Teacher Professional Development Activities Research Articles

Transforming Foundation Phase Life Skills Teachers’ Use of Learning and Teaching Support Materials Towards Sustainable Development of Teaching

This paper reports on transforming Foundation Phase teachers’ use of learning and teaching support materials (LTSMs) to sustain teaching and learning in Life Skills classrooms. This paper aimed to comprehend teachers’ perspectives on how they could transform their practices using LTSMs to improve their teaching and learner performance to contribute towards the sustainable development of teaching. The National Policy and Guidelines for LTSM stipulate that teachers must be teaching mediators. The study was informed by an analytical framework for studying classroom practices along the Activity Theory (AT) dimensions through teachers’ and learners’ interactions. The case study design was qualitative with an interpretive paradigm. Purposive sampling gathered information from three Grade 3 Life Skills teachers through semi-structured interviews, structured observations, and document analysis. Data were analysed, and themes emerged from the questions. Findings revealed that LTSMs are ineffective in improving teaching and learner performance due to shortages, overcrowded classrooms, and lack of professional development. We recommend that the Department of Education should provide more classrooms to assist teachers in their practices. Also, there should be more professional development activities for teachers to transform their practices for sustainable development.

Teacher Professional Development Through Writing Scientific Papers

Objektive: This research aims to develop teacher professionalism through the writing of scientific papers. Theoretical Framework: Professional teachers will be reflected in the implementation of the service of tasks characterized by the presence of expertise, both in materials and methods. In addition, it is also shown through his responsibility in carrying out all his devotion. Professional teachers should be able to bear and carry out their responsibilities as teachers to their learners, parents, society, nation, state, and religion. Professional teachers have personal, social, academic, moral, and spiritual responsibilities. Method: The design used in this research is descriptive qualitative. The data sources are 139 Indonesian language teachers from the Gorontalo Province. The research data consists of scientific papers written as part of the development of teacher professionalism, with the sources being 139 teachers. Data analysis is based on three processes, namely data reduction, data display, and verification, focusing on scientific papers to develop teacher professionalism. Results and Discussion: The teacher is one of the components of education in schools that has an important and strategic role. Among a number of competencies of professional teachers, the most important thing we emphasize is competence in learning management. A profession is a skill and authority in a certain position that requires certain competencies (attitudes, knowledge, and skills) specifically obtained from intensive academic education. In relation with that compiling scientific work is one of the forms of teacher professional development activities. Writing scientific papers for teachers is actually a basic necessity for developing their profession. Furthermore, the development of the ability to write scientific papers for teachers will have two main impacts, namely (a) teachers earn additional income from writing scientific papers if they are published in the mass media and win competitions and (b) teachers’ insight and understanding of the world of education and learning more deeply and comprehensively. Research Implications: This research has implications for increasing teacher professionalism through the writing of scientific papers. Teachers' ability to correctly write scientific papers significantly impacts their professionalism in teaching. Teachers will have better teaching skills if their scientific writing skills are also good. Additionally, teachers will serve as exemplary role models for their students in scientific writing. Originality/Value: This research significantly contributes to the improvement of teacher professionalism. Teachers with previously low professionalism can be continuously improved through their ability to write scientific papers. Gradually but surely, the persistent training in scientific writing will lead to increased professionalism. This professionalism is

The Status and Inspiration of General School Teachers’ Inclusive Education Literacy from an International Comparative Perspective

Teachers in general schools with inclusive education literacy are one of the conditions for children with special needs to receive high-quality general education, as well as an essential guarantee for providing an excellent education to the people and building a solid education country. This paper uses data from the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS 2018), use the hierarchical cluster method to investigate the characteristics of teachers’ preparedness status for inclusive literacy in general schools from an international comparative perspective. The findings revealed that the inclusive literacy preparedness of general school teachers worldwide can be classified into three types: younger-highly inclusive literacy teachers, advanced age-medium inclusive literacy teachers, and highly educated-low inclusive literacy teachers. Younger-highly inclusive literacy teachers are characterized by rejuvenation, a high degree of undergraduate education, an emphasis on pre-service education, and an oversupply of professional development activities. Advanced age-medium inclusive literacy teachers are characterized by aging, incomplete pre-service education training, and the most urgent need for teachers’ professional development in information technology. Highly educated-low inclusive literacy teachers are distinguished by highly educated, low levels of pre-service education, and an abundance of professional development opportunities for teachers. School administrators are advised to prioritize ongoing professional development activities for teachers to speed teacher education integration and increase teacher and educational quality.

Factors Hindering Student Participation in English-Speaking Classes: Student and Lecturer Perceptions

English as a foreign language (EFL) students’ lack of engagement directly affects their learning outcomes, and it has captured the attention of many researchers. Factors affecting EFL students’ participation may be differed by student and lecturer perceptions, which will cause differences in these stakeholders’ solutions to classroom difficulties. Accordingly, this study measured Non-English major (NEM) students and EFL lecturers’ perceptions of factors hindering students’ participation in English-speaking classes. About 156 NEM freshmen and 14 lecturers responded to a 35-item questionnaire containing five primary clusters: linguistic, cognitive, affective, pedagogical, and social-cultural factors. The study further employed semi-structured interviews with six students and four lecturers. The results found some significant differences between lecturer and student perceptions. On the one hand, the students did not consider the large class size, insufficient time for in-class practice, and students’ tendency to remain silent as hindering their class participation. On the other hand, the lecturers considered vital barriers: students’ insufficient proficiency, teachers’ poor lessons, or teacher-student relationship. Based on the findings, teacher professional development activities are expected to be one of the solutions to EFL students’ insufficient engagement in English-speaking classes.

A Review of the Effects of Integrated Language, Science and Technology Interventions in Elementary Education on Student Achievement

This systematic literature review presents a review of the effects of integrated language arts, science and technology (ILS&T) instruction, with an inquiry- or design-based pedagogy, in elementary schools on student achievement. To this end, an overview of the characteristics of the 19 included studies and their interventions is first presented. Second, the effects of interventions in relation to the study characteristics and outcome variables were examined, by comparing the mean effect sizes. The findings demonstrate positive effects of ILS&T instruction for all reported student learning outcome variables. Third, the relation between characteristics of the intervention and effect sizes was analysed. Interventions with higher levels of integration, a short duration, and teacher professional development activities produce higher effect sizes. These findings are relevant for the design of ILS&T interventions. The analysis was challenged by a lack of detailed information in study and intervention descriptions, which prompts a call for scholars to provide more comprehensive information in their intervention studies.

초등학교 수석교사의 직무역량모델 개발

The purpose of this study was to develop a job competency model for primary school master teachers. Through literature review, behavioral event interviews and in-depth interviews, a draft job competency model was developed, and focus group interviews were conducted to develop a tentative job competency model. Then, a content validity study was conducted with 20 experts to obtain CVI and IRA values, and the final job competency model with validated job competencies and behavioral indicators was confirmed. The job competency model of elementary school master teachers consists of four job areas (supporting school education, student education activities, supporting teacher professional development, and research and development activities), nine job competencies (supporting school educational goals, responding to changes in the educational environment, curriculum literacy, learner orientation, teaching expertise, instructional consulting, teacher professional coaching, learning organization, and master teacher professional development), and 33 behavioral indicators. It is significant that the model of master teachers' job competencies developed in this study provided a systematic understanding of master teachers' job competencies.

The Impact of Teacher Professional Development Activities on Teacher Job Satisfaction: An Empirical Analysis Based on TALIS 2018 Shanghai Teacher Data

The Impact of Teacher Professional Development Activities on Teacher Job Satisfaction: An Empirical Analysis Based on TALIS 2018 Shanghai Teacher Data

A Systematic Review on Teaching Physical Activity in Elementary School Physical Education

PURPOSE This study analyzed research on physical activities for elementary school students 1st and 2nd-graders to explore teachers’ perceptions and instructional practices in physical activity classes.METHODS Twelve studies published in academic journals conducted between 2000 to 2022 were selected for analysis.RESULTS The research articles were categorized into three domains: perception of physical activity in lower grades, operational features, and factors influencing practices from a didactic perspective. Challenges identified include dilemmas between curriculum documents and actual practice, a lack of practical teaching expertise, and a teaching culture discouraging physical activity in lower grades. Operational patterns were restructured into “avoidance-style classes,” “ad-hoc classes,” “textbook-dependent classes,” and “textbook-reorganization classes.” Factors influencing physical education for early elementary students included “teacher support factors,” “environmental factors,” and “administrative factors.”CONCLUSIONS In conclusion, this study advocates for policies that systematically improve perception, administration, and support classes for activating physical activities in lower elementary school students. The findings suggest the need for strategies such as adapting integrated curricula, creating training programs and educational materials, ongoing professional development activities for teachers, and specific research focused on physical activities for lower grade elementary students.

English Language Teacher Professional Development: Teacher Educators’ Perceptions and Experiences

With rapid changes and advancements in teaching English language education and the needs of learners, it has become essential for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers to be updated periodically by enhancing their attitudes, skills, and knowledge through different teacher professional development activities and strategies. English language teachers are required to keep upgrading themselves to help EFL learners acquire English effectively. This research aims to explore EFL teacher educators’ perceptions of the importance of teacher professional development and identify their experienced activities for teacher professional development. This research is conducted at a university in Nepal with the participation of eight EFL teacher educators involved in individual interviews. The interpretive research paradigm and case study research method are used for the study. Semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis are used for data collection and analysis. The results show that most of them have positive perceptions towards the importance of EFL professional development and offer suggestions on activities for English proficiency, teaching pedagogy, digital skills, and research skills for teacher professional development that administrators of the university can consult to build skilled teaching professionals who can meet various needs of present learners.

교사전문성 개발 활동이 교실 수업에서의 ICT 활용에 미치는 영향

Purpose: This study explored the impact of teacher professional development activities on teacher and student ICT use in the classroom as the importance of ICT use for student-customized instruction is being emphasized.
 Methods: Using data on Korean middle school students from ICILS 2018, an international data set, the researchers set teacher-centered ICT use and student-centered ICT use in the classroom as dependent variables and analyzed the impact of teacher professional development activities (classified as interactive learning and structured learning) by using multiple regression.
 Results: Both teacher professional development activities, interactive learning and structured learning, had a positive impact on ICT utilization in the classroom. The impact of structured learning was somewhat higher for both teacher-centered ICT use and student-centered ICT use.
 Conclusion: Recently, there have been policy efforts by education authorities to enhance teachers' digital competencies. It is necessary to consider both the teacher's and student's ICT utilization.

Implementation of One-Roof School Management (Multi-Case Study in Kema District, North Minahasa Regency)

Implementation of One Roof School Management is one of the government's policies to provide educational services in remote, isolated, and scattered areas. This effort is intended to provide opportunities for the entire community to enjoy education even in areas that are difficult to reach. Using a qualitative descriptive method, research was conducted to obtain an in-depth picture of the implementation of One Roof School management at the Pimpin Small Public Elementary School and Satap Pimpin Middle School. Information was collected using observation techniques, interviews, and document studies with the research instrument being the researcher himself, the results of the analysis obtained were that the implementation of one-roof schooling at SD Negeri Kecil Pimpin and SMP Negeri Satu Atap Pimpin involved a pattern of two managers, careful planning, and collaboration between elementary and middle school teachers. Obstacles faced include a shortage of teachers in junior high schools, teacher qualifications that do not meet standards, administrative staff who are not professional, limited funds, and minimal participation from parents and the community. Based on the conclusions, it is recommended that all stakeholders continue to improve their performance and active participation. Teachers who do not meet the qualification requirements are advised to pursue higher education. The education department has been asked to increase teacher professional development activities, the North Minahasa Regency government needs to pay attention to the placement of teachers and administration, as well as provide additional operational costs for schools in remote areas. The community is also expected to support the implementation of one-roof schools by increasing active participation, especially in efforts to meet school operational needs.

Analysis of key roles in large‐scale online learning: Interactive participation characteristics and knowledge construction behaviour patterns

AbstractOnline teacher professional development is a branch of online learning, which offers educators opportunities to refine their pedagogical skills and collaboratively construct knowledge within professional learning communities. During these interactions, teachers often engage in knowledge construction while exhibiting diverse role characteristics. Investigating these role characteristics and knowledge construction patterns can enhance the comprehension of the interaction process and contribute to online teacher professional development design, addressing challenges such as weak activity and low collaboration. This study examined the key roles that actively interact or contribute to the online community in online teacher professional development, analysing interactive participation characteristics and knowledge construction behaviour patterns. Data were collected from an online teacher professional development activity in China. Statistical, content and lag sequence analysis methods were employed. Results showed that the three key roles had weak interaction persistence and different content quality in interactive participation characteristics. Knowledge construction behaviours of key roles were generally at a high level, with different patterns observed. Finally, the study proposed practical implications based on key roles' interactive participation characteristics and knowledge construction behaviour patterns. These implications may inspire the learning designs that promote online interaction and deep learning based on role characteristics in online teacher professional development.Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topic Online teacher professional development is an evolving and increasingly recognized field within education, positioned as a subset of online learning. Within professional learning communities, teachers engage in knowledge construction and display varied role characteristics. In large‐scale online teacher professional development, only a few consistently maintained knowledge sharing and interaction. These active participants, or ‘key roles’, account for the majority of interactions. The interactive characteristics of the key roles are rarely discussed. What this paper adds Key roles, while actively participating in the online community, do not necessarily maintain consistent activity throughout the learning process. The interactive participation behaviour of key roles tends to learn more towards ‘following’ rather than ‘initiating’. The quality of interactive content from key roles varies widely. While they are responsible for a significant portion of interactions, it is not guaranteed that these interactions will always be of high quality. Knowledge construction behaviour patterns vary among key roles. Overall, their knowledge construction behaviours are generally at a high level and primarily transit among high stages of knowledge construction. Implications for practice Maintain continuous interaction and posting high‐quality content prove to be challenging even for key roles. Course administrators should monitor and strategically enhance their engagement to prevent them from becoming lurkers. Understanding the behaviour patterns of key roles offers insights for increasing interaction enthusiasm among active participants. It is necessary to develop role‐specific scripts in professional learning communities, to tailor content for opinion leaders, contributors and boundary spanners.

The Profiles of Teacher’s Classroom Management Styles in Terms of Reward and Praise: A Latent Profile Analysis

Classroom management is one of the key elements that influence the quality of education in the classroom. However, most teachers view classroom management as an important challenge. To address that challenge, teachers use different classroom management tools, two of which are reward and praise. However, there are different views about the effectiveness of reward and praise. While the behavioral school views them as positive classroom management tools, Self-Determination Theory argues that reward and praise are the tools of a controlling teaching style. It suggests that an autonomy-enhancing teaching style, such as establishing warm relationship with students, is a better classroom management tool. The aim of this study is to explore different profiles of teachers in terms of their classroom management styles, especially in terms of how teachers use reward and praise as well as punishment and warm relationship by using Latent Profile Analysis (LPA). The data were collected a sample of 579 teachers. Teachers completed four scales (The Reward Scale, The Praise Scale, The Emotional Punishment Scale and The Warmth Scale). Teachers were profiled, based on their use of these four classroom management tools. As a result of the LPA, five profiles of teachers in terms of classroom management styles emerged. They were named as “Disengaged Teachers”, “Cold Punishers”, “Cold Extrinsic Motivators”, “Warm Extrinsic Motivators”, and “Warm Intrinsic Motivators.” As predicted, Warm Intrinsic Motivators who do not use reward, praise or emotional punishment but warm relationships are the best in classroom management. Unlike our prediction, Warm Extrinsic Motivators, who use reward and praise, were also good at classroom management since they were warm towards their students. However, they were using emotional punishment. These findings suggest that teachers who use reward also use emotional punishment. Teachers do not have to use reward, praise or punishment to manage their classes. Teachers could manage their classroom perfectly well by forming warm relationships with their students. It is essential for school leaders to incorporate relationship-building as an important classroom management tool into their professional development activities for teachers.

Pelaksanaan Supervisi Pembelajaran sebagai Potret Kinerja Guru dalam Mengajar

The implementation of education was inseparable from the existence and important role of the teacher. The teacher was a determining factor in the success of education, so various educational innovations, especially in curriculum development and improving human resources, were always carried out as in Madrasah Tsanawiyyah Mazro'atul Huda Karanganyar Demak. For the quality of education to be optimally achieved, the implementation of the teacher's performance tasks must receive supervision, both from the Supervisor and the Principal. Supervision of the learning process was a form of quality assurance carried out internally to provide services for an effective and efficient learning process which was generally carried out by the principal regularly. The principal acts as a supervisor in supervising the learning process to create or develop better teaching and learning situations. Based on the results of the supervision that had been carried out, the average achievement score for the implementation of teacher learning was 92.59, categorized as very good. However, some indicators need to be improved because they had values below the average. These indicators were the delivery of competencies and activity plans including the involvement of students in learning. Furthermore, the assessment of learning academic documents averaged 90.47, categorized as very very. However, the availability of learning academic documents needs to be increased in the document section of the question grid, assessment instruments, records of assessment results, documents of results of analysis of competence achievements and documents of teacher professional development activities.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY AND TEACHERS’ LEARNING EXPERIENCES IN THE MIDST OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

This paper descriptively discusses the type of professional development activities attended by teachers during the Covid-19 pandemic and what learning and experience they obtained from the activities. The data are gathered qualitatively from open-ended questionnaires. The participants involved elementary school teachers from several regions in Indonesia. The participants (N=56) described various types of professional development activities they attended during the Covid-19 pandemic, which consisted of webinars, training, seminars, workshops, teachers gathering and networking, online courses, and supervision. The teachers also state that they obtained benefits from the professional development activities they attended. It is recommended that further researchers can study various aspects of professional development activities for teachers in Indonesia, especially in the contexts of elementary school and pre-service teachers.

Secondary School Principals' Perceptions and Support of Professional Development for Science and Mathematics Teachers in Zamfara State, Nigeria

This qualitative study sought to find out the perspectives of secondary school principals regarding their roles in organizing school-based professional development activities for science and mathematics teachers and the related challenges at school level in Zamfara State, Nigeria. Twenty secondary school principals were purposively sampled for the study from the four educational zones in the state. Collection of data was done through structured interviews, and data obtained were analyzed through content analysis. The findings of the study revealed that despite the crucial role of principals in promoting professional development, the majority of them do not fulfill their role optimally in this respect. Professional development activities organized by few principals are limited to workshops and seminars, and there are not sustained as ongoing opportunities. Challenges faced by principals in organizing school-based professional development include inadequate funding, lack of support from higher authorities, inadequate training of principals, and lack of motivation among teachers. The study concluded that, the poor involvement of principals in promoting professional development has significant implications on the quality of teaching and learning of science and mathematics in Zamfara State. The study recommends that government and education stakeholders provide adequate funding and support to principals to enable them organize sustainable and relevant professional development activities for teachers. Additionally, training and motivation programmes should be developed for principals to enhance their capacity in promoting professional development among teachers.

PISA 2018 교사 설문에 나타난 우리나라 중등교사들의 교사 전문성 계발에 대한 인식과 실천

Objectives This study aims to analyze and compare Korean secondary teachers' perceptions and participation of teacher professional development with those of the United States, the United Kingdom, and Taiwan.
 Methods We used the following variables: 1) teacher qualifications programs; 2) the awareness of the need for teacher professional development activities; 3) teacher efficacy; and 4) the factors hindering teacher education activities. The responses to the PISA 2018 teacher questionnaire from Korea, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Taiwan were analyzed in line with these variables.
 Results Regarding the teacher qualification programs, the response average in all countries was high in the order of ‘teaching-learning, class management, and life guidance’, and he response average of the subjects related to traditional PCK component were higher than the other subjects. The average response of the need for teacher professional development activities were higher and teacher efficacy were lower in Korea and Taiwan than in the United States and the United Kingdom. Regarding the participation in teacher professional development activities, the response average of sub-variables related to activities in cooperation with fellow teachers was the highest in all countries. Regarding the factors hindering teacher education activities, Korea showed the highest response average among the analysis target countries.
 Conclusions Considering the perceptions of the need for teacher professional development activities and teacher efficacy, it is necessary to supplement the professional development subject of the teacher qualification program. In order to support teachers' participation in teacher professional development activities, it is important to activate professional learning communities(PLC) and to make an overall educational environment suitable for the digital education environment with the help of the office of education or school.

What Keeps Teachers Engaged during Professional Development? The Role of Interest Development

Interest influences adults’ and young learners’ learning in formal and informal contexts. Although interest and interest development frameworks have been used in research on student-learning, they are not used in teacher-focused research, especially as “outcomes” of teacher professional development (PD) activities. In this study, we used interest development as the outcome of PD in computer science (CS) and investigated the factors that influenced teachers’ (n = 5) interest development toward CS using various data sources and analysis methods. We found that interest development is (a) varied, (b) influenced by self-relation, knowledge, and affect, (c) associated with reengagement with PD activities, and (d) it can be captured using computational text analysis methods and online log data.

Teacher Professional Development to Train Digital Skills with Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK)

During the Covid-19 pandemic, the trend of blended learning increased rapidly. The Indonesian government provides various supporting facilities for blended learning, one of them is a learning account. Unfortunately, this surge in demand for and provision of supporting facilities has not been matched by sufficient skills to properly organize online learning. Many teachers do not know how to utilize ICT in learning. The author took the initiative to develop teacher professional development activities to improve digital skills. These activities were developed using the technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) and using the Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement, Evaluate (ADDIE) model. It can be concluded that these activities can be duplicated again with some adjustments. First, this training is suitable for teachers at the K12 level. If it will be used for PAUD/TK teachers, this training needs to be redesigned. Second, it would be much better if the institution where the teacher works provide dedicated hours for professional development which are also counted into teaching/additional teacher hours.

Towards learner-centric pedagogies: Technology-enhanced teaching and learning in the 21st century classroom

Effective professional development contributes to improved teacher knowledge and practice as well as deep and meaningful student learning. Despite professional development being cited by the South African Department of Basic Education as a priority goal, teacher professional development activities have been inadequate. In this article, we use a socio-cultural perspective to investigate the pedagogical affordances of digitalisation and technology integration. This study is part of a larger mixed methods study but for the purpose of this article we focus solely on its qualitative results. The aim of the study was to understand teachers' best practices with digital technologies and how these technologies are being used to inform the 21st century classroom and encourage a learner-centric environment. The findings reveal weaknesses in the professional development activities regarding digital technologies and learner-centric pedagogies that are generally episodic, one-size-fits-all events focused largely on technical knowledge. The chief impediment towards learner-centric pedagogies and the implementation of technology-enhanced teaching and learning is the misalignment between teachers' digital abilities and the demands of the 21st century technology-equipped classrooms. Our recommendation is the continual situated professional development of teachers, including the creation of professional learning communities and the harnessing of digital technologies to provide an effective blended approach to teacher learning and instructional delivery in the 21st century.