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Author: Gwendolen Susanne Jacobs Publisher: ISBN: Category : Languages : en Pages : 0
Book Description
Professional development provides opportunities for teachers to acquire the knowledge needed to become experts in their classroom content and to improve their instructional skills to meet the needs of today's student learners. While districts and curriculum leaders work to improve professional development design, teachers' dissatisfaction with current professional development practices are still problematic. Teachers continue to find it ineffective, irrelevant, making them feel undervalued as professionals. This is evident in the rural educational setting. Rural educators need on-going, flexible, and job-embedded effective professional development to meet the specific needs of rural educators and their students. While few studies have examined teacher perception on professional development, even fewer studies focused on the rural place. This study provides educational leaders with a teacher's perspective on what effective professional development looks and feels like for rural educators. Using narrative analysis of five rural educators' interviews and drawing on Gruenewald's Critical Pedagogy of Place, this study sought to understand the experiences of five rural educators as they explored their personal histories, perceptions, and experiences in receiving effective professional development. The study is driven by three research questions to determine if teachers' perceptions of effective professional development is influenced by their own sense of place and how they identify within that place. These questions included the following: 1. How do teachers in a rural setting perceive building and district level professional development? 2. In what ways does sense of place inform teachers' perceptions of effective professional development? 3. In what ways do these perceptions inform teachers' decisions to act on their new learning? The key themes revealed participants acknowledged the challenges districts face when providing effective professional development and that it is most beneficial when connected to their specific needs. Most participants acknowledged the complexity of rural relationships and recognized how their personal histories and experiences helped make and enrich these relationships. The findings relative to the five participants' experiences and their stories also suggest rural teachers do not fully recognize the extent by which their own sense of place and place identity influenced their perceptions on their learning. This can have several implications for district leaders, professional development directors and for current and future rural educators. If district leaders and professional development directors want to see implementation of teacher learning in the classroom, providing purposeful professional development must not only address the specific needs of rural educators and their students but also consider what teachers bring to the rural context in relationship to their professional learning.
Author: Gwendolen Susanne Jacobs Publisher: ISBN: Category : Languages : en Pages : 0
Book Description
Professional development provides opportunities for teachers to acquire the knowledge needed to become experts in their classroom content and to improve their instructional skills to meet the needs of today's student learners. While districts and curriculum leaders work to improve professional development design, teachers' dissatisfaction with current professional development practices are still problematic. Teachers continue to find it ineffective, irrelevant, making them feel undervalued as professionals. This is evident in the rural educational setting. Rural educators need on-going, flexible, and job-embedded effective professional development to meet the specific needs of rural educators and their students. While few studies have examined teacher perception on professional development, even fewer studies focused on the rural place. This study provides educational leaders with a teacher's perspective on what effective professional development looks and feels like for rural educators. Using narrative analysis of five rural educators' interviews and drawing on Gruenewald's Critical Pedagogy of Place, this study sought to understand the experiences of five rural educators as they explored their personal histories, perceptions, and experiences in receiving effective professional development. The study is driven by three research questions to determine if teachers' perceptions of effective professional development is influenced by their own sense of place and how they identify within that place. These questions included the following: 1. How do teachers in a rural setting perceive building and district level professional development? 2. In what ways does sense of place inform teachers' perceptions of effective professional development? 3. In what ways do these perceptions inform teachers' decisions to act on their new learning? The key themes revealed participants acknowledged the challenges districts face when providing effective professional development and that it is most beneficial when connected to their specific needs. Most participants acknowledged the complexity of rural relationships and recognized how their personal histories and experiences helped make and enrich these relationships. The findings relative to the five participants' experiences and their stories also suggest rural teachers do not fully recognize the extent by which their own sense of place and place identity influenced their perceptions on their learning. This can have several implications for district leaders, professional development directors and for current and future rural educators. If district leaders and professional development directors want to see implementation of teacher learning in the classroom, providing purposeful professional development must not only address the specific needs of rural educators and their students but also consider what teachers bring to the rural context in relationship to their professional learning.
Author: Stephen Matthew Warford Publisher: ISBN: Category : Career development Languages : en Pages :
Book Description
This qualitative study examines practicing educators’ views and perceptions on effective professional development. The researcher explores the experiences of five educators at various points on the experience continuum and questions what constitutes a meaningful learning experience for each one. The framework of this study follows the protocols outlined by Connelly and Clandinin (1990) for experienced based research through narrative. The foundation for this research rests of four theoretical pillars: Adult Learning Theory (Houle, 1972), Motivational Theory (Maslow, 1943), Reflective Practices (Schon, 1987), and Teacher Knowledge (Cochran & Lytle, 1999). After an extensive review of the current literature, noticeable omissions from the current understanding of professional development for teachers were found that set the stage for the following research questions guiding this study: 1) What elements of professional development do practicing teachers find effective and beneficial? 2) Do teachers at different points in their career report needing the same or different qualities in their learning experiences? 3) What might the researcher come to understand through narrative case studies of the participants and their insights on effective professional development? The need for this study to address these questions is that annually millions of dollars are spent on teacher professional development in order to improve teacher pedagogy in hopes of improving student achievement; however, achievement scores remain stagnant and there is little evidence that the current system of professional development is working. Though there are a plethora of studies that provide quantitative data regarding certain elements of professional development (e.g. time needed, curriculum design), those studies provide no context from the teachers to help others reproduce the results. This study allowed teachers to provide a context through narrative based on their experiences.
Author: Raquel Fidalgo Redondo Publisher: BRILL ISBN: 9004270485 Category : Education Languages : en Pages : 336
Book Description
This volume aims to analyze validated intervention programs focused on: the teaching and learning of writing as a skill and the use of writing as a learning activity in various school subjects/skills.
Author: Tim Fletcher Publisher: Routledge ISBN: 1000387933 Category : Education Languages : en Pages : 113
Book Description
This book outlines an approach to teaching and learning in physical education that prioritises meaningful experiences for pupils, using case studies to illustrate how practitioners have implemented this approach across international contexts. Prioritising the idea of meaningfulness positions movement as a primary way to enrich the quality of young people’s lives, shifting the focus of physical education programs to better suit the needs of contemporary young learners and resist the utilitarian health-oriented views of physical education that currently predominate in many schools and policy documents. The book draws on the philosophy of physical education to articulate the main rationale for prioritising meaningful experiences, before identifying potential and desired outcomes for participants. It highlights the distinct characteristics of meaningful physical education and its content, and outlines teaching and learning principles and strategies, supported by pedagogical cases that show what meaningful physical education can look like in school-based teaching and in higher education-based teacher education. With an emphasis on good pedagogical practice, this is essential reading for all pre-service and in-service physical education teachers or coaches working in youth sport.
Author: Anna Christine Boriack Publisher: ISBN: Category : Languages : en Pages :
Book Description
The purpose of this study is to examine teachers' perceptions of professional development and changes in classroom practice. A proposed conceptual framework for effective professional development that results in changes in classroom practices was developed. Data from two programs that provided professional development to teachers in the areas of technology, mathematics, and science was used to inform the conceptual framework. These two programs were Target Technology in Texas (T3) and Mathematics, Science, and Technology Teacher Preparation Academies (MSTTPA). This dissertation used a multiple article format to explore each program separately, yet the proposed conceptual framework allowed for comparisons to be made between the two programs. The first study investigated teachers' perceptions of technology-related professional development after their districts had received a T3 grant. An online survey was administrated to all teachers to determine their perceptions of technology-related professional development along with technology self-efficacy. Classroom observations were conducted to determine if teachers were implementing technology. The results indicated that teachers did not perceive professional development as being effective and were not implementing technology in their classrooms. Teachers did have high technology self-efficacy and perceived adequate school support, which implies that effective professional development may be a large factor in whether or not teachers implement technology in their classrooms. The second study evaluated participants' perceptions of the effectiveness of mathematics and science professional development offered through a MSTTP academy. Current and former participants completed an online survey which measured their perceptions of academy activities and school environment. Participants also self-reported classroom implementation of technology. Interviews and open-ended survey questions were used to provide further insight into academy activities. The results indicated that academy participants perceived effective academy activities along with a supportive school environment. Additionally, participants reported sometimes implementing technology in their classrooms. These findings suggest that several factors might influence the successful classroom implementation of professional development. The data which supports the conceptual framework shows that effective professional development may play a key role in successful classroom implementation. Future professional development activities should be designed around characteristics for effective professional development to increase the likelihood that classroom implementation might occur. The electronic version of this dissertation is accessible from http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/149442
Author: Patrick Suber Publisher: AuthorHouse ISBN: 1665516569 Category : Education Languages : en Pages : 197
Book Description
In Title-I schools, how adequately do administrators prepare teachers to implement new reading curriculums? The majority of students at these Title-I schools are from low-income families. Literature has indicated that families from low socioeconomic situations often depend heavily on schools to provide the foundational literacy skills their children need to become capable and lifelong readers (Teale, Paciga, & Hoffman, 2008).
Author: Imelda R. Castaňeda Publisher: ISBN: Category : Languages : en Pages : 266
Book Description
This study sought to test whether multidimensional professional development programs are preferable to a traditional one, which, typically, consists of taking a graduate course. It compared teachers' perceptions about the effects of three programs for professional development on their teaching practice and student performance. Two of the programs, the Arts Integration Program and Job Shadowing Institute, were multidimensional models of professional development. The third was Technology Training, a traditional model of professional development. The purpose of the study was to contribute to the body of knowledge about teachers' perceptions of the effect of professional development on their teaching practice and their students' learning. The study included elementary, middle, and high school teachers as participants and survey respondents. It spanned three years. Descriptive data were collected to provide an accurate description of the three programs. Participant observations of professional development sessions, informal and formal interviews of teachers, administrators, and facilitators were among the data collection tools used during the first two years of the study to provide a detailed description of the actual programs. The main focus of the study was a survey of participants' perceptions of the effect of professional development on their teaching and their students' learning. Survey results indicated that teachers perceived that professional development could be most effective for improving their teaching practice and student learning when the professional development programs are intentional, on going, and systemic. The non-traditional, multidimensional professional development was found to be more effective than the traditional model. However, the results of the study also indicated that even a traditional model of professional development was perceived as having an impact on students' learning when applications were made to curricular content and when there was support for further training. Based on these findings, a model or 'scaffold' towards effective professional development was conceptualized using constructs and characteristics that might influence teaching practice and student learning. Results are discussed in the light of the limitations of the study, implications for education, and suggestions for future research.
Author: Gwendolen Susanne Jacobs
Author: Gwendolen Susanne Jacobs
Author: Stephen Matthew Warford
Author: Raquel Fidalgo Redondo
Author: Terri Renée Rodger
Author: Tim Fletcher
Author: Anna Christine Boriack
Author: Patrick Suber
Author: Aryn Michele Jorgensen
Author: Imelda R. Castaňeda
Author: Margaret Lesley Bernadette Randles