Tool For Professional Development Research Articles

Webinars and workshops as professional development tools to upskill frontline workers in identifying and responding to harmful sexual behaviours

Webinars and workshops as professional development tools to upskill frontline workers in identifying and responding to harmful sexual behaviours

Exploring Australian Dietitians' knowledge, experience and perspectives of time-restricted eating in private practice: A qualitative study.

Time-restricted eating is a novel nutrition intervention with evidence of beneficial effects on weight loss, blood glucose management, and other metabolic health outcomes. Adherence to time-restricted eating is higher than some traditional nutrition interventions to support individuals living with overweight/obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus. However, there may be an evidence-practice gap of time-restricted eating in Australian dietetic practice. The present study aimed to explore dietitians' knowledge, experiences, and perspectives of time-restricted eating and timing of eating advice in practice. Semi-structured interviews with 10 private practice dietitians across Australia were conducted. Audio recordings were transcribed and analysed thematically. Six themes were identified: (i) distinction of time-restricted eating to other fasting protocols; (ii) knowledge of health benefits of time-restricted eating; (iii) patient-led advice frequently given: timing of breakfast and dinner; (iv) dietitian-led advice frequently given: eating cut-off time to avoid late night snacking; (v) barriers and facilitators to offering time-restricted eating or timing of eating advice; (vi) timing of eating advice within professional guidelines and resources. These findings suggest the need for development of professional resources and educational development tools for dietitians on time-restricted eating.

Capstone Portfolios as an Accreditation and Professional Development Tool: Early Childhood Candidates' Experience

Capstone Portfolios as an Accreditation and Professional Development Tool: Early Childhood Candidates' Experience

The Use of VSR as an In-house Professional Development Tool for Joint Reflection in a Primary School in the Western-Cape, South Africa

Joint reflection amongst teachers is a valuable way to learn from colleagues. The study explored the joint reflection by a primary school mathematics subject team where video-stimulated recall was used as a reflective tool. The research question that guided the study was: what is the influence of joint reflection on the professional development of a mathematics subject team, using video-stimulated recall as a reflective tool? The study leaned on teacher collaboration as a learning context for teachers and used the community of practice as a theoretical framework. The qualitative study used joint video-reflective sessions as data collection instruments where a mathematics subject team of six primary school teachers participated. Lessons of two teachers were video-recorded and played to the subject team and they then jointly reflected on the lessons. The themes that emerged from the data included initial discomfort to share their views about another colleagues’ lesson; learner involvement in lessons; strengthening mathematics concepts; and learning from each other. The study found that colleagues learned from each other, that better ways of doing were suggested and that the analysis of the video was like a two-edged sword where those who presented the lesson learned as well as those who watched the lessons.

Predictors of Mental Health and Job Burnout of Secondary School Teachers in Owerri Education Zone I, Imo State Nigeria

Aim of the Study: The study examined the predictor of mental health and job burnout of secondary school teachers in Owerri Education Zone I, Imo State Nigeria. Design/Methodology: 312 teachers from six government-owned secondary schools, participated in this cross-sectional survey study. Along with information on demographics, health-related behaviours, and resilience, the survey tools included the anxiety, stress and depression scale and burnout inventory for educators survey via hierarchical multiple regression analyses and descriptive statistics. Findings: Descriptive statistics were used in the study, and the findings indicated that 10.0% of teachers experienced severe anxiety, 7.3% had severe or extremely severe stress, and 4.3% had severe depression. According to the findings of the study on teacher burnout using hierarchical multiple regression analyses, emotional exhaustion was significantly predicted by age, marital status, family economic status, frequency of exercise, drinking, and resilience; depersonalisation was significantly predicted by drinking, and personal accomplishment was significantly predicted by resilience. The results of the hierarchical multiple regression analyses for the mental health of teachers also showed that age, family economic status, resilience, and exercise frequency were significant predictors of depression; gender, marital status, resilience, and sleep were significant predictors of stress; and marital status, family economic status, exercise frequency, smoking, and resilience were significant predictors of anxiety. Practical Implications: In order to help teachers better grasp the benefits of exercise and sleep for their mental health, schools should collaborate with nearby mental health centres to offer programmes that may be attended in person or virtually in enhancing mental well-being and lowering teacher burnout. Originality/value: This study is the first in Imo State, Nigeria to offer a thorough Teacher Wellness Programme in addition to offering a thorough analysis of teachers’ mental health and burnout. This study offers personal and professional development tools that public health professionals and school administrators can use to improve mental health and reduce teacher burnout.

<i>Re</i>-evaluating the Use of Corpus-Based Instruction in a Language Teacher Education Context

This paper presents a replication study of research published 16 years ago by one of the authors (Farr, 2008). At that time, research into the use of corpus-based approaches in teacher education was sparse. This has changed somewhat, but is still limited. Existing research shows that teachers identify a number of reservations to the integration of corpus-based approaches in their teaching, including time-related obstacles, and a lack of confidence, awareness and training (Boulton & Tyne, 2014). Clearly there are still challenges to be overcome and further insights to be gleaned from research into the integration of corpus linguistics into teacher education programmes. As with the original study, this paper reports the ways in which corpus approaches have been integrated into a 1-year MA in TESOL programme. It outlines findings from survey results, which explore the student teachers’ perspectives on their experiences of using corpora, both as a language awareness tool for professional development and research, and as a resource for materials development. Additionally, it discusses the potential issues foreseen by practitioners in relation to using such an approach in their careers. The investigation leads to the conclusion that there is generally a positive predisposition towards the use of corpora.

Nutrition and Dietetics Professionals Sustainable Food Systems Knowledge Seeking Behaviour

ABSTRACT Sustainable food system (SFS) competence is a new and recognized knowledge area for nutrition and dietetics professionals (NDP). This research seeks to describe the SFS knowledge seeking behavior of NDP. Secondary data analysis of 231 anonymous self-assessments collected between September 2020 to December 2021 indicate a high proportion (41%) of self-assessed “beginners” in this topic at a mixture of career stages. There was a preference for learning about topics that already have significant public attention globally. More advanced practitioners sought more applied information. These results are informative for updating education and professional development tools for NDP.

Enhancing pre-service teachers’ projective agency for diverse and multilingual classrooms through a course on curriculum development

ABSTRACT Framed in teacher research, this article examines on how a group of 220 preservice language teachers’ understandings of teacher agency evolved in a course on second language teaching curriculum. The participants were enrolled on a master’s program on teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL), and data were gathered through course activities which included two surveys, reflective blogs, and an essay. Based on inferential statistics and qualitative content analysis, findings show that, with different degrees of confidence, the student-teachers believe that their projective (future) agency was harnessed through the course developing (1) willingness to use teacher agency as a tool for professional development and (2) willingness to use teacher agency as a drive to engage in critical teaching practices for multilingual settings. Drawing on a trans-perspective of language teacher agency, the study advances a model of projective teacher agency.

Paying attention to attention: a program evaluation of faculty-delivered mindfulness-based attention training to optimize wellness and professionalism in medical students

BackgroundAs physician distress rises, medical schools must provide programs to counter such distress at the earliest stages of training. Mindfulness training (MT) is one intervention that can alleviate stress during medical school. However, framing MT around wellness alone misses the opportunity to connect core cognitive and psychological capacities strengthened by MT to professional goals and skill acquisition inherent to successful medical training. Here, we highlight how the attentional components of MT align with students’ goals of becoming attending physicians while promoting academic, psychological, and interpersonal flourishing. MT courses that focus on strengthening attentional capacities can intuitively link academic and professional development with wellness, appealing to a wide array of students.MethodsWe iteratively recontextualized an existing short-form mindfulness training program for high-stress pre-professionals, known as Mindfulness Based Attention Training (MBAT), to the medical school context (MBAT-Rx). MBAT-Rx was offered by physician trainers to first-year medical students at Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University as a tool for improving study habits and focus in addition to the development of both self-care and patient care strategies. MBAT-Rx consists of weekly, two-hour sessions over four weeks, with 10–15 min of daily mindfulness practice between sessions. At the end of the four weeks, students submitted voluntary program evaluation responses detailing their experience of the program.ResultsOptional program evaluation responses (n = 67) highlight that students found the program to be useful for their academic success and ability to pay attention, their interpersonal relationships, and their psychological health. By framing MT as an opportunity to boost core attentional capacities and connecting this to professional and academic goals in addition to wellness, MBAT-Rx appealed to a wide variety of students.ConclusionsOur ongoing work suggests that framing MT as both a professional development and wellness promotion tool, taught by physicians themselves, and structured around students’ time demands, may be a successful model for medical schools looking to increase the impact of their mindfulness offerings. Such programs are needed to equip medical students to navigate the demands of a challenging healthcare training landscape.

Classroom observational data: a professional development tool for introductory college mathematics instruction

Two groups of mathematics faculty, one from a four-year college and one from a two-year college, redesigned their respective introductory college mathematics courses following presentation of observational data regarding how faculty had been teaching the courses. This presentation emphasised how infrequently faculty teaching introductory college mathematics employed recommended pedagogical practices. This work was part of a multi-year federal grant project designed to increase the numbers of underrepresented students majoring in STEM disciplines. While the two teams developed very different redesigned course activities, in both instances the primary motivation for initiating the work was the information provided to faculty in a professional development workshop regarding how they had previously been observed teaching the mathematics content and how infrequently they utilised the pedagogical practices recommended by STEM education experts. The paper also highlights faculty resistance to curricular reform and enumerates some ways of addressing this resistance. The paper also discusses why faculty from two-year and four-year institutions resisted working together on course redesign and provides recommendations for future efforts addressing course redesign.

Competency matrix for nurses. How to use to close gaps in knowledge and skills

Senior nurse of the Samara Regional Clinical Hospital named after. V. D. Seredavin shared her experience on how to effectively distribute the workload and formulate a development plan for subordinates using a competency matrix. Use a new tool for professional development of nursing staf f.

The use of reflective conversations as a professional development tool – a narrative exploring the experiences of a performance analyst working in semi-elite football

ABSTRACT Previous research into the use of reflective techniques, in applied sports environments, has tended to focus on the experiences of coaches. However, with the increasing professionalization of sports, coaches no longer stand alone as the focus for research into the professional development experiences of individuals. Yet, there is only limited research into the professional development of performance analysts. Consequently, this research sought to understand how a performance analyst could use reflective conversations with coaches, players, and expert analysts as a tool for professional development. The research adopted an autoethnographic approach to investigate the use of reflective conversations as a tool for professional development for a performance analyst. The data collection and analysis process followed three stages for Martin, the performance analyst the heart of the research: living the story, telling the story, and retelling the story. Through this process, two vignettes were written about Martin’s experience engaging in reflective conversations; ‘Delving Deeper’ and ‘A mirror conversation’. These vignettes highlighted the importance of Martin engaging in reflective conversations in order to develop strategies to manage professional issues as well as being beneficial in helping him to understand the opportunities for professional growth available within his role.

Frames of Learning: Privileging Teacher Perspectives for Decolonizing Lesson Study for Mathematics Teaching

Lesson study’s international popularity spread as a unique, agency-oriented model of teacher professional development that is context-rich and deeply rooted in teacher subjectivities. This project aimed to answer the question, what do mathematics teacher education researchers learn about teacher learning by focusing on uncertainties as they arise when the group is trying to construct new knowledge in lesson study? Using ethnographic case study, this article explores the ways one community of practice in a Chilean school negotiated evolving objectives over the course of one school year and how I as the lesson study facilitator took up roles to support collaborative meaning-making and decolonize lesson study as a professional development tool through the use of framing.

Bookstagram and Beyond: Instagram as a Professional Development Tool

Bookstagram and Beyond: Instagram as a Professional Development Tool

Physicians’ adoption of massive open online courses content in the workplace: An investigation on the training transfer process through the Theory of Planned Behavior

While Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) are recognized as helpful learning tools for professional development in healthcare organizations, they often result in a low transfer of knowledge and skills into participants' workplaces. Regarding this issue, little research has explored the factors shaping physicians’ intention to transfer learning acquired through these courses to their job. In light of the above, the present study adopted an extended version of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to address the low transfer rate in such a professional population by investigating the potential antecedents of transfer intention among 217 Italian physicians. They completed an online questionnaire measuring TPB traditional constructs (i.e., intention to transfer MOOCs content to the workplace, attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control), variables related to the MOOCs format, professionalism, and organizational learning culture. Findings showed that transfer intention was positively affected by attitude and perceived behavioral control; conversely, no significant association between subjective norms and intention emerged. Furthermore, the proximal antecedents of intention were affected by organizational learning culture. Lastly, attitude toward transfer was positively associated with MOOCs perceived usefulness, which mediated the path between MOOCs reputation and attitude. Study limitations and implications for future research and training programs development in the contest of professional continuing education are discussed.

Webinars for teacher professional development: perceptions of members of a virtual professional community of practice

ABSTRACT This study explores the significance of webinars as tools for supporting teachers’ professional development and growth beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, as perceived by the teachers themselves. The study employs a mixed methods approach, involving 394 teachers registered on a popular virtual community of practice (vCoP) who completed a survey, with twenty of them participating in focus group interviews. Quantitative data from the survey were statistically analysed using SPSS 25.0, while qualitative data from the focus group interviews underwent theme-based analysis. The findings suggest that teachers highly regard webinars as effective tools for professional development and believe that webinars should be an integral part of future teacher development programmes within the framework of blended learning models. The key strengths and weaknesses of webinars as tools for supporting teacher professional development are thoroughly addressed.

Review of research on microteaching in mathematics teacher education: Promises and challenges

Microteaching has been viewed as a professional development tool that gives pre-service teachers the chance to strengthen their teaching skills. This paper presents an overview of the research on microteaching in mathematics teacher education, noting its prospects and challenges while also making recommendations for modifications to its application. A thorough analysis of 28 empirical papers on microteaching in mathematics teacher preparation that were published between 2000 and 12 May 2023, was conducted. Findings demonstrate that microteaching is an effective approach for enhancing pre-service teachers’ core mathematics teaching skills. It is suggested that microteaching, which begins in a laboratory setting with the development of essential teaching skills, should not end there; it should give trainee teachers an opportunity to learn and practice in a real classroom context. Microteaching activities require more time, more supervisors, and more resources to function at its maximum capacity. Technology has also demonstrated greater promise when it comes to enhancing microteaching’s position in facilitating the development of pre-service mathematics teachers’ instructional skills.

How Does Mentoring Affect Self-Efficacy?: An Investigation on Turkish Principals

Mentoring is one of the professional development tools supporting school principals. Thanks to mentoring, principals can overcome the problems they confront and meet the expectations of different stakeholders. Thus, principals are able to perform more effectively in schools. Mentoring has become a formal process for principals in various countries for a long time. Moreover, several researchers from different countries focus on the various impacts of mentoring on principals. One of these is the self-efficacy of principals. Mentoring has the potential to enhance the principals' self-efficacy. However, it is difficult to note that mentoring and its influence on principals' self-efficacy have been analyzed thoroughly. In this context, this phenomenological study aims to overcome the current inadequacy. The study data was collected based on criterion and snowball sampling from eight principals working in Kahramanmaraş province. MAXQDA 2020 was utilized for data analysis. The results revealed that mentoring plays a critical role in the self-efficacy beliefs of principals. In other words, it develops principals' managerial, instructional, and ethical competencies. This finding significantly contributes to the literature on principals' professional development, professional learning, and self-efficacy. Several suggestions have been offered for policymakers and researchers about the formalization of mentoring and the details of its implementation.

LinkedIn Usage Trends Among Surgeons at a Large Academic Institute

IntroductionSocial networking platforms have evolved into a self-promotional space. The LinkedIn platform allows users to share knowledge, research accomplishments, and network in an academic setting. Our objective was to determine LinkedIn usage trends among surgeons at a large academic institution. MethodsA list of surgeons within the department of surgery at a large academic institute was compiled. All publicly available profiles were analyzed for their LinkedIn activity and followership. Active accounts were defined as users who have posted or interacted with any posts within the last year. Comparisons of LinkedIn usage grouped by gender, surgery division, and rank were analyzed. ResultsA total of 133 surgeons were included. Among these surgeons, 88 had a LinkedIn profile (66.2%); however, only 43 surgeons had active usage on this platform (32.3%). The median number of followers among surgeons with a profile was 110 (IQR [24–427]). Male surgeons had a higher median of followers (167 IQR [38–502]) compared to female (54 IQR [21–209]). A greater percentage of male surgeons had a profile compared to female surgeons (68.5% M versus 61.0% F, P = 0.12). The transplant surgery division had the highest percentage of LinkedIn accounts (90.9%) followed by surgical oncology (87.5%). However, active usage was led by the pediatric surgery division (80.0%), followed by the plastic surgery division (71.4%). Instructors, assistant professors, associate professors, and professors all had LinkedIn accounts; however, instructors were the least active users with 33.3% being active on their LinkedIn. The lowest percentage of those with LinkedIn accounts were instructors (50%). Professors were found to be the most active users at 57.1%. ConclusionsSocial media use is on the rise in academic surgery. Within a department of surgery at a large academic institution, only 32.3% were active users of LinkedIn, suggesting that there is room for improvement in utilizing this resource as a tool for mentorship, professional development, and networking.

ІНСТРУМЕНТИ ФІНАНСОВОГО ЗАБЕЗПЕЧЕННЯ ІННОВАЦІЙНОЇ ВІДБУДОВИ ЕКОНОМІКИ КРАЇНИ

The relevance of the study lies in the need to develop and improve effective financial instruments for the innovative reconstruction of the country's economy. In the current conditions of rapid technological changes and global competition, the effective implementation of innovations becomes a key factor in sustainable economic development. One of the main obstacles to innovation development is limited financial resources. The research is aimed at identifying effective mechanisms for attracting and allocating funding to support innovative initiatives. Investors often have limited interest in innovative projects due to their high risk. The research aims to develop mechanisms to incentivize investors to participate in innovative initiatives. Determining the optimal balance between public and private funding to support innovation, as well as developing partnership mechanisms between them, also encourages seeking solutions to these issues and developing effective financial strategies for innovation to achieve sustainable economic development in the country. The goal of the research is to study, analyze, and determine optimal financial instruments that contribute to stimulating and supporting innovative development in the economy of Ukraine. During the research, general scientific theoretical methods were used, including systemic analysis to disclose key research categories, abstract-logical method for formulating theoretical generalizations and conclusions about the essence of the synergistic effect and its assessment, and graphical method for illustrating theoretical and analytical material related to the main characteristics of the synergistic effect in innovative clusters. The research included an analysis of various instruments used to provide financial support for the innovative sector of the economy. The primary focus was on mechanisms that determine the success of the country's innovative development. The analysis allowed assessing the effectiveness of different financial instruments and their impact on economic progress. It identified mechanisms that contribute to the growth of innovative potential and those that may be less successful. Key issues and challenges facing the financial system in implementing innovative projects were also identified. Their potential impacts on overall economic development were revealed, and directions for further research were determined. The article serves as a crucial tool for increasing understanding, developing strategic approaches, and promoting innovative reconstruction of the country's economy. It can be valuable for scholars and professionals studying or working in the fields of economics, finance, and innovation, providing them with knowledge and tools for further research and professional development. Further investigation into specific financial instruments, such as grants and financing, considering the impact of the political and social environment on the effectiveness of innovative financial instruments, can enrich understanding and help contextualize decisionmaking. Analyzing the interaction between innovative financial instruments and other areas, such as education, science, and entrepreneurship, may reveal additional opportunities for creating synergy.