Professional Development Materials Research Articles

Dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s: Operationalising a teaching and learning community of practice

Social theories of learning propose that communities serve as vital building blocks for knowledge sharing and construction (Bandura, 1977; Cobb, 1994). In essence, learning thrives when individuals congregate in a community where they exchange tacit knowledge and expose areas of ignorance (Wenger et al., 2002). Nevertheless, the process of cultivating a community of practice is not necessarily straightforward, as it requires meticulous planning and decision-making. This instrumental case study seeks to explicate the formation and development of a teaching and learning community of practice (T&L CoP) at a research-intensive university in Hong Kong. More specifically, it explores how the structural model of the community of practice – domain, community, and practice – are applied and manifested. Multiple sources of documents, including a project proposal, a project website, a project progress report and archival records, were analysed using deductive thematic analysis. The results reveal that the T&L CoP is constitutive of an overarching domain of teaching and learning, within which ten special interest groups are formed. The T&L CoP also bring together 150 professoriate and professional staff from across eight faculties. The community facilitates knowledge exchange through periodic professional development workshops and materials as well as sharing sessions that highlight exemplary teaching practice. The study concludes by discussing three fundamental questions regarding the operationalisation of a CoP, in terms of expansion, retention, as well as sustainability, and argues that the T&L CoP helps cultivate members’ social capital through improved networks and visibility among the teaching and learning community.

Investigation of the challenges in online formative assessment faced by Grade 10 Physical Sciences teachers in South African schools

Formative assessment is crucial for teachers to gauge students’ understanding of subject content, and applying formative assessment in an online context is more challenging than in a traditional Physical Sciences classroom. This study examines challenges experienced by Grade 10 Physical Sciences teachers when enacting online formative assessment as per the research question. The empirical investigation adopted a generic qualitative design in which three purposively selected Grade 10 Physical Sciences teachers from three different schools and quintiles within the Tshwane North District in South Africa. Data were collected through individual and focus group interviews. Interviews were video recorded, transcribed and thematically analysed using grounded theory to construct a thematic framework for supporting the study. Technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge (TPACK) was utilised as a theoretical framework underpinning the study to identify challenges experienced by Grade 10 Physical Sciences teachers when enacting online formative assessment. Challenges identified in this study include the enforced utilisation of Annual Teaching Plans, lack of technological knowledge, lack of internet connectivity, and poor digital infrastructure at schools, and in towns and cities in South Africa. The study aims to show that the Department of Basic Education faces the key imperative to provide continuous teacher professional development and concomitant online learning materials that can facilitate meaningful enactment of online formative assessment in various educational settings while policy is needed to ensure that every student has access to data and internet resources.

A Systematic Review of CBM Content in Practitioner-Focused Journals: Do We Talk About Instructional Decision-Making?

Data-based decision-making (DBDM) using curriculum-based measurement (CBM) data has demonstrated effectiveness in improving academic achievement for students with or at risk for learning disability. Despite substantial evidence supporting DBDM, its use is not common practice for many educators, even those who regularly collect CBM data. One explanation for its lack of widespread use is that educators may not receive adequate training in the DBDM aspects of CBM. Espin et al. examined the extent to which DBDM is represented in CBM professional development (PD) materials and found that the topic was significantly underrepresented (12% to 14% of CBM PD material content) compared with other CBM topics. The purpose of this study was to conduct a conceptual replication of the Espin et al. systematic review through an analysis of CBM content in practitioner journal articles. The present review includes 29 practitioner articles coded to the four CBM categories used in the Espin et al. study: (a) general CBM information, (b) conducting CBM, (c) data-based decision-making, and (d) other. Results revealed a pattern similar to the one found by Espin et al. with approximately 18% of the content of practitioner articles on CBM devoted to the topic of decision-making. These findings strengthen the recommendation from Espin et al. for increased attention to DBDM in CBM training materials.

Guided to Guider: the “∼ed” and “∼er” roles in professional development materials for guided Reading

ABSTRACT This paper takes a social semiotic, Bernsteinian, view of the language used to describe the Guided Reading teaching strategy in Professional Development session materials for in-service teachers in Australia. We use categories from Michael Halliday’s systemic-functional grammar and Ruqaiya Hasan’s stylistics to demonstrate a radical discontinuity between content and form. While the content of the professional development materials makes the case for greater child dynamism in reading, the grammatical roles assigned to the children by the language forms are generally less dynamic than those assigned to the teacher. We propose two changes. First, classroom language should aim at increasing child “∼er” roles. Secondly, the language of professional development materials ought to reflect, and if possible, appropriate and speak through that classroom language.

Teaching for Accessibility: Introduction

Technology regularly helps people communicate ideas and information; explore the world; and capture, store, and interpret large amounts of information. However, some learning environments may prevent individuals from accessing these resources. Fortunately, guidance exists to develop more widely accessible materials and tools. This special issue of the Journal of Technology-Integrated Lessons and Teaching (JTILT) focuses on professional development workshops, lessons, activities, and materials to facilitate accessibility.

From One Language to the Next: Applications of Analogical Transfer for Programming Education

The 1980s and 1990s saw a robust connection between computer science education and cognitive psychology as researchers worked to understand how students learn to program. More recently, academic disciplines such as science and engineering have begun drawing on cognitive psychology research and theories of learning to create instructional materials and teacher professional development materials based on theories of learning, to some success. In this paper, we follow a similar approach by highlighting common areas of interest between computer science education and cognitive psychology–specifically theories of analogical transfer–and discuss how cross-pollination of theoretical constructs between disciplines can support research on the teaching and learning of multiple programming languages. We will also discuss areas where computing education research can adapt the existing theories from cognitive psychology to develop domain-specific theories of knowledge transfer in computing and feed back into cognitive psychology research to inform larger debates about the nature of cognition and learning.

Trans voices in social work research: what are the recommendations for anti-oppressive practice that includes trans people?

This rapid review explores research that relates to trans people and social work, with the aim of investigating the experiences of trans people in social work. The article is concerned exclusively with research that platforms the voices of trans people, specifically, those whose input is in direct reference to their experiences in relation to social work. However, the exploration revealed no studies that reference the perspectives of trans social workers. Key recommendations include: the responsible inclusion of trans identities within educational and professional development materials; a visible commitment within social work to confronting transphobia; engaging with practice beyond a binary comprehension of gender; and renewed commitment to person-centred practice that promotes and understands the necessity for self-identification. Additionally, this review restates the need for further ethical research in this area that is more accurately representative and enables the voice and influence of trans people in social work knowledge production.

The Love to Read Programme

The Love to Read Programme
 Oxley, E; Ricketts, J; Shapiro, L & McGeown, S.
 
 Collaborative research practices, which involve children, young people, teachers and/or stakeholders partnering in research, draws upon the distinct, yet complementary knowledge, expertise and experience of each. Collaborative research approaches have potential to narrow the gap between educational research and practice (NFER, 2017) and position the needs and experiences of stakeholders at the centre of the research (Calderón López & Theriault, 2017).
 
 This poster describes the Love to Read project, which aims to increase children’s reading motivation and engagement by synthesising relevant theory and research, with children’s ideas and experiences, and teachers' pedagogical expertise. In Phase 1, (Phase 1 preregistration: https://osf.io/5ztjk), 59 demographically diverse children from across the UK, with different reading attitudes and experiences, participated in online or in-person interviews. An inductive data-driven approach to thematic analysis was used (Braun & Clarke, 2006) to understand the diversity of children’s book reading experiences and children’s ideas for practices to promote reading motivation and engagement. In Phase 2, children’s insights were shared with teachers, as the research team and teachers collaborated to co-design a professional development programme aimed at increasing reading motivation and engagement in children (Phase 2 preregistration:https://osf.io/xsjhc). The final part of Phase 2 aims to evaluate the co-design process, from participating teachers’ and researchers’ perspectives.
 While pre-registration has recently gained momentum in qualitative research, especially experimental studies, open science practices are used considerably less in qualitative research. The Love to Read project has pre-registered all qualitative methods for Phases 1 and 2, including interview schedules and data analysis protocols. Traditionally, preregistration is a tool used to distinguish exploratory and confirmatory research. Qualitative research, however, is exploratory by nature. For example, using data-driven thematic analysis meant hypotheses could not be drawn in advance, as this could have created bias in our analysis. Furthermore, interview schedules can change or adapt depending on the responses from the interviewee. Therefore, strict compliance to methods such as those which would take place for quantitative data collection are not wholly possible. Nonetheless, using pre-registration should still be encouraged for qualitative researchers to add credibility and transparency of their research.
 This project uses co-design, with children, teachers and other professionals, creating a unique opportunity to develop a professional learning programme which is likely to be engaging and relevant to children, and acceptable and feasible to teachers, maximising the likelihood of uptake, and successful and sustained implementation. The project completion will result in free and openly available continued professional development materials for teachers.

Increasing physician participation as subjects in scientific and quality improvement research

BackgroundThe twenty-first century has witnessed an exponential increase in healthcare quality research. As such activities become more prevalent, physicians are increasingly needed to participate as subjects in research and quality improvement (QI) projects. This raises an important ethical question: how should physicians be remunerated for participating as research and/or QI subjects?Financial versus non-monetary incentives for participationResearch suggests participation in research and QI is often driven by conditional altruism, the idea that although initial interest in enrolling in research is altruistic or prosocial, decisions to actually perform study tasks are cost–benefit driven. Thus, the three models commonly employed to appropriately compensate participants (in-kind compensation such as travel reimbursement, paying market rates for the subject’s time, and paying market rates for the activity asked of the participant) are a poor fit when the participant is a clinician, largely due to the asymmetry between cost and benefit or value to the participant. Non-monetary alternatives such as protected time for participation, continuing education or maintenance of certification credit, or professional development materials, can provide viable avenues for reducing this asymmetry.ConclusionResearch and QI are integral to the betterment of medicine and healthcare. To increase physician participation in these activities as the subject of study, new models are needed that clarify the physician’s role in research and QI as a subject. Non-monetary approaches are recommended to successfully and ethically encourage research and QI participation, and thus incorporate these activities as a normal part of the ethical clinician’s and successful learning healthcare system’s world view.

Performance-based identity in a BIM environment: an architect's perceptions and experiences

PurposeInterpreting the meaning structure of architects' actions, behaviours and performances enacted in a building information modelling (BIM) environment is implausible by returning to the classic and ideal imagery of an architect as a natural leader. Yet, little has been empirically explored on how architects perceive their identity and most critically, how they act, behave and perform their way into it in such an environment. Consequently, architects' failing to adapt their core identity to the varying circumstances may lead to their irrelevance and being side-lined merely as aesthetic building surgeons. The current study therefore seeks a better understanding of their perceptions and experiences in manifesting their identities in the phenomenon.Design/methodology/approachDrawing upon the interpretive phenomenological approach, ten architectural trained individuals were selected for in-depth, semi-structured interviews, and written accounts exercise to disclose their lived experience. The study was conducted in a Malaysian architectural consultancy practice (ACP) setting.FindingsThe data analysis resulted in the following five performance identity themes that revolve around the core identity of a successful designer: “performing as a design strategist”, “performing as a design translator”, “performing as a design facilitator”, “reinstating the identity of a design coordinator” and “performing as a design innovator”.Practical implicationsThe study serves as groundwork for professional institutional bodies to further reconstruct a career road map alongside the professional development framework towards elevating, developing and facilitating the hybridity of architects' performance identities in such environment.Social implicationsThe study serves as a groundwork for professional institutional bodies to reconstruct the existing continuing professional development (CPD) programmes, materials and framework so that they reflect the performances of future architects practicing in a BIM environment. The elicited experiences may also inform architectural curriculum designers of the appropriate approaches of teaching and learning in architecture that could promote the hybridity of architects' performance identities in such an environment.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the identity literature by yielding valuable new insights about the experiences and behaviour of architects practicing in a BIM environment. Understanding such complexity would not be possible merely based on the theoretical lenses of professional identity and organisational identification as adopted in previous studies.

Introducing Music in a Saudi Arabian Elementary School

This article describes the challenges and triumphs in introducing music in the primary division of a private elementary school in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Data sources included classroom observations, field notes, lesson plans, professional development materials, photographs, audio-recordings, videos, surveys, and interviews. Data were analyzed using standard qualitative protocols. Most of the teachers who were new to music teaching (both Saudi and non-Saudi) were eager to begin teaching music. They took advantage of professional development opportunities offered by an expatriate curriculum consultant. A school improvement team, made up of expatriate and Saudi teachers, guided the school-based music activities as well as professional development in the broader community. By the end of the year, music was present in all primary classes. The article closes with implications for the evolution of music teaching in Saudi Arabia, as well as how lessons learned through the Saudi experience might enrich music teaching in other settings.

Teaching for mastery in primary mathematics: A study of translating research into policy and practice

AbstractIn this paper we investigate the translation of research into professional development (PD) materials for teachers of primary mathematics, by England's National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics, and related changes in teacher practices of teachers using the materials. We use interview data gathered from three teachers, via six teacher interviews, conducted over a two‐year period. The small sample allows us to explore the richness of their stories, while not being able to generalise to all teachers. Our results show that both implicit and explicit messages from research can become visible in new classroom practices. For instance, the teachers in our study all came to view the concept of number quite differently to how they had in the past, and in a way that was in keeping with research that informed the PD materials. A new view of number was implicit in the PD materials and in the teachers’ descriptions of their practice. Other changes in teaching practices were explicitly spoken about by the teachers and were explicitly written about in the PD materials. Our work points to the efficacy of a team of practitioners working, with guidance, to create practical resources which embody research results. We propose viewing teachers as active partners in the process of translating research into practice.

Making Sense to Make Change: How Community College Faculty Perceptions of Math Contextualization Shape Instructional Change

Objective: In numerous calls for reform to community college math instruction, contextualization has been identified as an effective approach to teaching and learning. Yet, little is known about how faculty contend with math contextualization and how they make decisions about its adoption. This study explored how community college faculty teaching math make sense of contextualization as a result of related professional development, and how faculty make decisions about whether to apply contextualization to teaching math as they make sense of contextualization and other individual or organizational factors. Method: This study adopted a case study approach, drawing upon interviews, observations, and professional development materials from two large, comprehensive 2-year colleges in a Midwestern state. Results: Findings revealed five themes under two main umbrellas: making sense and making change. Three interconnected themes comprised making sense: orientation to contextualization, prior teaching and field experiences, and dual identities as teacher and learner. Two themes characterized making change: external and structural constraints of implementing contextualization and comfort level in operationalizing contextualization. Contributions: This study illuminated the complex process of faculty sensemaking of math contextualization, and how this sensemaking, in light of individual and organizational factors, shapes their decisions around math instructional change.

Curriculum, Training and Coaching to Support the Development of Emergent Language and Literacy Skills

This article discusses the need for accessible, practical, and cost-effective professional development and teaching materials for Head Start teachers in developing their children’s emergent language and literacy skills. We describe the components of ABCDuet, a program designed to make training and coaching in language and literacy teaching practices more effective, accessible, user-friendly, and sustainable using innovative software and video assets. We summarize a study investigating the feasibility and efficacy of ABCDuet implementation on teacher and child outcomes from an evaluation of the program in 21 Head Start classrooms. Results indicated that the program can be implemented in authentic preschool settings by teachers with varied educational backgrounds and experience, serving children with a wide range of emergent language and literacy skills. We conclude with feedback from study teachers on their experiences using ABCDuet’s technology and its components.

Opportunities and Challenges of Applying Cognitive Process Dimensions to Map-Based Learning and Alternate Assessment

In education, taxonomies that define cognitive processes describe what a learner does with the content. Cognitive process dimensions (CPDs) are used for a number of purposes, such as in the development of standards, assessments, and subsequent alignment studies. Educators consider CPDs when developing instructional activities and materials. CPDs may provide one way to track students’ progress toward acquiring increasingly complex knowledge. There are a number of terms used to characterize CPDs, such as depth-of-knowledge, cognitive demand, cognitive complexity, complexity framework, and cognitive taxonomy or hierarchy. The Dynamic Learning Maps (DLM™) Alternate Assessment System is built on a map-based model, grounded in the literature, where academic domains are organized by cognitive complexity as appropriate for the diversity of students with significant cognitive disabilities (SCD). Of these students, approximately 9% either demonstrate no intentional communication system or have not yet attained symbolic communication abilities. This group of students without symbolic communication engages with and responds to stimuli in diverse ways based on context and familiarity. Most commonly used cognitive taxonomies begin with initial levels, such asrecall, that assume students are using symbolic communication when they process academic content. Taxonomies that have tried to extend downward to address the abilities of students without symbolic communication often include only a single dimension (i.e.,attend). The DLM alternate assessments are based on learning map models that depict cognitive processes exhibited at the foundational levels of pre-academic learning, non-symbolic communication, and growth toward higher levels of complexity. DLM examined existing cognitive taxonomies and expanded the range to include additional cognitive processes that demonstrate changes from the least complex cognitive processes through early symbolic processes. This paper describes the theoretical foundations and processes used to develop the DLM Cognitive Processing Dimension (CPD) Taxonomy to characterize cognitive processes appropriate for map-based alternate assessments. We further explain how the expanded DLM CPD Taxonomy is used in the development of the maps, extended standards (i.e., Essential Elements), alternate assessments, alignment studies, and professional development materials. Opportunities and challenges associated with the use of the DLM CPD Taxonomy in these applications are highlighted.

A Systematic Review of CBM Professional Development Materials: Are Teachers Receiving Sufficient Instruction in Data-Based Decision-Making?

The purpose of this study was to examine the amount of attention devoted to data-based decision-making in Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) professional development materials. Sixty-nine CBM instructional sources were reviewed, including 45 presentations, 22 manuals, and two books. The content of the presentations and manuals/books was coded into one of four categories: (a) general CBM information, (b) conducting CBM, (c) data-based decision-making, and (d) other. Results revealed that only a small proportion of information in the CBM instructional materials was devoted to data-based decision-making (12% for presentations and 14% for manuals/books), and that this proportion was significantly smaller than (a) that devoted to other instructional topics, (b) that expected were information to be equally distributed across major instructional topics, and (c) that recommended by experienced CBM trainers. Results suggest a need for increased attention to data-based decision-making in CBM professional development.

Comparing and Discussing Multiple Strategies: An Approach to Improving Algebra Instruction

Productive learning of algebra is supported when students reflect on multiple strategies, compare them and discuss the rationale behind and relative merits of particular strategies. Comparison and Discussion of Multiple Strategies (CDMS) is an instructional approach designed to support these processes in math classrooms. In the current study, 16 Algebra I teachers received professional development and supplemental materials to support CDMS when teaching a unit on linear equation solving and 475 of their students completed assessments of their linear equation solving knowledge before and after the unit. Thirteen Algebra I teachers and their 359 students were the business-as-usual control group. CDMS increased how often teachers engaged their students in comparison of multiple strategies, sustained small group work, and sustained mathematical discussions. Students in CDMS classrooms also had higher knowledge of linear equations on the posttest, particularly procedural flexibility, even after controlling for pretest knowledge and school demographic differences. Thus, encouraging teachers to regularly compare and discuss multiple strategies increases students’ algebra learning. Findings highlight the need to expand theories of algebra learning to include attention to procedural flexibility, illustrate an instructional theory and method to promote broader learning about algebra, and provide evidence for effective instructional practices.

АТТЕСТАЦИЯ СОТРУДНИКОВ КОМПАНИИ НА ОСНОВЕ КОМПЛЕКСНОЙ ДИНАМИЧЕСКОЙ ОЦЕНКИ КОМПЕТЕНТНОСТИ И УСТОЙЧИВОГО РАЗВИТИЯ ПРЕДПРИЯТИЯ

The article presents a methodological approach to conducting an integrated complex dynam-ic assessment of the level of competence of an employee of an organization, including three stag-es. At the first stage, it is proposed to conduct a generalized assessment of the sustainability of the enterprise. Integrated dynamic assessment of the state of sustainable development of the enter-prise includes economic, environmental, social, institutional indicators. At the second stage, when forming an integral complex dynamic assessment of the employee's competence level, it is pro-posed to supplement the methodology of its calculation with an integral dynamic indicator of the organization's sustainable development assessment. The obtained integral complex assessments of competence are used to develop measures and guidelines for improving personnel manage-ment. At the third stage, an algorithm has been developed for material and moral incentives for professional development and labor efficiency to achieve the company's sustainable develop-ment goals using integrated complex dynamic assessments of competence during employee certi-fication. The approbation of the proposed approach to the integrated complex dynamic assessment of the level of competence of an employee of the organization was carried out according to the Integrated Annual Report of PJSC Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works. The practical significance of the developed methodology of a comprehensive dynamic as-sessment of competence in the certification of employees with the inclusion of the results of an in-tegrated dynamic assessment of the state of sustainable development of the enterprise will in-crease the effectiveness of decision-making to improve personnel management for the sustainable development of the company.

Challenging Dominant Perspectives and Textual Hierarchies in English and Literacy Teacher Professional Development

Professional development plays a key role in continuing education for English and literacy teachers. Yet, professional development libraries are often mechanisms that reproduce inequities due to their emphasis on dominant perspectives and adherence to textual hierarchies. English and literacy teachers deserve professional development materials from a variety of perspectives and using a multitude of textual types to construct equitable classroom experiences. As a result, the authors first argue the canon of cisgender, able-bodied white educators’ professional development texts should be deconstructed and redesigned to ensure more equitable representation for teacher learning. Second, the authors work to deconstruct the textual hierarchy that positions printed text as the highest source of professional development knowledge and rethink texts for professional development and how professional texts can be redefined. Finally, action steps are provided for teachers and school leaders to challenge dominant perspectives and textual hierarchies in their practice.

The Digital Teacher: Promises and Challenges

Students read their texts as e-books on computers, tablets, and even cell phones, and communicate about assignments at a distance electronically. Digital tools help teachers manage their classrooms, communicate with students and parents, enhance learning with videos, simulations, and other multimedia accouterments, and assess student learning. However, despite the vast array of digital resources available, instructional designers are not realizing the full potential of these tools in curriculum, assessment, and teacher professional development materials. In recent years, the availability of online professional development has surged, providing teachers with easy access to high quality professional learning experiences. Much of these online materials are organized as interactive courses with a learning or content management environment presented in a more didactic approach of information transfer and tutorials (Fishman, 2016).