Professional Learning Activities Research Articles

“I need more help, but everyone expects me to know it”: perceived mentoring needs of contemporary second-year early career teachers

ABSTRACT While there has been theoretical and empirical address of the changing characteristics of teachers as they progress through the early years of their professional careers, much less research has considered how this influences the changing ways in which early career teachers (ECTs) may prefer to experience mentoring during this time. Most ECT mentoring research and in-school mentoring programmes focus on teachers in their first year of the profession, or ECTs in very broad terms. Consequently, the specific mentoring needs and preferred approaches of second-year teachers, in particular, remain unclear. In this paper, we report on data collected via researcher field notes, an online survey, and professional learning activities with 15 mentors and ECTs in their second year of teaching in Queensland, Australia. Using a combination of descriptive statistics and directed qualitative content analysis, findings indicated that second-year teachers identify as having specific mentoring needs that they perceive require a unique combination of directive and co-exploratory mentoring approaches. Critically drawing on theories of teacher development, these findings have implications for schools and systems both in Australia and internationally in the development of policies and programmes for mentoring beyond the first year of teaching.

Faculty development to design effective online courses: Responding to requirements

Since the pandemic, the importance of faculty development has been taken much more attention and has gone from being an ‘expectation’ to a ‘requirement’. Therefore, universities have started to step toward faculty development, which is also necessary. A wide variety of professional learning activities has been used for faculty development purposes in universities, but the research examining its effectiveness is limited. Our goal is to investigate the experiences of faculty from diverse backgrounds regarding technology-based, high-quality professional development programs in terms of their effectiveness. The faculty working at a foundation university participated in high-quality professional development programmes implemented in this study. The data were collected through focus group interviews. Using a qualitative methodology, we have found that faculty improved their knowledge and skills in designing and teaching online courses, with some faculty even reporting active use of what they have learned in their class and finding it valuable and effective. Program features such as feedback, facilitation, and best examples are helpful for having faculty grow pedagogically. The faculty has demonstrated that they can participate in learning activities that are meaningful to them in their daily lives. For the professional development programmes designed for the faculty to be effective in future studies, it is recommended that the programmes should be designed in a meaningful way for the faculty. Received: 3 November 2022Accepted: 5 February 2024

How Do Teachers Collaborate in Informal Professional Learning Activities? An Epistemic Network Analysis

AbstractTeachers turn to many sources for support and professional learning, including social media-based communities that have shown promise to help teachers access resources and facilitate productive exchanges. Although such online communities show promise, questions about their quality for providing a suitable learning environment remain insufficiently answered. In this study, we examine how teachers’ engagement on Twitter (now known as “X”) may adhere to characteristics of high-quality professional development (PD) activities. In that, we employ advanced conversational analysis techniques that extend the primarily descriptive methods used in prior research. Specifically, we collected data from three Twitter communities related to Advanced Placement Biology (N = 2,040 tweets, N = 93 teachers). Qualitative two-cycle content analyses derived both tweet content and sentiment. Using epistemic network analyses, we examined the collaborative structures to examine how participation patterns can identify characteristics of high-quality online PD. Results indicate that some teachers use Twitter with a content focus and coherent to their individual contexts and prior knowledge. Notably, differences in collaboration and participation patterns by teachers’ overall activity level hint at the existence of an online community of practice. More active teachers communicated more about how their individual contexts relate to instruction, whereas less active teachers exhibited more targeted engagement, for instance, related to sharing teaching resources and organizing learning opportunities. Overall, this study illustrates how Twitter may provide a meaningful learning environment to teachers so that it can serve as a relevant avenue for their professional learning.

Self-Perceived Assessment Skills and Professional Learning Priorities of Filipino Secondary Science Teachers in Flexible Instruction Delivery

As a context-dependent process, the role of assessment in the practice of flexible instruction delivery during the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic paved the way to rethink teachers’ assessment practices that respond to the demands of the context. This further forced teachers to capacitate themselves with the new platforms for assessing students’ learning and engagement. This descriptive study aimed to delineate Junior High School science teachers’ perceived assessment skills and professional learning priorities and preferences in the areas of assessment in flexible instruction delivery. Results uncovered that they generally perceived themselves as proficient in all the surveyed assessment skills and responsibilities, having the foundation of assessment dealing with the traditional nature of assessment strategies and their purposes, as the area in which they are more skilled. Regarding professional learning priorities on assessment, they deduced moderate interest in integrating and communicating assessment practices and aligning current assessment theories, principles, and practices. This further implies that they pay interest not only in learning the contemporary approaches to assessment but still the traditional tasks and responsibilities associated with it. In the delivery of professional learning activities, professional development activities in person are still the most preferred mode.

Professional learning activity in and of teacher teams: multilevel assessment of how transformational leadership, goal interdependence, and collective efficacy affect information sharing

Engaging in learning with colleagues is paramount for teachers to enhance students’ learning. To be effective and sustainable, it requires engagement both by individual teachers as well as whole teams. Surprisingly however, research examining learning activity as a characteristic of individuals in teams and a property of teams, as well as their antecedents on both levels, is still scarce. This study examined how perceptions of transformational leadership, as mediated by goal interdependence and collective-efficacy, facilitate teachers’ engagement in information sharing, and whether effects are similar for individuals and teams. Questionnaire data were analyzed using multilevel structural equation modelling. Results showed that individual engagement in information sharing and individuals’ perceptions of goal interdependence were directly impacted by transformational leadership practices. Information sharing of teams, and collective efficacy, were impacted by consistent perceptions of goal interdependence. Teachers shape their learning amongst themselves in teams, with individual support from their leader.

Social networking sites as affordable tools for high-potential personal learning networks: the case of teachers as learners in Vietnam

AbstractWhile a great deal has been published about the educational value of social networking sites (SNSs) for teachers, less has focused on teachers who are arguably more dependent on these virtual platforms for informal professional learning due to financial constraints and a lack of regular in-service professional development. Situating this study in Vietnam and focusing on teachers teaching English as a foreign language, we examined how these teachers have adapted SNSs, a tool typically used in leisure and social life, into online personal learning networks. The evidence was collected from 393 teachers’ responses to an online survey. The results from descriptive and non-parametric inferential tests revealed three main findings: (1) Teachers engage in a variety of professional learning activities using SNSs with high frequency, regardless of their self-perceived levels of technology competence or teaching experience; (2) Teachers make use of online groups on SNSs for professional topics and their preferences of topics are not likely to be determined by their experience, except for the topics of classroom management techniques and knowledge about learners; (3) The most decisive factors these teachers associated with effective professional learning on SNSs include time availability, reliability of information and materials, personal information privacy and desire to learn. Teachers’ perceptions about these factors are influenced by the frequency of their SNS use and professional work experience. The implications of these findings for teacher professional development in Vietnam, and other countries in similar economic circumstances, are also discussed.

Reflective professional learning practices of Ethiopian primary school teachers: the gap between practice and theory

ABSTRACT This study explored the discrepancy between the actual reflective professional learning practice of Ethiopian primary school teachers and what has been voiced theoretically. The study employed a constructivist world view, which prompted qualitative methods of inquiry. The data-gathering tools used were in-depth interviews and focus group discussions (FGDs). The thematic analysis indicated that there exists a gap between the actual reflective practice of primary school teachers and what has been voiced theoretically. The absurdly low payment of teachers is found to be the main reason that demotivated teachers from engaging in continuing reflective practice to improve their knowledge and practice. Teachers seem to have lost passion and enthusiasm for professional learning activities, and they assume reflection merely for compliance purposes. This resulted in pseudo-reflective professional learning practice where the link between theory and practice is loose.

Learning on the job: a close look at teachers’ informal learning in the workplace

ABSTRACT Professional learning is crucial, especially for teachers who prepare students for the future which changes very fast and requires various competencies. One way of the professional learning activities is formal learning, discussed due to deficiencies in organisation and fulfilment process. The other way is informal learning which may be found to be more powerful in the workplace compared to formal professional learning activities. The current study focuses on the interaction of eight English teachers regarding their informal learning in the workplace. The purpose is to determine the resources for their informal learning, their learning topics, and their needs to benefit from them more. It reveals three main resources for informal learning in the workplace interpersonal, intrapersonal, and learning by oneself. Various education and instructional issues can be informal learning topics among teachers, and peer supervision mostly fits the needs of teachers for more beneficial informal learning in the workplace.

Overcoming Low Teaching Self-efficacy of English as a Foreign Language Teachers in Secondary Vocational Schools

The new English curriculum stand (MOE, 2020) has put forward high requirements for China secondary vocational school English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers’ qualities. As part of teachers’ qualities, teaching self-efficacy determines their teaching practices and students’ general achievements. Research has found China secondary vocational school EFL teachers lack confidence in teaching processes (Liu, 2018). Therefore, this study reports on a qualitative study exploring factors contributing to the enhancement of EFL teachers’ teaching self-efficacy in China secondary vocational education context. It is based on the views of 12 experts from Higher Education Institutions, Teacher Training Colleges and the Academy of Educational Sciences, and Secondary Vocational Schools in China to learn more about what factors can enhance EFL teachers’ teaching self-efficacy in China secondary vocational schools. The interview data were examined using thematic analysis which allows for a detailed exploration of the data, and 12 themes emerged from that analysis in terms of experiences, knowledge, and school culture. These themes encompassed various aspects, including enactive mastery experiences, vicarious learning experiences, interactive experiences, physical and emotional states, learners and learning, the pedagogy and curriculum, the English language, the self, vocational background, school spiritual culture, school material culture, and school system culture. The article concludes by considering the implications of the results for those designing policies and professional learning activities for secondary vocational EFL teachers and suggesting potential avenues for future research.

Deeper professional learning: how leaders design for teachers to share their deeper learning practices

PurposeA core challenge for leaders for deeper learning is scaling promising practices to provide students with systematic access to deeper learning experiences. This case illuminates how a group of researchers organized professional learning activities around conferring, a promising deeper learning practice.Design/methodology/approachThe author examines how the leaders of a Networked Improvement Community (NIC) created the conditions for teachers to share their deeper learning practices through a case study. The case study centers on one school team’s learning through their participation in the NIC activities, as evidenced by the artifacts they created and their exchanges with their team, participants from other schools and researchers.FindingsThe trajectory of one team through three NIC activities – a video club, a pitch and user testing – shows how they examined their own conferring practice, got ideas for change and shifted their thinking and practice toward a more student-centered approach. Insights from the case suggest three design principles – a common problem of practice, shared representations of practice and intentional network configurations – for deeper professional learning, or learning experiences that engage educators in purposeful and collaborative inquiry into deeper learning practices.Research limitations/implicationsTwo limitations of the case are a lack of data on the perceived experience of participants, which could speak to the depth of Irving’s shift toward student-centered conferring, and the narrow time scope of the NIC, which limits exploration of the sustainability of the changes to conferring.Practical implicationsThe design principles represent important features for researchers and leaders to consider in ongoing efforts to scale deeper learning. Leaders might use the principles to examine existing or future professional learning efforts.Originality/valueThis case study extends an understanding of one facet of leadership for deeper learning: fostering professional community. Future research is needed to examine the educator experience of participating in deeper professional learning and its sustained impact on practices.

Path to Success for College English Majors: Reflection Based on the Investigation

With the rapid popularization of intelligent technology, the employment of English majors was facing more and more challenges. Both students and parents were confused about the narrow employment of foreign language majors. In this sense, foreign language majors in colleges and universities should not only focus on language learning and research, but also focus on language as a tool to engage in other professional learning or practice activities with a higher degree of internationalization. This study will interview college English majors through questionnaires to investigate their understanding of English major goals, their future career planning, and their suggestions on school curriculum setting and teaching methods. This study believes that the cultivation of college foreign language talents should make necessary adjustments according to the talent needs of the current environment, innovate the teaching model and teaching method to adapt to the constantly changing society, enhance the interdisciplinary consciousness, and pave the way for the success of students, which has practical significance for the success and development of English majors. At the same time, it helps to cultivate practical and applied talents under the current environment.

Teacher learning and collaboration in a life sciences cluster in South Africa

There is increasing focus on collaborative teacher learning in South Africa. In the Mpumalanga province, the Department of Education uses cluster meetings as a model of teacher development. Clusters are groups of teachers from different schools who teach the same subject. In this article we focus on the learning activities that took place in 1 cluster of life sciences teachers during 2016 and 2017. Data were generated by observing 6 cluster meetings (at provincial, district and circuit level), and by interviewing 11 members of the cluster and 2 departmental officials. Wenger’s concepts of mutual engagement, shared repertoire and joint enterprise were used to analyse the data. The findings show that the professional learning activities that took place in the cluster meetings were mostly directed at improving the Grade 12 learners’ results. The subject advisors, rather than the teachers, initiated the learning activities. The routines and resources used also focused on improving learner results. We thus argue that a managerial discourse of professionalism underpins the cluster model of professional development, primarily providing strategies intended to improve the pass rate of the Grade 12 learners and to monitor school-based assessment, rather than supporting collaborative professional learning.

Post-COVID-19 Własne pokoje: Wnioski wyciągnięte z wirtualnych projektów rozwoju zawodowego przeznaczonych dla nauczycieli wczesnego dzieciństwa w Ontario

This paper reflects and explores lessons learned during two professional learning series related to the pedagogical practices of early childhood educators (ECEs) in Ontario, Canada. Drawing on a comparative analysis of our observations, collaborative inquiries, and discussions, we underline post-COVID-19 conditions that change how we think, engage, and envision possibilities in professional learning. We discuss the way the use of technology at the intersection of time and space and carefully chosen pedagogical approaches pushed us to reconsider current practices used in the design of professional learning activities, the implementation, and the responses to educators’ learning. We focus on the way technology helped us envision and plan for virtual rooms as environments as third teachers. Trading the traditional professional workshop-like activities with fixed time boundaries for virtual café-style learning, introducing design thinking, distributed leadership, Indigenous world views, and rhizomatic wonderings, we discuss our decisions to change the directions of professional learning from focusing on skill development and transmission of knowledge to enhancing dispositions needed to become lifelong learners, innovators, and advocates. We conclude the paper with invitations and provocations for educators, academics, researchers, and regulatory bodies to further discuss professional learning activities for the early childhood education (ECE) community in Ontario. In brief, we focus on removing the dividing practices between professional learning activities and pedagogical approaches as a starting point to envision possibilities in Ontario’s ECE field.

Enhancing Teacher Professional Development: Insight from Teacher Professional Learning Activities

This study employs a qualitative approach to investigate the influence of professional learning activities on teacher professional development. The study examines a range of learning activities, including workshops, seminars, and collaborative learning communities, and explores their impact on teacher practices, student engagement, and student outcomes. The researcher combined surveys and interviews to gather data from a sample of 20 EFL teachers at a participating school. The questionnaire, adapted from TALIS (Teaching and Learning International Survey), collected data on teachers’ demographics, teaching experience, and participation in professional development activities.. In-depth interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 10 teachers to explore their experiences with professional development, their perceptions of teacher professional learning activities, and the impact of professional development on their teaching practice. The study finds that these learning activities have a significant positive impact on teacher professional development, leading to improved teaching practices, increased student engagement, and better student outcomes. These insights have important implications for improving the quality of education and can inform the development of effective policies and programs to support teacher professional development.

Social entrepreneurship and career adaptability: the mediating effect of pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy

ABSTRACT The present study investigated the role of teacher self-efficacy (TSE) as a mediator on the relationship between social entrepreneurship (SCE) and career adaptability (CA) behaviour. Utilising a cross-sectional survey design, a proposed conceptual model was examined. Data were gathered from 605 pre-service teachers in six different Faculties of Education in the northern, central, and southern big cities of Egypt. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was utilised for analysing the variables’ structural relationships. The findings revealed that SCE appears to contribute to the teachers’ CA directly as well as indirectly via shaping TSE perceptions. These findings are significant for pre-service teacher education because self-efficacy SE, SCE, and CA can be fostered through learning experiences. Before pre-service teachers begin their careers, professional learning activities may be tailored to emphasise SCE and SE to indirectly enhance their CA.

“You can’t build a revolution with no education”: Deepening equity-mindedness in professional learning activities

Institutes of higher education have adopted equity-minded frameworks as potential solutions to dismantle the permanence of racism within them. Yet, little empirical evidence documents the outcomes of these frameworks, which often include professional learning experiences for faculty and staff. Drawing on critical race discourse analyses of interview data from a 16-week professional learning seminar on race and racism in higher education, the authors of this study posit that equity-mindedness is a process where one becomes aware of oppressive structures of harm and one’s participation in, and reproduction of, these structures. This claim expands previous scholarship on the topic, which fails to articulate the importance of reflexive equity-mindedness. The authors conclude with a call for P-20 practitioners to focus on the contexts of interpersonal transformation as necessary to create more equitable and just educational settings for all students in addition to institutional policies and practices.

Professional learning of late-career teachers in early childhood education: A matter of (im)balance between personal resources, job resources, and job demands

This study explores late-career teachers' (LCT) engagement in professional learning activities in the context of early childhood education in Belgium. Using the job demands-resources model, this study draws on moderation mixture model to investigate the interaction between LCT’ engagement in professional learning activities (EPLA) and their personal resources, job resources, and job demands (N = 183). We found four distinct profiles and showed that the profile one belongs to affects the strength and direction of the relation between job demands and EPLA. Results are discussed in relation to limitations, implications for practice, and future research.

Building technological pedagogical content knowledge through didactical design research

This study aims to gain an in-depth understanding of how 15 elementary school teachers in a professional learning community demonstrate how to build their technological pedagogical content knowledge. The qualitative method used is Didactical Design Research. Data collection uses triangulation techniques, namely document studies, observations and interviews. The results of the study show that studying in a professional learning community will make it easier for teachers to master technology so that it can make it easier for them to plan, implement and assess learning. It was also revealed that the teacher's teaching practice was in line with the plan that had been prepared beforehand. Based on the implementation of professional teacher learning activities, it can be concluded that the teacher's knowledge and skills in teaching develop very well, can further develop meaningful learning activities, and can better master student characteristics. In addition, students can be more independent and really help students in higher order thinking.

Professional learning activities in the higher education institution of Ethiopia

Ample studies have evidenced that the professional development of teachers significantly increases the quality of teaching and improves educational institutions. Nevertheless, adequate studies have not been carried out on the professional development of higher education teachers. Most studies focus on school teachers. Hence, this study investigated the professional learning activities of university teachers in Ethiopia. A case study design was used in which twenty-four teachers participated in the study. A semi-structured interview was used to explore the learning activities used by the participants. The findings demonstrate that various learning activities are utilised, each driven by a different form of inspiration. The learning motives largely depend on incentives and are motivated by outside factors. University instructors' professional learning practices seem to require more advanced learning methodologies to maintain their learning that is underpinned by self-motivated learning.

The Effectiveness of Jigsaw Type Cooperative Learning on the Ability of Front Roll Floor Gymnastics for Grade VIII Students of Hesti Wira Cakti Junior High School

This study aims to produce effective classroom learning through gymnastics learning skills. This research is a Classroom Action Research (CAR). Classroom action research is research that has the aim of carrying out a certain action in order to improve or improve the practice of learning activities in the classroom so that it becomes a professional learning activity. CAR is one of the efforts that teachers can do to improve the quality of teacher roles and responsibilities, especially in learning management. Through CAR, teachers can improve their performance continuously, by self-reflection. the results of research that has been carried out by researchers with physical education subject teachers for class VIII SMP Hesti Wira Cakti Pandaan obtained from interviews, observations, non-tests, and is supported by existing data.