This paper presents an analysis of results from an evaluation of The Centers for Quality Teaching and Learning, a professional development program placing technology in the context of student-centered instructional practices. This analysis focuses on the relationship between the professional development and teachers' use of technology in their classroom and their general instructional practices. The results from this study indicate teachers increased their use of technology in ways viewed as...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Teaching Methods, Constructivism (Learning), Professional Development, Student...
This empirical research study addresses the issues of new teacher development and the role of the institutional context on new teachers' instructional technology use. The study examines two first year teachers, their development during their initial year of classroom experience, and how the institutional context they entered affected their instructional decisions about technology use with students. Results underscore the challenges many beginning teachers face and how those challenges affect...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Beginning Teachers, Elementary School Teachers, Technology Uses in Education, Context...
A variety of barriers relating to resources, institutional and administrative policies, skills development and attitudes can hinder the effectiveness of technology professional development resulting in underutilized technology resources and lack of integration of those resources within instruction. Multiple methods were used to evaluate the effectiveness of a long-term professional development academy intended to address those barriers and promote increased use of technology in the academy...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Technology Integration, Self Efficacy, Professional Development, Educational...
Professional development (PD) for the improvement of educational practice has attracted a great deal of attention in recent years. Although experts acknowledge the importance of PD, many PD programmes have little effect on educational practice. This article identifies influences on the effective implementation of Invitational Education (IE) within the framework of professional development that were identified during a qualitative study in schools in two states. Specific categories affecting the...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Educational Practices, Professional Development, Educational Change, Research...
This study is aimed at assessing the state of Philippine secondary school physics education using data from a nationwide survey of 464 schools and 767 physics teachers and at identifying challenges for substantive improvements. Teacher-related indicators revealed academic qualification deficiency, low continuing professional involvements, substantial physics teaching experience, and good licensure status. Academic environment indices revealed that the number of physics classes per teacher is...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Foreign Countries, Teacher Education, Instructional Materials, Educational...
It is widely acknowledged that what teachers believe influences their teaching, yet the focus of much professional learning remains on influencing the specific practices and tools that teachers employ in their classrooms. In this article, it is argued that a greater and more explicit focus on teachers' beliefs would be beneficial. To this end, an overview of aspects of the understandings of the nature of beliefs is presented followed by findings from a recent study that examined mathematics...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Mathematics Teachers, Mathematics Instruction, Teacher Attitudes, Foreign Countries,...
One of the most recent waves of reform in public education began in 1989 when the governors and legislators identified eight goals for the "Goals 2000: Educate America Act" (U.S. Department of Education, 1994). This legislation promulgated the need for standards-based education and impacted health education in several ways. "Goals 2000" specifically addressed teacher education and professional development, so that teachers could "acquire the knowledge and skills needed...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Professional Associations, Educational Change, Professional Development, Public...
This article discusses the professional development needs of educational leaders in Kosovo, a region in Yugoslavia that has undergone dramatic changes following conflicts in the late 1990s. This article describes the changing sociopolitical context of the region and examines the need for professional development programs for school administrators in a postwar society.
Topics: ERIC Archive, Foreign Countries, Professional Development, Conflict, Administrators, Educational...
Interest in improving the quality of professional development in this age of educational reform has intensified as a growing body of research suggests that teaching practices matter in terms of student achievement. Some have argued for embedding professional development in the context of teachers' work in order to transform both teaching practices and the structures and cultures of schools in which teachers practice. These changes are necessary so that teachers can develop innovative teaching...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Teaching Methods, Educational Change, Faculty Development, Work Environment,...
Two and a half years ago, the author relates how their middle schools embarked on a student laptop initiative that began as a pilot program and has continued to develop into a model for successful technology integration. Although they entered uncharted waters as far as laptop technology is concerned, there were some known principles that have guided them to success. The author also relates how they knew that truly successful technology integration would require a pedagogical focus rather than a...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Middle Schools, Pilot Projects, Technology Integration, Educational Technology,...
Technology incentives are a great way to motivate teachers to learn to use technology. Polk County Schools in Florida has proven that technology incentives work to their advantage. A highlight that motivates Polk County teachers, is that a technology coaching program is in place to assist teachers at different schools. In this article, the author discusses how teachers can be motivated to attend professional development training, so that they can use technology inside the classrooms. (Contains...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Teacher Motivation, Counties, Professional Development, Teacher Education, School...
The interest in online learning has been growing at a rapid pace, especially for professionals who find it inconvenient to attend face-to-face workshops or courses. This is particularly true for educators pursuing inservice professional development, as there is precious little time to be away from their classrooms. This need, combined with the growing demand for science content courses for teachers, resulted in the NSF-funded National Teacher Enhancement Network, a series of online science...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Online Courses, Professional Development, Teaching Methods, Inservice Teacher...
Ever since technology became a major component in education, schools have been charged with teaching and integrating technology to enhance learning and ensure technology literacy. However, there is still no consistent definition, process, or assessment in place, leading to concerns about accountability. Because technology standards are seemingly arbitrary and open to multiple interpretations, each school district, each school, and even each teacher will have to develop their own definition,...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Industry, Federal Legislation, Technology Integration, Educational Technology,...
Socio-emotional skills are highly prized on the labour market these days; many writers say that competencies of this type help to increase individuals' employability, but educational institutions consistently forget their responsibility for providing training in them. Most jobs call not only for knowledge and specific technical competencies, but also for a certain level of social and emotional skills enabling workers, for example, to work in teams, to motivate themselves when confronting...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Emotional Development, Interpersonal Competence, Social Development, On the Job...
This article studies the dilemma between professionalization and professionalism in the development of teaching into a bureaucratic organization in Hong Kong. Professionalization and bureaucratization are simultaneous processes. Teaching as an occupation has grown from a state of idiosyncrasy to a profession with defined boundaries. However, achieving system efficiency and technical rationality, both features of bureaucracy, could undermine or suppress teachers' individual autonomy. Thus,...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Foreign Countries, Personal Autonomy, Teacher Attitudes, Professional Autonomy,...
In determining whether graduates of the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) Program at Southern Oregon University were developing the necessary knowledge, skills, and dispositions to teach, faculty members found themselves examining their own practice. This is just what Goodlad (1988) suggested we do: clarify our own beliefs in order to better understand our teacher preparation program. We discovered that the development of the MAT program is primarily shaped by the people who teach within the...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Teacher Education Programs, College Faculty, Self Evaluation (Individuals), Locus of...
Many researchers have addressed the professional development of teachers and the importance of the field experience component in the process of teaching effectiveness (Kowalchuk, 1999). A phased development model or paradigm used to address teachers' professional development and stages of effectiveness have been noted. Conceptual models of Field Experience have been developed in accordance to the paradigms addressing the professional development of teacher effectiveness, based both on external...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Teacher Effectiveness, Professional Development, Teacher Education, Field Experience...
This paper compares how educational reform documents in Korea and the U.S.A. conceptualize teachers and teacher education and examines how, if at all, the discourses of one country appear to influence those of the other. Special attention is paid to the ways in which reform documents incorporate different conceptions of professionalism in framing and in proposing remedies for the problems with teachers and teacher education. Eighteen reform documents issued in the two countries by national...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Foreign Countries, Educational Change, Comparative Education, Teacher Education...
This study focuses on a group of practitioners from a school district that adopted reform-oriented curriculum materials but later rejected them, partially due to the inclusion of alternative algorithms in the materials. Metaphors implicit in a conversation among the group were analysed to illuminate their perspectives on instructional issues surrounding alternative algorithms. Several possible sources of resistance to folding alternative algorithms into instruction were found, including the...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Mathematics, Teaching Methods, Mathematics Education, Computation, Mathematics...
The purpose of this article is two-fold: first, to explore the role played by linguistic and cultural factors in the mathematics classroom, particularly in relation to diverse learners; and, second, to provide insight into teaching, learning, and professional development that takes into account current mathematics education reform recommendations. In this article, the authors explore and discuss four selected cultural and linguistic factors to consider when teaching mathematics to diverse...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Teaching Methods, Mathematics Instruction, Educational Change, Cultural Influences,...
Teacher beliefs are mediated and lived in the dialectic of teacher education and teacher practice. We reframe this dialectic of "teacher" preparation as "faculty" preparation, as many faculty are not prepared for the rigors of teaching, and most are not trained in the ethics of their profession. We propose a critical model of faculty development that primes teacher educators to cultivate authentic teacher beliefs and professional integrity. The model embraces five components...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Diversity (Faculty), Faculty Development, Moral Development, Organizational...
This paper describes a school/university graduate induction program that has provided support to beginning teachers since 1994. A 10-year follow-up study of program graduates was recently conducted to examine these questions: (a) How many graduates are still in the education profession? (b) How many have remained in the classroom? and (c) What are their retrospective perceptions of the induction program on their initial teaching experiences? Quantitative and qualitative data were collected....
Topics: ERIC Archive, Graduate Surveys, Professional Development Schools, Beginning Teacher Induction,...
This article describes the efforts of a combinatorial approach of Schools Around the World (SAW) and Understanding by Design (UbD) to create a foundation for lesson study efforts based on the Japanese model. UbD provides a framework for study units rich in essential content, assessment practices and well-crafted activities. SAW and lesson study provide strategy to determine if both student work and teacher assignment meet intended goals and standards. The author discusses staff selection and...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Educational Change, Science Process Skills, Lesson Plans, Science Education, Models,...
The author examines the museum as a valuable resource for providing professional development within informal learning environments, especially in the area of science instruction and curricular methods. (Contains 6 tables.)
Topics: ERIC Archive, Science Instruction, Institutional Mission, Museums, Informal Education, Professional...
The Iowa Chautauqua Program was developed in 1983 with support from National Science Foundation (NSF) which awarded the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) a major grant to study an inexpensive in-service model for stimulating reform in K-12 science classrooms. Iowa was one of the six Chautauqua sites which were modeled after a program for teachers from small colleges and operated by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In Iowa this new Chautauqua effort focused...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Educational Change, Science Teachers, Science and Society, Program Effectiveness,...
The authors argue that leadership networks when comprised of regional stakeholders including university faculty, school system administrators, and teacher leaders can begin to work together towards common reform goals. (Contains 1 figure.)
Topics: ERIC Archive, Science Education, Educational Change, Elementary Secondary Education, Teacher...
Lesson planning is integral to teachers' professional development in China. It includes their individual reflection and study as well as the collegial activities undertaken to prepare the lesson. In China, organizational structures for both individual teachers and a school's professional community embed lesson preparation in two activities: preparing a lesson plan and refining the plan through "open lessons." In this article, the authors explore not only how Chinese teachers develop...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Foreign Countries, Pedagogical Content Knowledge, Lesson Plans, Units of Study,...
Canadian counsellors are increasingly called upon to work with diverse client populations whose needs may not be met through traditional counselling models. The question for many is how to develop the attitudes, knowledge, and skills for competent and ethical practice. This article introduces core competencies designed to assist counsellors to effectively infuse culture into all aspects of the counselling process. It then describes how these competencies are combined to enhance the...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Competence, Cultural Pluralism, Counselor Client Relationship, Counseling Techniques,...
The purpose of this article is to demonstrate how the method of meaning implication discourse analysis can be applied in the context of online collaborative reflective practice of student teachers. The method was developed to identify knowledge building in networked contexts. It derives from the model of meaning implication developed by Piaget, and the model of "schematization" proposed by Grize. It also borrows from the knowledge building theory developed by Scardamalia and Bereiter....
Topics: ERIC Archive, Teaching Methods, Discourse Analysis, Student Teachers, Schematic Studies, Network...
Maximum academic achievement for gifted and talented students can only be accomplished when teachers are given the tools, support, and training needed to strengthen instructional skills and develop knowledge of the social and emotional needs of the students they serve. Providing meaningful professional development to develop or enhance these skills is a challenge for administrators responsible for the planning and implementation of training experiences for teachers of gifted students. As...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Academically Gifted, Talent, Lifelong Learning, Staff Development, Professional...
Empirical research on the philosophies, beliefs, and actions of school administrators such as principals or superintendents toward talented students is largely nonexistent in the published literature. What little is known suggests that administrators are crucial, but that advocates of services for high-ability learners need to carry the message more effectively to school leaders. While the knowledge base on the understanding and support of the school administrator for specialized services for...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Academically Gifted, Talent, Instructional Leadership, Principals, Administrators,...
In this article, the author invites students to reflect on the characteristics of their own teachers. The author contends that this reflection can be a methodological process and model toward a better understanding of what identifies teachers as professionals. To "constructively reflect" on teacher professionalism, it is imperative that the four reflective stages for action (topical reflection, historical reflection, constitutional reflection, and reflection for action) are carried...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Teacher Characteristics, Student Attitudes, Perspective Taking, Student Experience,...
Teaching is so multifaceted that learning to teach requires several years of experience after a person begins to practice. To maintain professional growth, teachers must develop an orientation to their work that includes reflection and renewal. In the absence of these factors, teaching can become too automatic, which can undermine its effectiveness. Schon (1983) described a "knowing-in-practice" (practical knowledge) that may become so tacit, spontaneous, and automatic (overlearned)...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Student Teaching, Preservice Teachers, Reflective Teaching, Professional Development,...
In 1997, the Illinois legislature passed House Bill 542 (Public Act 90-548) which changed teacher tenure requirements to a four-year, multi-tiered system that called for the accumulation of professional development credit for all teachers. The primary purpose of this study was to examine district responses to the 1997 legislation. To what degree, if any, did legislative requirements regarding the professional development of teachers affect the manner and means through which districts provided...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Faculty Development, Professional Development, Human Resources, State School District...
Although art therapists readily recognize the value of artmaking for their clients and for themselves, do they utilize its potentialities for professional self-processing? In the hope of encouraging art therapists to use this valuable resource, this paper presents examples of art expressions for professional processing by many art therapists working with various populations in different kinds of settings. In addition to spontaneous responses to strong feelings aroused by clients, systematic...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Art Therapy, Art Expression, Professional Development, Counselor Client Relationship,...
The increased emphasis on standards-based school accountability since the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 is focusing critical attention on the professional development of school principals and their ability to meet the challenges of improving student outcomes. While rural school districts are dealing with many of the same issues facing urban districts, there are unique challenges that rural school principals face. However, effective professional development that addresses the...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Rural Schools, School Restructuring, Federal Legislation, Educational Change,...
In this action research report 4 teachers and 1 teacher educator use the Japanese lesson study model of professional development for 15 months in rural Carlinville, Illinois. In March 2001, 4 teachers identified a goal to improve their students' understanding of two step word problems in 2nd grade elementary mathematics. Teachers completed three cycles of researching, planning, teaching, evaluating and reflecting. They were motivated, empowered, and found lesson study effective professional...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Action Research, Foreign Countries, Educational Change, Word Problems (Mathematics),...
Policymakers and educators see professional development as a way to improve the quality of instruction in classrooms across the nation, but the empirical literature linking professional development to improved student achievement is extremely thin. Logically, though, it would seem that the right kinds of professional development would improve instruction, and that better instruction would result in higher student achievement. Very limited empirical evidence suggests that such linkages may...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Rural Schools, Research Utilization, Politics of Education, Teacher Effectiveness,...
The Principals Excellence Program (PEP), a cohort-based professional development project for administrator-certified practitioners, is one of 24 projects across the United States supported by federal funds from the No Child Left Behind legislation. The three-year program is conducted through a partnership between Pike County School District, a high-need rural system in Central Appalachia, and the University of Kentucky, located 150 miles away. A major goal for PEP is improved school leadership...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Mentors, Federal Legislation, Holistic Evaluation, Leadership Effectiveness, School...
For decades the National Science Foundation has been funding the development of instructional materials whose design is based upon the recommendations of educational research. These recommendations include the idea that learning be sequenced and organized using an experiential learning cycle or an instructional model such as the Biological Science Curriculum Study (BSCS) 5E Instructional Model (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate). More recent research studies such as those...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Curriculum Development, Educational Research, Prior Learning, Experiential Learning,...
Career and technical educators have long recognized the fact that a highly skilled craftsperson is not necessarily a highly skilled instructor of that craft. In the belief that the key to a productive, efficient workforce lies in high quality training for journeymen and apprentices, the Carpenter's International Training Fund (CITF) partnered with the Workforce Education and Development Program (WF ED) of Pennsylvania State University in an effort to improve the quality of workforce education....
Topics: ERIC Archive, Seminars, Workshops, Labor Force Development, Instructional Effectiveness, Career...
This article begins with an overview of how WebCT is used within a Masters in Education (M.Ed.) program in social studies and global education. WebCT is a class management system that allows instructors to choose from a variety of electronic technologies for a single course or integrate coursework across an entire academic program. In the M.Ed. program WebCT situates the interns within an online Professional Development School (PDS) Network of schools (half urban and half suburban) and...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Computer Software Reviews, Courseware, Teacher Education Programs, Social Studies,...
The concept of diaspora describes the dispersal of persons from their traditional homeland, across national and cultural borders. We explore diasporic (dis)location as it disrupts and recreates teacher identity. The nomadic movement across borders in professional development is best understood through narrative; hence we examine the self-constructed narratives of three participants in a graduate class representing diverse cultural backgrounds who traced their complex and shifting teacher...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Cultural Pluralism, Cultural Influences, Faculty Mobility, Social Psychology,...
Artist-in-residence programs frequently act as professional development initiatives for teachers. Little understanding of the relational nature of artist-teacher learning exists. In this article, we discuss "Learning Through The Arts"[TM], describing conflicting expectations as artists and teachers learn from each other, and explore the relationship of artists' growth and learning to teacher development. Using participants' narratives, we illustrate existing tensions and challenges...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Art Education, Artists, Preschool Teachers, Professional Development, Art Expression,...
This study examined the assessment literacy of primary/junior teacher candidates in all four years of their concurrent program. Candidates from each year of the program completed a survey pertaining to self-described level of assessment literacy, main purposes of assessment, utilization of different assessment methods, need for further training, and suggested methods for promoting assessment literacy in university and practice teaching settings. Levels of self-efficacy remained relatively low...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Student Evaluation, Self Efficacy, Educational Change, Teaching Methods, Evaluation...
In this paper, the authors describe a model of professional development for early childhood science teachers based on their experiences over the past two years with Project ASTER: Active Science Teaching Encourages Reform. In this project, they have identified seven elements that constitute a quality professional development program. These elements include: (1) strong partnership between school districts and institutions of higher education; (2) unique collaboration between science educators...
Topics: ERIC Archive, National Curriculum, Preservice Teachers, Self Efficacy, Primary Education, Program...
In earlier research into the attitudes of professionals to continuing professional education, four factors have stood out as occurring in virtually all results--professional improvement and development, professional service, collegial learning and interaction, and personal benefits and job security. Two other factors emerged once only in different studies--professional reflection and professional role clarification. The study reported here on the continuing education needs of country-based...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Professional Continuing Education, Foreign Countries, Legal Education (Professions),...
This study evaluated the manpower-training program for teaching personnel in mid-western Nigeria by the National Teachers' Institute. Overall, 240 participants involved in the training program who were randomly selected from the area constituted the sample for the study. A questionnaire designed by the authors was the major instrument used for data gathering. Analyses of the results showed that the programs are fairly effective in upgrading the skills and knowledge of the participants. It was...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Educational Needs, Foreign Countries, Program Evaluation, Developing Nations,...
The paper examines how the educational environment within the Australian Federal Police (AFP) has changed over their 25 year history. The case study was used as a methodological framework through which content analysis and interviews were conducted. It was found that due to the changing nature of their profession, the involvement of police personnel in ongoing personal and professional development is essential. Further, the educational environment fostered within the AFP was found to be one...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Adult Education, Educational Change, Content Analysis, Educational Environment,...
Some key theoretical aspects of the author's recently completed Doctor of Education thesis regarding teacher professional development were situativity theory, communities of practice and being a situated reflective practitioner. With the hard work now over, she comments on these aspects and their continuing relevance. She describes how she was really living these theoretical propositions during the six years of part-time study as a situated researcher working professionally in the educational...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Professional Development, Researchers, Postsecondary Education as a Field of Study,...