in regard to teaching students with special needs, the reported findings have been overwhelmingly quantitative in nature and have over-relied on females’ perspectives. As such, the purpose of this case study was to explore the experiences and professional development needs of female SBAE instructors in Louisiana when teaching students with special needs. Qualitative data were analyzed using the Borich (1980) model, which identified emergent themes of (1) perceived importance and (2) perceived ability. Additional sub-themes were the perceived importance of identified approaches used to accommodate students and perceptions when teaching students with special needs. Meanwhile, in the theme of perceived importance, participants identified prior education and professional development experiences as critical factors to success when teaching students with special needs. As a result of these findings, we recommended that state agricultural education leaders promote professional development opportunities to improve how female teachers can accommodate students with special needs, specifically in laboratory settings. Further, we recommend that future professional development for women SBAE teachers focus on specific disability types and inclusion strategies, rather than broad and non-specific special education training experiences.

Training, professional development and competence assessment of vocational and professional education teachers: An international review

Introduction. Training, professional development and evaluation of professional competence of vocational education teachers is considered to be the basis of providing any national economy with qualified workers and specialists. It has been increasingly recognized that more attention needs to be paid to this area. The vocational training systems are currently undergoing significant changes worldwide and require new strategies for administrative decisions. The purpose of this article is to analyze and systematize the international experience of training, professional development and competence assessment of vocational education teachers with a focus on Germany, Finland, and China in order to take it into account in modern Russian education. Materials and Methods. The theoretical and methodological basis of the research includes theories of vocational training and vocational teacher education, theories focusing on the content of vocational and teacher education and professional development of teaching staff. The authors used the following research methods: reviewing and comparative analysis of scholarly literature, reports of state institutions, regulations, and websites of educational settings in Germany, Finland and China. Results. The authors have identified trends in the convergence of qualifications and positions of teachers of professional disciplines and industrial instructors. Significant differences in the qualifications and skills of teachers and instructors in the workplace have been identified. Among the forms of professional development for vocational teachers, the authors have highlighted in-service training and activities focused in teaching methods and curriculum development. It is emphasized that the development of teachers' competence is gradual and level-based, the set of skills being determined by vocational education positions, duties and responsibilities In the countries analyzed, internships and professional self-assessment play a particularly important role in the professional development of vocational school teachers. Conclusions. A comparative international analysis of training, professional development and competence assessment of vocational teachers has enabled the authors to determine the main vectors for updating the system of professional training and vocational teacher education in Russia.

The Semiotic Bundle as a reflective tool in pre-service mathematics teachers’ education

Contemporary discussions in mathematics education have underlined the role of embodied cognition in mathematics thinking and in conceiving teaching-learning processes as multimodal. In this work, we refer to the Semiotic Bundle approach, according to which teaching-learning processes can be described through the production and evolution of different signs. In this perspective, teacher education should help teachers learn how to pay attention to the multimodality of teaching-learning processes. In this paper, we discuss findings from a pre-service teachers’ professional development experience to show how the Semiotic Bundle can be used as a tool for teachers’ reflection on the teaching-learning processes. The results show that, when pre-service teachers analyzed teaching-learning episodes using the Semiotic Bundle tool, they experienced a reflective activity, through which they became aware of the relationship between the produced signs and the construction of mathematical meanings. The study concludes that the Semiotic Bundle may serve as a reflective tool to be used in pre-service teachers’ education.

Pre-school Teachers Change of Perceptions of Engineering Through a Professional Development Experience

Pre-school Teachers Change of Perceptions of Engineering Through a Professional Development Experience

Contextual influences on the professional development experiences of lecturers in English as a foreign language at a Vietnamese university

ABSTRACTResearch on professional development (PD) in higher education settings is still scarce and little is known about how contextual factors influence PD of English as a foreign language (EFL) lecturers. Employing a transcendental phenomenological approach, this study seeks to extend research on this topic in order to understand how PD currently functions and could potentially function within the tertiary education reforms system in Vietnam. Drawing on ecological systems theory, this study demonstrates that the global, national, institutional and individual contexts had both negative and positive impacts on the EFL lecturers’ PD experiences. The findings from this study highlight that PD of Vietnamese tertiary EFL lecturers is driven by imposed policies in response to the national education reforms and mainly top-down, but the actual engagement is grounded in lecturers’ individual motivation and responsibility. This study has enabled a fuller explanation of Vietnamese tertiary EFL lecturers’ lived experiences of PD from a new, more systemic, perspective. This study has addressed a gap in this area in the field of ELT in Vietnam and may be applied to other international contexts.