Professional Learning Environment Research Articles

Gendered experiences in professional military education: Implications for diversity, equity, and inclusion

AbstractThis multi‐year, cross‐sectional qualitative study investigates gendered experiences of students and faculty at one master's degree‐granting military education institution in the United States. Findings from a grounded theory exploration into institutional climate using focus groups and classroom observations include themes of underrepresentation, tokenization, and dismissal during class conversations, and mischaracterization of diversity of thought. The studied institution responded to these findings by adopting a new gender‐blind class assignment process for students. The authors examined the resultant changes in the learning environment with regards to gender representation in classrooms that had zero, one, two, or three women. A next round of findings reflects students' conformance to gender norms, the prevalence of gatekeeping in class discussion, and the creation of affinity groups as a coping mechanism for underrepresented students. Findings also indicate the burden of intersectional representation falls disproportionately on women students; 73% of women students reflected two or more underrepresented‐group identities compared to just 7% of men students. Encompassing 114 h of classroom observations and 47 interviews with faculty and students, this research represents a rigorous and unprecedented cross‐sectional empirical inquiry into gendered experiences of a master's degree‐granting professional learning environment and has implications for scholars and practitioners working in male‐dominated organizations.

PROFESIONALITAS GURU PENDIDIKAN AGAMA ISLAM DALAM MENINGKATKAN PRESTASI BELAJAR SISWA DI MA AL KHOIRIYAH KERPANGAN LECES PROBOLINGGO

study aims to reveal the professionalism of Muslim teachers and their influence on students' learning outcomes in MA Al-Khoiriyah schools. Using a qualitative approach, data were collected through classroom observations, teacher interviews, and document analysis. These results highlight the importance of academic background, subject mastery, and technology integration in improving the quality of education. The results also show that collaboration among teachers and support from government and schools play an important role in creating a professional learning environment. Teachers with appropriate teaching qualifications tend to provide higher quality instruction, and their overall mastery of the subject matter influences student understanding. Technology integration and innovative teaching methods were identified as key factors to increase student engagement. Moreover, cooperation and exchange of experiences among teachers is an effective way to improve teaching skills. Government and school support, including the provision of resources, training and support, has been shown to play an important role in promoting the professional development of Islamic teachers. A supportive work environment and incentives for good performance motivate teachers. The results of this study provide an in-depth understanding of the factors that influence the professionalism of Islamic teachers and their impact on the learning success of students at MA Al-Khoiriyah. Recommendations based on these findings include improving teaching skills, developing innovative teaching methods, and increasing collaboration among teachers. It is hoped that the implementation of these recommendations will positively contribute to improving the quality of Islamic religious education at madrasa level and more broadly in Indonesia.

Reform and Practice of the Dual Drive Talent Training Model of School Enterprise Collaboration and Subject Contest Innovation Education in Local Universities

With the continuous development of modern equipment manufacturing industry, the integration of industry and education through school enterprise collaboration has become an important way to improve the quality of teaching and talent cultivation in universities. In the training of mechanical professionals in local universities, based on the perspective of industry education integration, deep school enterprise collaboration, combined with mechanical subject competitions to supplement theoretical knowledge learning, can construct new formats for the teaching of this major and create a high-quality professional learning environment for students. The dual drive talent cultivation model of School Enterprise Collaboration and Subject Contest Innovation Education in local universities can solve many problems in the development process of local universities, such as insufficient dual teacher teachers, lagging practical training facilities, and disconnection between curriculum construction and industry demand. This article analyzes the current situation of talent cultivation and professional teaching in mechanical majors in universities, and proposes new strategies such as innovative industry education integration models, joint construction of teaching resources by schools and enterprises, optimization of practical training conditions by schools and enterprises, strengthening of teaching teams, and enhancing the comprehensive quality of students. It is hoped that this can help to build an efficient new pattern of industry education integration for local mechanical majors in universities, and cultivate high-quality, high-level, and high-quality talents.

Developing a School Improvement Scale to Transform Education into being Sustainable and Quality Driven

This research aims to develop a school improvement scale determining the current levels and obtaining data for improvement. The need for a valid and reliable scale in process-oriented school improvement studies makes this research important. Based on a sample of 1,043 teachers in Bursa in 2021, the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin value was .97; the Bartlett test’s chi-square value was significant. The exploratory factor analysis led the scale to consist of 33 items and 5 factors, explaining 69% of the total variance. The load values of effective leadership, school climate, teacher professional improvement, learning environment, and vision-mission varied between .51 and .98 and in the confirmatory factor analysis, with a different sample group, χ2 = 2.33 and RMSEA = .079. Other fit indices showed that the scale has good structural compatibility. Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient showed a high level of internal consistency. Hence, this scale is a valid and reliable tool that can be applied to measure school improvement.

Structural Modeling of the Enhancement of the Electronic Professional Learning Environment for Managers (Case Study: Bandar Abbas Oil Refinery)

Objective: The present study aimed to model the structural enhancement of the electronic professional learning environment for managers at the Bandar Abbas Oil Refinery. Method: This descriptive correlational study was conducted on 166 managers, deputies, and employees of the Bandar Abbas Oil Refinery who were selected using stratified random sampling. In this research, a researcher-made questionnaire was used, based on the model by Nami et al. (2022), which was validated in terms of reliability by Cronbach's alpha (above 0.70 for all indicators) and in terms of validity by experts. Data analysis was performed using LISREL software, employing Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests and structural equation modeling with confirmatory factor analysis. Findings: The results indicate that with significant numbers, it can be said: The dimensions of education, organization, environment, management, economics, communication, individual, technology, and standardization of education have a significant and positive relationship with the enhancement of the electronic professional learning environment for managers in the Bandar Abbas Oil Refinery (P < 0.001). Conclusion: Consequently, electronic professional learning environments have unique capacities for designing and implementing learning for managers, which enriches the learning experiences of managers.

A Multisite Assessment of Saudi Bachelor Nursing Students' Perceptions of Clinical Competence and Learning Environments: A Multivariate Conceptual Model Testing.

Background: It is thought that students' perceptions of educational and clinical learning environments improve the effectiveness of curricula and professional standards. It is essential to examine the educational and clinical learning environments in which nursing students learn, as well as how nursing students evaluate particular factors of these environments. Objectives: The objectives of this study were to (1) identify nursing students' perceptions on professional competence and learning environments in the classroom and clinical settings and (2) test a hypothetical model of variables that influence and predict students' perceptions of learning environments and professional competencies. Methods: The study employed a descriptive cross-sectional methodological design. Five hundred and eighteen undergraduate nursing students were recruited from three Saudi Arabian universities using a convenient sampling technique. Using valid and reliable self-reported questionnaires, including the Dundee Ready Educational Environment Measure (DREEM), the modified Clinical Learning Environment Inventory (CLEI), and the Nurse Professional Competence Scale-Short (NPCS-SF), data were collected. Results: Perceptions of professional competence and learning environments were positive among nursing students. With satisfactory fit indices, the final model found that students' perceptions of clinical competence were significantly predicted by their perceptions of the clinical environment (B = 0.43, p < 0.001), students' perceptions of university environments (B = 0.29, p < 0.001), ward type (B = 0.12, p < 0.001), and students' year of study (B = 0.11, p < 0.001). The students' perceptions of clinical environments were significantly predicted by their perceptions of the university environment (B = 0.31, p < 0.001), gender (B = 0.13, p < 0.001), students' year of study (B = 0.12, p < 0.001), and ward type (B = 0.11, p < 0.001). Moreover, the students' perceptions of the university environment were significantly predicted by gender (B = 0.11, p < 0.001) and length of training (B = 0.12, p < 0.001). Conclusions: A range of factors might influence students' perceptions of their professional competence and learning environments. Improving the learning environments and clinical experiences of students could enhance their clinical competence. This study's findings provide evidence for how to enhance the learning environments in the classroom and clinical settings in order to improve students' clinical competence, which will ultimately result in better patient outcomes. It is a top priority for nursing educators all around the world to improve classroom and clinical learning settings that foster students' learning and professional competencies.

Services of the Ilocos Sur Polytechnic State College Graduate School: Basis for an Improvement Plan

The academic journey of the graduate students in every Higher Education Institution(HEI) can be fortified by allowing them experience quality services. This study assessed the students’ level of satisfaction on the services of the Graduate School of Ilocos Sur Polytechnic State College along professional services,school facilities,and learning environment. It further determined the profile of the respondents in terms of age,sex,civil status, position, employment status, number of years in teaching and type of school employed in.The profile was correlated to their level of satisfaction.The weaknesses of the services were identified as basis in the development of an Improvement Plan.The study is a descriptive research employing correlational and developmental methods.A sample size of 120 graduate students were selected randomly with a questionnaire as an instrument in obtaining data that were treated using frequency count and percentage,simple bi-variate correlation, and Cronbach Alpha. The profile revealed that the respondents are of varying background.The respondents are highly satisfied with the three identified services. Years of teaching is a determinant of satisfaction on professional services while position show significant effect on their satisfaction on school facilities and learning environment.The accessibility of books and computers in the library and dormitories were identified as areas that require improvement.

“Weebles wobble but they also commit to lifelong relationships”: teachers’ transdisciplinary learning in computational play

BackgroundComputational approaches in STEM foster creative extrapolations of ideas that extend the bounds of human perception, processing, and sense-making. Inviting teachers to explore computational approaches in STEM presents opportunities to examine shifting relationships to inquiry that support transdisciplinary learning in their classrooms. Similarly, play has long been acknowledged as activity that supports learners in taking risks, exploring the boundaries and configurations of existing structures, and imagining new possibilities. Yet, play is often overlooked as a crucial element of STEM learning, particularly for adolescents and adults. In this paper, we explore computational play as an activity that supports teachers’ transdisciplinary STEM learning. We build from an expansive notion of computational activity that involves jointly co-constructing and co-exploring rule-based systems in conversation with materials, collaborators, and communities to work towards jointly defined goals. We situate computation within STEM-rich making as a playful context for engaging in authentic, creative inquiry. Our research asks What are the characteristics of play and computation within computational play? And, in what ways does computational play contribute to teachers’ transdisciplinary learning?ResultsTeachers from grades 3–12 participated in a professional learning program that centered playful explorations of materials and tools using computational approaches: making objects based on rules that produce emergent behaviors and iterating on those rules to observe the effects on how the materials behaved. Using a case study and descriptions of the characteristics of computational play, our results show how familiarity of materials and the context of play encouraged teachers to engage in transdisciplinary inquiry, to ask questions about how materials behave, and to renegotiate their own relationships to disciplinary learning as they reflected on their work.ConclusionsWe argue computational play is a space of wonderment where iterative conversations with materials create opportunities for learners to author forms of transdisciplinary learning. Our results show how teachers and students can learn together in computational play, and we conclude this work can contribute to ongoing efforts in the design of professional and transdisciplinary learning environments focused on the intersections of materiality, play, and computation.

A Twitter-facilitated professional learning community: online participation, connectedness, and satisfaction

BackgroundTwitter has gained increasing popularity and attention as a professional learning environment to share knowledge, exchange information, make connections, and build networks. To evaluate the effectiveness of Twitter-facilitated online discussions, a community of inquiry framework could be used with the three key elements of online environments: cognitive presence, social presence, and teaching presence. This study aims to explore how medical educators participate in synchronous online discussions on Twitter using #MedEdChat, and how participants’ perceptions toward the three presences, sense of connectedness and interactions influenced their online satisfaction.MethodsA survey invitation was emailed using the medical education email list DR-ED and was posted during the weekly Twitter conversations in December 2020, to solicit participants who have been involved in any kind of #MedEdChat activities (i.e., read transcripts or directly participate in discussions).ResultsA total of 68 people responded. Through descriptive analysis and path analysis, we found that almost half of the survey respondents were lurkers on #MedEdChat who read others’ tweets or transcripts. In addition, participants mainly used Twitter for resource sharing, collaborating with others, and networking. Participants rated teaching (i.e., moderator) presence the highest, followed by overall satisfaction, cognitive presence, sense of connectedness, social presence, and interactions. Among them, sense of connectedness and cognitive presence were significantly associated with participants’ overall satisfaction.ConclusionsThis study provided significant implications for using Twitter as a professional learning community to conduct online discussion activities. Facilitators could think of ways to improve participation by providing tutorials on how to participate on Twitter discussions, introduce or ask new participants to introduce themselves, facilitate discussion with intriguing questions, and invite medical educators of different roles as well as medical students and residents to join to bring in diverse perspectives.

Foundation course – A fundamental requirement for Indian medical graduates as per graduate medical regulations

A foundation course for newly joined Indian medical graduates is essential for their induction into the medical profession. They learn about various soft skills and other nuances, which will help them adapt to the new professional learning environment. In our institute, the course is conducted based on the Graduate Medical Education Regulations of the National Medical Commission (NMC) of 2019. The process of organization, planning, and execution of the foundation course is described in a step-wise manner. The student activities are planned in various large groups and small groups under each module put forth by the NMC. The modules include the orientation module, skills module, field visit to community health center module, professional development and ethics module, enhancement of language and computer skills module, and sports and extra-curricular activities module.

KOMPETENSI PROFESIONAL GURU DAN LINGKUNGAN BELAJAR TERHADAP MOTIVASI BELAJAR DI MASA PANDEMI COVID-19

This study aims to determine the effect of teacher professional competence and learning environment on learning motivation during the Covid-19 pandemic. The method used in this study is an analytical approach, namely a quantitative approach and descriptive and verification methods. The samples used in this study were all students of class XII one of the Senior High Schools in the city of Bandung, so the number of samples used in this study were 123 samples. The analytical tools used in this study are multiple linear regression analysis, classical assumption testing, namely normality test, heteroscedasticity test, autocorrelation test, multicollinearity test, coefficient of determination analysis and hypothesis testing using the SPSS v25 a The results showed that the results of the T-Test of teachers' professional competence had a significant and significant effect on learning motivation, the learning environment had a significant and significant effect on learning motivation. In accordance with the results of the F test is a significant effect on learning motivation.

The Relationships among Early Childhood Teachers’ Professional Learning Environment, Teacher Efficacy, and Teacher Competency

본 연구는 유아교사의 전문적 학습환경, 교사효능감, 교사역량 간의 관계를 살펴보고자 하였다. 연구 대상은 대구·경북지역의 유아교사 384명이며, 수집한 자료는 SPSS 25.0을 사용하여 상관분석과 중다회귀분석을 실시하였다. 본 연구의 결과는 다음과 같다. 첫째, 전문적 학습환경, 교사효능감, 교사역량 간에는 모두 유의한 정적 상관관계가 나타났으며, 모든 하위영역 간에도 유의한 정적 상관관계가 나타났다. 둘째, 전문적 학습환경과 교사효능감은 교사역량에 정적인 영향을 미쳤으며 교사역량에 미치는 영향력을 살펴본 결과 교사효능감, 전문적 학습환경 순으로 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다. 이는 유아교사의 교사역량을 높이기 위해서는 전문적 학습환경의 조성과 더불어 교사효능감을 높이는 방안 마련이 필요함을 시사한다.

Educators as creators: lessons from a mechanical MOOC on educational dialogue for local facilitators

ABSTRACT This paper explores possible affordances of technology and online professional learning to develop and support communities of practice in which educational practitioners develop, share and build on one another’s reflections and learning. Evidence is presented from a design-based research study that iteratively designed and developed a mechanical MOOC on educational dialogue for local facilitators. Local facilitators are practitioners who take on a leadership role whereby they coordinate and support peers in their setting in developing their dialogic practices. The research employs mixed methods for collection and analysis of data from course participants, exploring the successes and challenges of online professional development courses within 10 thematic areas. Design principles are offered for each of these 10 themes for scalable and sustainable online professional learning programmes that promote practitioner reflection, agency and empowerment, and view educators as valuable creators and contributors to professional learning resources and environments.

Impact of the Bronx Community Health Leaders Program for Socioeconomically Disadvantaged Prehealth Students.

Purpose: Underrepresentation of racial and ethnic minorities in the health care workforce is a local and national issue. We describe and report on outcomes of a longitudinal service-driven prehealth pathway program in a low-income community intended to address this disparity and increase health equity.Methods: The Bronx Community Health Leaders (BxCHL) is a prehealth pathway program for socioeconomically disadvantaged and underrepresented minority students seeking careers in health care. The program enrolls students in college or college graduates and provides longitudinal near-peer mentorship, exposure to the health care environment, and supports professional development. An academic federally qualified health center serves as the program's home site and learning environment. We conducted surveys and tracked the career advancement of program participants over a 6-year period, 2014–2020.Results: One hundred sixty-eight students participated in BxCHL for >3 months. Of these, 76 students advanced into professional health career programs with 39 direct acceptances and 15 conditional acceptances to medical school programs, 9 nursing, 4 physician assistant, 9 health-related masters level programs, 1 respiratory therapy, and 1 optometry. The direct and overall acceptance (direct and conditional) rate of medical school applicants is 59% and 86%, respectively. The first 11 BxCHL alumni obtained their medical degree.Conclusions: BxCHL's longitudinal service-driven and near-peer mentorship program design represents a replicable model to address health equity by supporting prehealth students from communities with limited access to mentors and professional learning environments in entering the health care workforce and serving their communities of origin.

An Online Teaching Resource to Support UK Medical Student Education During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Descriptive Account.

This paper describes the development and use of the bespoke digital learning resource CAPSULE (Clinical and Professional Studies Unique Learning Environment) which was launched UK wide in May 2020 to facilitate the delivery of core learning content for UK medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic. CAPSULE is a digital learning resource comprising case-based scenarios and multiple-choice questions, encompassing all undergraduate medical specialities and supported by a pan-speciality editorial board. Following the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown and loss of face-to-face learning opportunities, CAPSULE was made available to all UK medical schools in May 2020. Following a global content review and edit and UK wide rollout, over 41,000 medical students and 3200 faculty registered as users. Approximately 1.5 million cases were completed in the first 12 months of use by up to 4500 distinct monthly users. Feedback from both students and faculty has been highly positive. CAPSULE continues to be used within UK medical schools and has allowed an entire cohort of medical students to access core curriculum content and progress their studies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Future directions may include further integration into UK medical school curricula, enhancement of platform functionality and potential expansion on an international scale.

Teaching moral reasoning: Why and how to use the trolley problem

ABSTRACT This article describes a teaching plan for a discussion-driven introduction to moral reasoning and explains its philosophical and pedagogical rationale. The teaching plan consists of a sequence of thought experiments that build on one another, and ends with participants addressing some morally complex, real-life issues. The plan rests on extensive experience teaching moral reasoning in several different professional learning environments. The main contribution of this article is practical. The goal is to equip educators with a pedagogical approach and ready-to-use teaching materials. To this end, the article offers the methodological background, identifies learning objectives as well as pitfalls of teaching the trolley problem, and describes the pedagogy of the session.

Responsive leadership within professional learning networks for sustainable professional learning

ABSTRACT After outlining the central role of leadership for individual and interorganisational learning in sustainable Professional Learning Networks (PLN), this article describes Austria’s professional learning environment and professional learning (PL) within this changing field. In order to meet urgent institutional requests for sustainable PL, new organisational responses are needed. The authors highlight the implications of the notion of responsiveness, framing it as resulting from interorganisational practices such as PLNs and as ensuring sustainable organisational leadership capabilities within PLNs. After describing the two levels of the study (meso and micro), the findings, which are based on two case studies in Austrian schools, show that the role played by PLNs in challenging professional learning environments is blurry. The discussion shows that these case studies have extended the single-level approach deployed in previous studies. The article concludes by highlighting the specific leadership role that is required within PLNs in order to establish responsiveness, change routines and thus enhance professional learning.

The effect of the e-mentoring-based education program on professional development of preschool teachers.

The qualification of a preschool teacher is one of the important factors that determine the quality of preschool education. To increase the quality in education, teachers should be equipped with the necessary knowledge starting from pre-service training, and in-service training should support the upgrading of their knowledge. Thus, the aim of this study was to develop an e-Mentoring-Based Education Program (e-MENTE:PT) for preschool teachers and to test its effectiveness on their professional development during the in-service support period. The study used a design-based research approach. First, focus group interviews were conducted with one-hundred-and-five preschool teachers to find out their needs. Then, an e-MENTE:PT Program was developed based on these needs and devised to be used on the Canvas learning management system (LMS), which involves all opportunities of e-learning and allows one-to-one e-mentoring. The e-MENTE:PT Program involved twelve modules related to the pedagogical content knowledge of the preschool education program. Each module included contents, goals, module materials, e-books, videos, pre- and post-module evaluation questions, discussion questions, live lessons and e-portfolios, all of which were integrated in the LMS. Next, eighteen full-time and nine substitute voluntary teachers from five different provinces were selected as mentees by means of criterion sampling. Nine academicians working in these provinces acted as mentors and implemented the application, each working with two mentees for two months. Qualitative data were analysed by means of descriptive analysis and quantitative data were analysed by means of the Wilcoxon signed rank test. The research concluded that the e-MENTE:PT program supported preschool teachers’ professional knowledge, learning environments and classroom applications, and an e-mentoring based teaching management system was effective on professional development.

The Mediating Effect of Teacher Efficacy on the Relationship between Kindergarten Teacher’s Professional Learning Environment and Teacher Competency

본 연구는 유치원 교사의 전문적 학습환경과 교사역량의 관계에서 교사효능감의 매개효과를 알아보고자 하였다. 이를 위해 서울·대구·경북지역의 유치원 교사 293명을 대상으로 설문조사를 하였으며, 수집한 자료는 SPSS 25.0과 SPSS Process Macro 3.5를 사용하여 분석하였다. 본 연구의 결과는 다음과 같다. 첫째, 교사역량은 전문적 학습환경 및 교사효능감과 유의한 정적 상관관계로 나타났다. 둘째, 교사효능감은 전문적 학습환경과 교사역량의 관계에서 부분매개 하고 있었으며, 통계적 유의성이 확인되었다. 즉, 전문적 학습환경은 교사역량에 직접적인 영향을 주기도 하지만 교사효능감을 매개로 하여 간접적인 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다. 본 연구결과 유치원 교사의 교사역량을 높이기 위한 전문적 학습환경의 지원과 함께 교사교육과정에서 교사효능감을 높이기 위한 방안에 대해 논의하였다.

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PRINCIPLES OF PROFESSIONAL LINGUODIDACTICS IN THE PROCESS OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE EDUCATION AT NON-LANGUISTIC SPECIALTIES OF UNIVERSITIES

The article deals with the problem of professionally oriented foreign language education of students of non-linguistic specialties. Today, the goal of teaching a foreign language to non-linguistic specialists is the professional and business component of intercultural communication. In other words, it became necessary to train a graduate possessing professional oral communication competence, which led to the creation of a linguodidactic approach in vocational education, the theoretical and methodological foundations of which are dealt with by professional linguodidactics.In the context of professionally oriented teaching of foreign languages, we are talking about the formation of the future specialist’s secondary linguistic personality, which is a key category of professional linguodidactics. As an autonomous diversified scientific discipline, linguodidactics has its own object and subject of research, patterns, and categories, general didactic and linguistic professional principles that are actualized in the process of foreign language teaching.Professional linguodidactics is of great scientific and social importance, since it provides ample opportunities for training specialists with a high level of foreign language professional communicative competence, ensuring their mobility, competitiveness, and success in the modern world; determines the need for constant professional and creative development of foreign language teachers. Professional education creates the necessary prerequisites and conditions for conducting fundamental linguodidactic research in professionally oriented foreign language education.
 Keywords: professional linguodidactics, non-linguistic specialist, foreign language professional communicative competence, secondary linguistic personality, foreign language advanced specialization, integrated teaching, linguistic professional learning environment.