Professional Learning Opportunities Research Articles

Elementary Teachers’ Experiences of Implementing Culturally Responsive and Inclusive Education in New York State

Many states in the United States have adopted culturally responsive sustaining education (CRSE) as a pedagogical framework to promote inclusive education and positive student outcomes for all students, including those from marginalized groups. Yet there is a paucity of knowledge on teachers’ attitudes towards and experiences of implementing these initiatives. This study draws on survey data to explore how urban and rural/suburban elementary school teachers across the state of New York understand and implement the state’s CRSE framework. Results show that although CRSE is not necessarily a top priority of many schools across the state, teachers generally have positive perceptions of CRSE and have been accountable in taking concrete steps towards implementing inclusive curriculum. However, they can benefit from more school- and district-level support. Lastly, teachers in rural/suburban districts outside of NYC reported significantly lower rates of school-wide buy-in into CRSE. These findings support the development of school- or districtwide professional learning opportunities to build understanding of the state’s framework and ways to collaboratively translate CRSE values into inclusive teaching.

Implementation of Access and Benefit Sharing in The Bahamas: A Precautionary Tale

Biodiversity is incredibly important for the myriad ecosystem services it provides, especially for coastal nations such as The Bahamas. However, the newly implemented access and benefit sharing (ABS) regime is undermining scientific research, which is essential to effectively manage and conserve the country’s biodiversity. Key challenges include a poorly drafted legislation with punitive damages (financial and criminal), an overly bureaucratic and dysfunctional permitting process, and cost-prohibitive registration fees that are unsustainable for most researchers and organizations. As a result, the newly implemented ABS regime is driving the demise of academic and conservation research needed to protect the country’s biodiversity, diverting funding away from The Bahamas, jeopardizing relationships with the international scientific community, reducing its capacity to advance science innovation, and impeding much needed experiential learning opportunities for Bahamian students and professionals. A critical solution under the current permitting regime is the need to distinguish between commercial and non-commercial research in the regulatory framework and provide separate accommodations for the same. Furthermore, countries that consider establishing national ABS frameworks are advised to thoroughly engage with all relevant stakeholders through a transparent and consultative process during ABS design and implementation. This will help to ensure that the resulting legislation and policies do not unnecessarily obstruct the research needed for biodiversity conservation and natural resource management.

Towards language-sensitive teacher education: Developing a teacher competence taxonomy for the language dimension in languages and other subjects

One of the aims of teacher education is to contribute to continuity in plurilingual, intercultural, and language-sensitive education, across subjects and educational levels. In this paper, we present selected results of two European projects that support this aim. The article outlines the background and potential of a taxonomy of teacher competences that exemplifies dimensions of language-related teacher competence shared by teachers of languages and other subjects. The dimensions include descriptors for teaching competences proper, for collaboration with other teachers and stakeholders, and for teacher development. Furthermore, a dimension containing competences related to the analysis of languages, discourse and cultures reframes aspects of language teachers’ content knowledge as a competence domain that is relevant, albeit to varying degrees, for all teachers. Two transversal dimensions, which contain teachers’ language and digital competences, an overview of teachers’ values and principles, and an account of professional learning opportunities complete the taxonomy.

A Reflective Account of Character-Based Professional Learning in Higher Education

This manuscript will reflect on the planning and development of professional learning opportunities provided to diverse university stakeholders on character education and virtue formation. While reflecting on the approach to the project, planning logistics and content development are explored explicitly. An evaluation exploring training modalities, attendance, arrangement, and feedback were used to gain insight and guide the authors in their reflective practice. The reflective narrative and evaluation of ideas led to a decision about the factors that aided the project's implementation. In future professional learning opportunities, determining attendees' prior knowledge of the content and additional internal support for communication and development plans is key. While evaluating how to implement professional learning opportunities focused on character, the planning and development process were explored; in coming to a decision, the reflective criteria of responsibility, open-mindedness, and wholeheartedness were focal points. Keywords: reflection, readiness attitudes, planning, professional learning opportunities, planning and development

Broadening the purpose of education within performance-based accountability: policy (in)coherence and professional learning opportunities

ABSTRACT At a time of increasing global uncertainty, it is critical that school systems succeed at transforming their educational aims and practices. This article focuses on the Chilean System of Educational Quality Assurance as a policy case aimed at expanding the purpose of education by incorporating indicators of social and personal development (ISPD) within performance-based accountability (PBA) policy. The article analyses this phenomenon at organisational level, charting the emergence of organisational routines focusing on ‘if’ and ‘how’ professional conversations that engender a more holistic educational approach are allowed. Data comes from four school cases, each representing a different achievement combination (high-low) of learning standards and ISPD indicators. Results show that all cases develop new professional meetings believing in their capacity to facilitate teachers’ professional conversations. However, three of the four schools deviate from that pathway focusing on practice repetition and increased control to attain academic results, while all schools neglected the policy’s holistic goals. In the context of this disconnection, schools lack operational tools for building an existing language that enhances professional conversations related to broad education. Consequently, the reform does not motivate transformative learning but a reproductive type, hindering teachers’ practice possibilities for adjustments compatible with global challenges.

Professional learning for leadership in early years: Comparing Sweden and England

This paper critically reviews England’s National Professional Qualification of Early Years Leadership (NPQEYL) and Sweden’s National Principal Training Program (NPTP). The design and implementation of these programs are critiqued considering the process of professional learning, with view of offering recommendations for future policies on professionalisation through leadership professional learning. The study compares the professional development using a simple multiple case study design. Analysis of sources highlight common themes of leadership, curriculum, agency, and professionalism. These are discussed in relation to how such programs may contribute to the early years sector, leading to recommendations to inform future professional learning opportunities.

Co-designing an artificial intelligence (AI) literacies framework for learning designers

Advances in artificial intelligence (AI) are undoubtedly changing the practice and profession of learning design. While the full impact is yet to be realised, learning designers grapple daily with the challenges, risk, and opportunities these technologies represent for changing how students learn, how faculty teach, and how we design. So, what knowledge, skills, and mindsets do learning designers need to survive and thrive in a post-AI higher education sector? This paper reports on a project to co-design an AI literacies framework for and with a team of learning designers. Using the world café method, we conducted an online workshop with a group of 18 learning designers, drawing on our collective experience and expertise to ideate and refine the essential elements of an AI literacies framework. The data generated was then coded and thematically analysed to develop a practical framework comprising four domains and 16 specific elements, each elaborated to describe the knowledge, skills, and mindsets required for post-AI learning design. This framework informs the development of training programs and professional learning opportunities for learning designers.

Teachers Learning On-the-Job Through Participation in an Organizational Routine: A Comparative Case Study of Three Curriculum Materials Adoption Processes for Elementary Science

ABSTRACT There is limited time for elementary teacher professional learning in science in order to meet the aspirational goals of current reform efforts. In this study, we investigated what and how teachers learn on-the-job to gain insight into modes of support less often included in teacher education design. Specifically, we studied elementary teachers’ participation in a system-level organizational routine: curriculum materials adoption processes (CMAPs). Using a communities of practice framework, we explored teacher learning in a comparative case study of three U.S. school districts’ CMAP routines, observing CMAP committee meetings and interviewing participants about their expeirences. We found that what teachers learned varied across each district’s CMAP. We argue this variation can be traced to two CMAP features: (1) teachers’ use of boundary objects and (2) their boundary spanning roles and structures. Results have implications for the design of educational systems’ organizational routines to more intentionally serve a dual role as a professional learning opportunity.

EXPLORING LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES FOR PRIMARY TEACHERS: THE CASE OF KNOWLEDGE FOR TEACHING EARLY ALGEBRA

Understanding how to constitute and develop opportunities for primary teachers teach early algebra to younger children is still an important research gap. In this paper, we bring results of a research program developed in Brazil over the past five years. We aim to discuss how professional learning opportunities emerged when teachers collectively planned, discussed, and analyzed lessons involving different meanings of the equality symbol and the development of functional thinking. Developed from the perspective of a qualitative-interpretative research, data analyzed consists of curriculum documents, protocols for the resolution of formative tasks, audios and videos collected during teacher education processes for in-service teachers. The results highlight that professional learning tasks, combined with the actions of teacher educators during collective discussions, favored in-service teachers to differentiate and understand the students’ reasoning. Some implications for teacher education as well as the professional development of primary teachers are discussed, especially regarding early algebra thinking, because teachers do not normally have the opportunity to study these contents on their own experiences in school.

Let’s give them something to talk about: Podcasting as a form of pedagogy

ABSTRACT Teacher preparation programs transfer explicit knowledge and training, however transferring tacit knowledge can be more difficult to get across to students. One way to acculturate students to the profession of teaching is through professional conversations. Using podcasts for conversation among professionals is a strategy for the transfer of tacit knowledge. Using audio and/or video podcasts can also be a low cost or no cost strategy for creating learning opportunities for preservice and/or in-service professionals. This article explores how instructors can use podcasts as a form of pedagogy to enhance their curriculum to increase student engagement and acculturation with low-cost accessibility to early childhood education professional development.

Addressing Opportunity Gaps in Higher Education in Prison Programs

ABSTRACT In this article, we draw from our collaboration across a diverse cadre of colleagues who have focused on different aspects of teaching, higher education, and carcerality. In particular, our research team, known as STEM-OPS (STEM Opportunities in Prison Settings), studied higher education in prison with a specific focus on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and incarceration. We present interrelated findings from interviews across four people who are formerly incarcerated. Most Higher Education in Prison (HEP) programs are taught by university professors who are experts in content areas (such as science, chemistry, and math) and not pedagogy. As such, we believe teacher educators have an opportunity and an obligation to build professional learning opportunities related to pedagogy to support these instructors’ practices.

Enriching the professional capital of primary school teachers to assess play and learning through play

ABSTRACT This paper explores the significance of a tailored professional learning program (PLP) for transforming primary school teachers’ practices through fostering the development of professional capital; specifically human capital. The focus of the PLP was on assessing play and learning through play for Foundation teachers (the first year of formal schooling) in Victoria, Australia. Drawing from professional capital theory, the study engages with a significant issue through a mixed methods approach. Findings showed that the tailored PLP enhances teachers’ abilities to not only implement play-based learning but also to assess children’s play abilities and learning through play. The study underscores the importance of professional learning in facilitating teachers’ capacity to integrate play-based approaches into the curriculum effectively, while also identifying the tensions between teachers’ learning about assessment through play and navigating this approach in the classroom with competing external and mandated school policies. The paper adds to existing literature highlighting the pivotal role of professional learning when situated as a social practice in shaping teachers’ practices and confidence. It provides ways to promote reflective dis[positions which impact professional learning opportunities and processes, while also pointing to the transformative conditions of social arrangements and personal aspects that enable agency, collegiality and deliberation.

Learning with and from each other: creating safe spaces in a professional community for school leadership development

PurposeSchool leaders can significantly influence the conditions that affect teacher retention. Yet, leaders in rural and high-poverty schools often face limited opportunities to develop their abilities to enhance these conditions. In this case study, we examine how participating in a professional community supported school leaders' efforts to increase teacher retention and student learning outcomes.Design/methodology/approachWe used case study methodology to study 14 leaders from rural, high-poverty or underperforming schools with greater-than-average levels of teacher turnover. The leaders were participating in a three-year research-practice partnership intended to assist them in using improvement science to address problems of practice related to teacher retention and student learning outcomes in their schools. We collected and analyzed data from interviews, exit surveys, artifacts and participant observations over a one-year period.FindingsParticipating in this professional community helped the leaders create the conditions for increased teacher retention and student learning outcomes by providing them with opportunities to collaborate with their peers, receive leadership coaching, exchange ideas and learn in a safe space.Originality/valueThese findings confirm and extend extant school leadership development research. A particularly interesting finding was the role of the professional community in reducing the leaders' feelings of isolation while providing them a safe space to learn. The findings also illustrate how universities and school districts can partner to provide professional learning opportunities that enhance school leaders' professional knowledge, leadership practices and well-being.

Bringing academic disciplines together to focus on literacy: a secondary school case study

PurposeThe purpose of this qualitative study was to bring together teachers from different academic disciplines to engage them in lesson study (LS) cycles with a focus on literacy.Design/methodology/approachThis research employed a qualitative case study and occurred in one secondary school along the Texas (USA) and Mexico border. Ten teachers representing six academic disciplines participated in eight LS cycles to reflect on their knowledge of literacy, including when, if at all, they integrated literacy when planning and teaching lessons. About 20 students shared their impressions, feelings and thoughts about the lessons.FindingsTeachers learned that literacy standards exist in each academic discipline and that integrating reading and writing during lessons allowed for more increased dialogue between/among teachers and students. The principal learned that teachers from all academic disciplines need differentiated, sustained professional learning opportunities on how to teach literacy skills.Originality/valueTeachers often work alone or within their respective academic departments, whereas this project focused on secondary teachers from six academic disciplines taking part in LS cycles with a common focus on literacy. Sustained opportunities for teachers to study their standards and curriculum materials, plan and teach lessons and share perspectives from classroom observations resulted in new knowledge about ways to include literacy in any academic discipline. A schoolwide professional learning community focused on literacy could act as a catalyst for instructional change.

Evidence-based development of an instrument for the assessment of teachers’ self-perceptions of their artificial intelligence competence

AbstractArtificial intelligence (AI) competence in education is a set of skills that enable teachers to ethically and responsibly develop, apply, and evaluate AI for learning and teaching processes. While AI competence becomes a key competence for teachers, current research on the acceptance and use of AI in classroom practice with a specific focus on the required competencies of teachers related to AI is scarce. This study builds on an AI competence model and investigates predispositions of AI competence among N = 480 teachers in vocational schools. Results indicate that AI competence can be modeled as combining six competence dimensions. Findings suggest that the different competence dimensions are currently unequally developed. Pre- and in-service teachers need professional learning opportunities to develop AI competence.

Impacting teaching and learning through collaborative reflective practice

ABSTRACT The article focuses on the final years of my PhD research in which I (Bernadette) explored in-school professional learning opportunities with a group of teachers who were working to support collaborative teaching methodologies to allow pupils to take an active role in their learning. This was set in the context of the development phase of Cosán, the national framework for teachers’ learning in Ireland, in which the profession could examine what it would mean for them in the context in which they practise. Explicit in this framework is the emphasis on the growth of teacher professional learning to enhance student outcomes. Central to this is reflective practice. The reader will see how this research shows that our facilitated engagement in the process of reflection through ongoing, sustained, critical and collaborative conversations allowed us not only to celebrate successes but also to challenge values, beliefs, and assumptions about why we do what we do, supporting us to make conscious decisions about possible future actions. In taking ownership of our practice, we were motivated to take the risk to examine it and take collective responsibility for making a difference in each other’s learning and in the interests of improving student learning.

Principals’ conceptions of mathematics instruction: Co-constructing sophisticated instructional vision through professional development

ABSTRACT Objectives Although a principal’s instructional vision is recognized as important for schoolwide improvement efforts, little is known about how principals conceive of mathematics instruction or how professional learning opportunities shape their instructional vision. This article explores principals’ conceptions of mathematics instruction after participating in learning experiences designed to support the development of a vision of high-quality instruction. Methods Through a design-based research approach, we created classroom-based learning experiences for six elementary school principals to develop their vision of high-quality mathematics instruction in the context of a research-practice partnership. Transcripts from the learning experiences and follow-up interviews were analysed qualitatively. Results Findings illustrate nuances in participating principals’ conceptions of mathematics instruction and how their role shaped their vision. Principals attended to the importance of the teacher in actively shaping learning experiences, but were less consistent in describing other dimensions of high-quality instruction such as mathematics tasks. Findings suggest that principals’ conceptions aligned with features of high-quality instruction to the extent they were discussed or elevated during the professional learning experience. Conclusions Our analysis highlights the importance of considering principals’ unique perspectives in professional development around high-quality mathematics instruction and has implications for future practice-embedded principal learning opportunities.

The Time is Now, the Time is Always

The time could not be more urgent, and university faculty and leaders must act and reclaim their responsibility for civic preparation. In the face of enrollment decline, an emphasis on student credit hours, and a history of siloed tunnel vision, action seems impossible in a system that opposes the core mission of higher education. In this article, authors—faculty from two teacher preparation departments—share their journey that started as state-mandated program revision to a campus-wide civic agenda. They argue for the integration of civics teaching in disciplinary courses and share classroom teaching ideas that cultivate civic identity and virtues. Feeling empowered, they widened the scope of their work to include a campus-wide learning community and civic survey audits to target professional learning opportunities. Through collected data and lessons learned, they demonstrate the moves needed to reclaim higher education’s core democratic purpose.

The efficacy of the TEACH e-Learning course at improving early childhood educators’ physical activity and sedentary behaviour self-efficacy, knowledge, intentions, and perceived behavioural control: a randomized controlled trial

BackgroundEarly childhood educators play a critical role in promoting physical activity and reducing sedentary time in childcare centres. However, early childhood educators receive limited specialised pre- and in-service learning opportunities relating to these behaviours and may lack the capacity to effectively engage children in healthy movement behaviours. This study aimed to examine the efficacy of an e-Learning course on increasing early childhood educators’ physical activity and sedentary behaviour-related capacities.MethodsA two-group parallel randomized controlled trial was conducted with early childhood educators in Canada (Mage = 41.78, 97% female). Participants randomized to the intervention group were asked to complete a physical activity and sedentary behaviour e-Learning course within a 4-week period. Participants randomized to the waitlist control condition were assigned to a waitlist to receive the intervention after the testing period. Participants reported on their self-efficacy, knowledge, intentions, and perceived behavioural control relating to physical activity and sedentary behaviours at baseline, post-intervention, and 3 months follow-up. Linear mixed effects models were estimated to determine difference in changes in outcomes from baseline to post-intervention, and follow-up.ResultsA total of 209 early childhood educators participated in the study (intervention n = 98; control n = 111). The TEACH e-Learning course was found to be efficacious at improving all of the examined outcomes, with standardized effect sizes ranging from d = 0.58 to d = 0.65 for self-efficacy outcomes, d = 0.66 to d = 1.20 for knowledge outcomes, d = 0.50 to d = 0.65 for intention outcomes, and d = 0.33 to d = 0.69 for perceived behavioural control outcomes post-intervention. The intervention effects were sustained at follow-up for all outcomes apart from perceived behavioural control to limit screen time. Additionally, the magnitude of the effect for knowledge outcomes decreased at follow-up, with standardized effect sizes ranging from d = 0.49 to d = 0.67.ConclusionsThe e-Learning course was highly successful at improving early childhood educators’ capacity pertaining to physical activity and sedentary behaviours. Providing training content through e-Learning may be an efficacious approach to providing continual professional learning opportunities relating to physical activity and sedentary time to early childhood educators on a large scale.

Curriculum Decision-Making for Students with Severe Intellectual Disabilities or Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties

ABSTRACT Students with severe intellectual disabilities or profound and multiple learning difficulties (S/PMLD) have the highest complexity of needs of any student cohort. Decisions regarding curriculum inclusions for these students predominantly fall to their classroom teachers. These decisions directly correlate with students’ everyday learning experiences and have an influence on their life-long socio-economic, health, and well-being outcomes. This scoping review presents an overview of the factors that teachers consider when making these important choices. Online databases were used to identify peer-reviewed research undertaken internationally between 2011 and 2021 with 11 articles identified for inclusion. Results are presented using four key themes, (1) teacher as guardian, (2) teacher as educator, (3) teacher as employee and (4) teacher as (non)academic. Within, it details a paucity of research into understanding the decision-making schema of teachers of students with S/PMLD, revealing a lack of practical guidance or appropriate professional learning opportunities. Recommendations for future research and practice initiatives are detailed.