Professional Learning Experiences Research Articles

Professional Practice And Learning Experiences of Students Taking Psychiatric Nursing Courses with Children With Neurodevelopmental Disorders: A Phenomenological Study

Çalışma psikiyatri hemşireliği dersi alan öğrencilerin nörogelişimsel bozukluğu olan çocuklarla mesleki uygulama ve öğrenme deneyimlerini niteliksel fenomenolojik bir yaklaşım kullanarak değerlendirmek amacıyla yapılmıştır. Araştırmada nitel araştırma deseni olan fenomenolojik araştırma tasarımı kullanılmıştır. Bu nitel araştırma 72 gönüllü hemşirelik öğrencisi ile yapılmıştır. Görüşmeler bireysel olarak ve yüzyüze gerçekleştirilmiştir. Veriler, Colaizzi'nin fenomenolojik analiz yöntemi kullanılarak yapılmıştır. Verilerin analizinde üç kategori (uygulama sırasında yaşanan duygular, uygulama sırasında yaşanan zorluklar, özel eğitim ve uygulama merkezlerinin yararlarına yönelik düşünceler) sekiz alt tema (olumlu duygular, olumsuz duygular, iletişim, bilgi, süre, yaşam kalitesi, iletişim, sosyal yönden) saptanmıştır. Psikiyatri hemşireliği uygulamasının sonunda, terapötik ilişkilerin geliştirilmesi yoluyla empati ile nörogelişimsel sorunlara yönelik ön yargı azaltılmıştır. Öğrenciler, nörogelişimsel sorunlarda iletişimin çok önemli bir yeri olduğunu ve özel eğitim ve uygulama merkezlerindeki uygulamanın kişilerarası ilişkileri geliştirmelerine yardımcı olduğunu belirtmişlerdir. Bu çalışmanın sonuçları, eğitimcilere klinik eğitimin planlanması ve geliştirilmesi konusunda yol gösterici olabilir.

Partnering to support K-12 instruction of difficult topics through inquiry-based professional learning

PurposeMany K-12 teachers teach difficult topics as part of their curricula, and discussions of difficult topics are common across grade levels and content areas. As teachers increasingly engage with difficult topics in their classrooms, the need for high-quality professional learning experiences has also grown. In response, the purpose of this article is to introduce an emerging partnership between the Holocaust, Genocide and Human Rights Education Initiative at Penn State and the Red Lion Area School District (Red Lion, Pennsylvania), conceptualized from the outset with an explicit focus on intentionally engaging in collaborative, inquiry-based professional learning surrounding difficult topics in formalized curricula and within educational practice.Design/methodology/approachThe article briefly describes how the partners came together, then provides a high-level overview of how they approached their first year of collaboration. Next, the partners’ adaptation of inquiry-based professional learning is outlined. The article concludes by discussing lessons learned from the first year of partnering and implications for scholarship in the areas of school-university partnerships, inquiry-based professional learning, and difficult topics.FindingsThe article observes that it took educators participating in a difficult-topics inquiry community an entire year to begin shifting ownership of inquiry to K-12 students. It illustrates how school-university partnerships can be used to support difficult-topics inquiry and raises new questions about the role of difficult topics in partnership work.Originality/valueThe article contributes an original example to the literature that demonstrates how inquiry-based professional learning focused on difficult topics can provide a powerful basis for forming a school-university partnership.

Reflective Practices: A Connecting Bridge between Theory and Practices in Teacher Education

Reflective practice has become a buzzword in teacher education as a mark of professional competence. The purposes of using reflection in their practices for pre-service teachers are not only for illuminating their pedagogical and professional learning experiences, but also critically reflect to their values, beliefs, attitudes, and evaluate learning experiences. Although the significance of reflective practice has long been acknowledged, a mutual agreement has still not reached on how it should be defined or what processes should be initiated in teacher education programs. It serves as a bridge connecting the gap between theory and practice as it allows pre-service teachers to apply the theoretical knowledge and teaching techniques that they acquire in their coursework in the real classroom setting. As a result, pre-service teachers gain a better understanding of teaching in the real-world context, recognize the students’ needs, and acknowledge the difficulties in teaching that they may face in the future (Smith & Lev-Ari, 2005). This article discusses concept of reflection, reflective practices and how it is implemented in educating pre-service teachers on their early stage of professional learning. Besides this article has also highlighted some perceived difficulties to implement reflective practices, as well as the way how reflective practices are employed in teacher education for overcome the gap between theory and practices.

Using Virtual Reality to Support Retrieval Practice in Blended Learning: An Interdisciplinary Professional Development Collaboration between Novice and Expert Teachers

This small-scale study comprised an evaluation of a teacher professional learning experience that involved the collaborative creation of resources using immersive virtual reality (VR) as a retrieval practice tool, specifically focusing on the open access aspects of the SchooVR platform. SchooVR offers teachers and students tools to enhance teaching and learning by providing a range of virtual field trips and the ability to create customised virtual tours aligned with curriculum requirements. By leveraging the immersive 360° learning environment, learners can interact with content in meaningful ways, fostering engagement and deepening understanding. This study draws on the experiences of a group of postgraduate teacher education students and co-operating teachers in Ireland and Northern Ireland who collaborated on the creation of a number of immersive learning experiences across a range of subjects during a professional learning event. The research showcases how immersive realities, such as VR, can be integrated effectively into blended learning spaces to create resources that facilitate retrieval practice and self-paced study, thereby supporting the learning process. By embedding VR experiences into the curriculum, students are given opportunities for independent practice, review, and personalised learning tasks, all of which contribute to the consolidation of knowledge and the development of metacognitive skills. The findings suggest that SchooVR and similar immersive technologies have the potential to enhance educational experiences and promote effective learning outcomes across a variety of subject areas.

What Works in Collaboration? Identifying Key Ingredients to Improve Service Delivery in Schools.

This survey study examined factors that may influence interprofessional collaboration in schools to support children with oral and written language impairments, namely, knowledge, collaborative beliefs and practices, and resources. A survey was conducted across 319 school-based professionals, in a partnering public school district, to examine these constructs within the context of each individual participant's professional role. Between-groups comparisons were made between special educators, general educators, paraprofessionals, and indirect educators (i.e., those whose roles do not explicitly include language-based instruction). Special educators had significantly higher levels of learning experiences and knowledge about language disorders compared to other groups. Those who engaged in the most independent learning (i.e., learning outside of pre- or in-service learning) exhibited the highest levels of knowledge. Collaborative beliefs among professionals were best predicted by access to resources and overall professional learning experiences. More positive collaborative beliefs, in turn, predicted higher rates of collaborative behaviors. Resources were predicted by a small negative relationship with years of experience and by working in specific school buildings within the district. Those with less experience in specific buildings reported more resources. Individuals with higher levels of individual learning and positive attitudes toward collaboration may enhance the interprofessional collaborative practices of teams supporting children with language disorders. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.24059178.

“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.

It's a question of balance: Reconsidering learning partnerships through genuine teacher mentoring conversations

In Australia, and internationally, mentoring is proffered as a powerful professional learning experience for both early career teachers (ECTs) and their mentors alike. However, authentically beneficial learning partnerships have proven challenging to achieve. This paper provides a theoretical and practical response to this issue, arguing the criticality of genuine conversations cultivated through balanced, non-hierarchical questioning to position ECTs and mentors as co-learners. Drawing on positioning theory in conjunction with the concept of genuine conversations, the contents of five recorded mentoring conversations involving Australian ECTs and mentors were analysed. These findings have important implications for mentoring practice across educational contexts.

Profile of an innovator: a Delphi study to surface key characteristics for innovative educators

As the context of K-12 education changes, new technologies emerge, and we increasingly focus on student-centered learning, there is a need to understand how best to catalyze and lead innovation in schools. If we can identify the key characteristics – skills, concepts, and mindsets – that innovative educators draw on, teacher educators can better assist in providing academic and professional learning experiences to grow the next generation of educational innovators. This study used a Delphi process to generate a list and description of the key characteristics of educational innovators from those working every day to transform teaching and learning in K-12 classrooms, schools, and districts. Implications for teacher educators are offered to consider how best to leverage this “profile of an innovator” to lead professional learning efforts.

Identifying Key Features of Equity-Centered Professional Learning

To address the inequities within the educational system, there are calls for teachers to have an intentional focus on equity. Unfortunately, teachers often do not receive enough preparation within their certification programs or during in-service trainings to center equity- driven practices. This study provided insight into the features that one group of teacher leaders relied upon and found essential when working to enact high-quality, equity-centered professional learning for teachers, and researchers utilized these findings to develop a framework for equity-centered professional learning. The context for this research was teacher leader-led professional learning within the context of a job-embedded professional learning experience for teacher leaders. Data collection included professional learning lesson plans, written reflections by teacher leaders after the professional learning sessions, and field notes. Findings point to five features of professional learning focused on equity that teacher leaders utilized. These include: (1), Safe, trusting community grounded in relationships, (2) Dialogue to explore and critically reflect upon biases, beliefs, and experiences, (3) Active learning opportunities that promote dissonance, (4) Authentic connections to equity within the local context through inquiry, and (5) Responsiveness to participants’ varied experiences and understanding of equity. The findings have implications for routines of practice that can be utilized to enact these essential features and how an equity lens can permeate the design of professional learning.

Teacher professional development programs integrating science and language with multilingual learners: A conceptual framework

AbstractAs the vision in A Framework for K‐12 Science Education and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) takes hold in schools and classrooms, there is an urgent need for teacher professional development (PD) programs that align with NGSS‐designed curriculum materials and address the unique strengths and needs of diverse student groups, including multilingual learners (MLs). The purpose of this article is to propose our conceptual framework for PD programs that aligns with current reform efforts and is grounded in the mutually supportive nature of contemporary science and language instructional shifts. Specifically, we examine our previous NGSS‐designed curriculum development project with MLs and review the literature in science education and language education with MLs. Our conceptual framework for PD programs is grounded in the perspective of symmetry that teacher professional learning experiences should be symmetrical to the learning experiences we organize for students. Grounded in this perspective, our conceptual framework consists of three design principles that describe how PD programs can guide teachers to (a) develop an asset‐oriented view of MLs and instructional practices for recognizing and leveraging their assets, (b) integrate science and language in mutually supportive ways with MLs, and (c) develop more sophisticated instructional practices for integrating science and language with MLs over time. We describe contributions of our conceptual framework, which could generate a new research agenda and inform PD programs aimed at facilitating uptake of NGSS‐designed curriculum materials in linguistically diverse science classrooms.

Towards pedagogical content knowledge learning trajectories: tracing elementary teachers’ infusion of computational thinking

ABSTRACT This paper documents the Making CT researcher-practitioner partnership, designed to support in-service elementary teachers in understanding and integrating computational thinking into their disciplinary teaching. Drawing from this collaborative work with teachers, over a sustained time, we describe the shifts in teachers’ integration of CT into their teaching, as well as shifts in their abilities to attend to children’s development of CT skills. In doing so, we have developed a unique construct – pedagogical content knowledge learning trajectories – which draws from literature on learning trajectories, the use of learning trajectories for teacher professional development, and domains of knowledge for teaching. Operationalizing our construct, we propose two specific learning trajectories – first, for integrating CT into disciplinary teaching, and second, for attending to students’ computational thinking – which we describe and illustrate using data from the Making CT teachers. This includes a description of professional learning experiences that supported teacher growth on each of the two learning trajectories, thus explicating the knowledge gained and classroom impact from participation in the Making CT project. Our learning trajectories can be used to plan for CT-specific teacher professional development and our pedagogical content knowledge learning trajectory construct can be applied to additional contexts.

Pursuing professional learning by using social media: how do instructional designers apply self-regulated learning?

The instructional design and technology field are dynamic, requiring instructional designers to stay abreast through timely professional learning. Social media offers characteristics to collapse the time, geographical, and financial limitations of informal professional learning, but challenges exist. Continuous professional learning requires proactive actions, wherein self-regulated learning (SRL) plays an important role. However, not all professionals know the effective strategies to promote SRL skills. This study examines instructional designers’ (N = 17) experiences of professional learning on social media through an SRL lens. Data collected through semi-structured interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings include SRL strategies conducted by instructional designers and the challenges they faced. This study informs instructional-design professionals and educators of ways to encourage continuous professional learning using social media while fostering SRL simultaneously.

What we wonder: an iterative exploration of teachers' perceptions of social-emotional learning

PurposeThe paper aims to examine how a professional development school-district (PDS-D) partnership, enacting an improvement science stance, collectively explored social-emotional learning (SEL) during collaboratively designed professional learning experiences.Design/methodology/approachThis qualitative study, guided by an improvement science orientation, enacted an iterative research design. Data sources consisted of anecdotal field notes and artifacts from 12 professional learning sessions. Using a constant comparative method, the authors applied an inductive thematic analysis to identify salient themes across data related to teacher wonderings and identified goals.FindingsThe paper illuminates teachers' voices while highlighting information gleaned from participant wonderings, their identified goals and how this information informed the iterative development of future professional learning experiences within a district-university partnership.Research limitations/implicationsDue to the chosen research approaches and limited number of participants, the research results may lack generalizability.Originality/valueThis paper provides original insight into collaborative development of recursive professional learning experiences within partnership spaces.

Early Childhood Educators' Perspectives on the Impact of COVID-19 on Child Care

Recent research documents early care and education (ECE) changes that occurred at the program level (e.g., staffing, enrollment) due to state policies enacted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic; however, less is known about how practices and instruction at classroom level changed. Our study sought to explore ECE educators’ perceptions of how state policies and the pandemic influenced their daily practice and instruction during the pandemic. We conducted in-depth interviews with 12 ECE educators (6 center-based and 6 home-based) selected from a larger survey study from a mid-Atlantic state. Findings revealed there were: 1) significant disruptions with daily routines, family and child interactions, and child assessments; 2) extensive changes in materials used, the room/setting, and instruction; and 3) challenges beyond the classroom such as financial stress, and educator well-being. Results from our study can help inform professional learning experiences and ECE system leaders on where challenges with instruction exist and how the pandemic may have changed educator practices.

A phenomenological analysis of the emotional experiences of graduate preservice student teachers in Indonesia

Background: Addressing preservice teachers' emotions can help them develop the emotional connections necessary for successful teaching practicums and professional learning experiences. To understand preservice teachers’ emotions towards their surroundings, the researchers used an emotional geography framework to map out the source of their negative and positive emotions and how those feelings affect their beliefs, teaching style, and paradigms. Emotional geographies were divided into two categories (i.e., emotional distance and emotional closeness), which were further mapped into five major themes (i.e., sociocultural, moral, professional, physical, and political). Methods: This study examined emotional geographies of 15 graduate preservice student teachers of Teacher Training and Education Faculty of Mulawarman University during their teaching practicums. Moreover, this study used a qualitative design involving semi-structured interviews with 15 graduate students who completed their teaching practicums. Results: The participants experienced all emotional geographies (sociocultural, moral, professional, physical, and political) that reshaped their beliefs and teaching styles, especially related to teaching undergraduate students. These emotions are generally experienced when the participants deal with the students and cooperating teachers. Conclusions: It was found that teachers needed to be strict when instilling discipline in their students, develop friendships with their students to maintain classroom control, and require comprehensive preparation to create teacher's confidence and answer their students' questions. In effect, the theoretical framework of emotional geography when teaching undergraduates during practicums gave student teachers valuable experience to cope with all common teaching challenges and professional growth.

In quest for a dialogic space: A microethnographic approach to classroom interaction about writing

This article offers insight into dialogic spaces in a professional development program, aiming to improve writing at Australian elementary schools. We apply an ethnomethodological case study through the lens of reflexivity theory to explore dialogic interaction in a year 3 writing lesson. We demonstrate how various contextual conditions are negotiated by teacher and students during the teaching of writing and how contextual conditions during a professional development program create opportunities for dialogic classroom interaction. Findings reveal that classroom interaction is guided by a series of structural conditions (including the writing task description, set expectations, and the constraint of time), cultural conditions (norms of classroom management, and the teacher's collaboration with the research team), and personal conditions (teaching strategies, student interest and ideas, and student writing skills). Furthermore, it shows how the participant teacher orchestrates various competing conditions through dialogic and monologic turns. Implications of the findings are discussed to improve teacher professional learning and students' learning experiences of writing.

A systems-thinking approach to evaluating a university professional development programme

ABSTRACT Using social constructivist theories of adult learning, the Faculty Pedagogical Development (PD) Programme was designed to offer faculty a unique professional learning experience at one university in Qatar. This study reports on the evaluation of this PD programme that involved 24 participants from different colleges in its first round of implementation. Data collection methods included pre- and post-interview data and multiple journal entries submitted at specific intervals during the PD programme by participants. Through adopting a systems-thinking perspective, this study reveals participants’ perceptions of their professional learning, conceptualised as the change to student-centred beliefs and/or practices, as well as the factors that supported or hindered their learning and change within individual, socio-cultural and structural systems. The conclusion is drawn that PD efforts should consider the systems of influences on faculty professional learning, with implications for the design of PD programmes advocating student-centred approaches in higher education contexts, particularly those locked into traditional teaching approaches.

Key factors for designing and delivering an effective asynchronous professional learning experience

In this paper, we explore the key factors for designing and delivering an effective asynchronous professional learning experience. This research study was developed with 107 participants in a module of a Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice (PGCAP) - a qualification which is offered to new academics at a United Kingdom (UK) Russell Group university, in line with practice at many other UK higher education institutions (HEIs). The module design was led by a range of factors which the relevant literature deems important for ensuring successful asynchronous online learning design. A questionnaire was created to measure participants’ overall perceptions regarding efficiency (learning context, facilitation, tutor feedback, peer feedback) and gains (presence, participation, persistence, connectedness, sense of community, learning experience). Participants were also invited to refer to the extent to which peer collaboration contributed to learning, to how far they felt part of a community on the module and to whether the asynchronous learning approach facilitated learning. Our results both confirmed and contradicted the positive findings of the literature: respectively, our participants did indeed find that many of the asynchronous design factors led, for them, to successful learning; they also identified some of the factors (e.g., peer feedback) as more challenging. We discuss the results of our study in terms of the effectiveness of this range of factors, considering the specific context of our module; we raise relevant questions about the issues and dilemmas involved in designing and delivering asynchronous learning courses when participants have a dual role as both learners and teachers.

Considerations for Professional Learning Supporting Teachers of the Gifted in Pedagogical Content Knowledge

Pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) requires that the teacher understands and applies not only knowledge about content, and not only knowledge about teaching strategies, but an intersection of the two. This article provides professional learning considerations for supporting teachers’ PCK and skills with gifted and high-potential students. These considerations are presented through the lens of the professional learning literature, the recent global principles of professional learning established by the World Council for Gifted and Talented Children, and the talent development paradigm. Two questions are addressed including: What is high-quality professional learning and how does it differ for educators of gifted learners? What needs to be emphasized when planning professional learning for supporting teachers’ PCK? The importance of strengthening teachers’ understanding of specific content knowledge and how to teach it through differentiated professional learning experiences using preassessments and then evaluating the effectiveness of those experiences are key for improving student results. Ongoing administrative support needs to be provided to teachers applying differentiated curricular and instructional approaches with gifted students.

Finding the variables that react: Relationships between ability beliefs and student achievement in an inquiry‐based introductory chemistry laboratory course

AbstractThis quantitative, exploratory study examined whether a Project‐Based Guided Inquiry (PBGI) chemistry laboratory course supported more incremental ability beliefs among students, examined achievement outcomes for students grouped based on changes in student‐reported chemistry ability beliefs from pre‐ to post‐course, and provided explanations for differences in achievement and chemistry ability beliefs. Data sources included pre/post surveys of 367 undergraduate students' and 18 teaching assistants' (TAs) content knowledge, ability beliefs, sociodemographics (e.g., gender, race), and prior chemistry experience. The hierarchical linear regression (HLR) model accounted for 27.4% of the variance in post‐content scores, with male students and students with more prior chemistry experience scoring significantly higher than their counterparts. Student ability beliefs was not a significant predictor of content knowledge at the end of the course. Women had a significant decrease in their ability beliefs while male students did not. Furthermore, there were significant differences in achievement depending upon whether and how students' chemistry ability beliefs changed during the course. HLR indicated that student race and TA research experience significantly predicted students' ability beliefs and accounted for 32.7% of variance in this model. Finally, students had more positive perceptions of their TA when their TA held more incremental ability beliefs. These results also indicate that redesigning undergraduate chemistry labs to a PBGI approach does not necessarily level the academic playing field for students who identified as Black, Hispanic, or Multi‐racial, women, or students with less chemistry experience. Providing additional scaffolding for students and developing professional learning experiences to explicitly support TAs incremental ability beliefs may be beneficial in reform‐based laboratory contexts. Further research is needed to understand who benefits from reform‐based instruction and for what reasons.