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A Typology for Professional Development
Abstract
In an attempt to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the professional development activities offered to help teachers improve their use of technology, the leaders of a rural school district participated in a design process modeled after the Delphi technique. Leaders from the schools summarized past efforts and created plans for future professional learning. Those summaries and plans were critiqued by a panel of experts through multiple iterations. The documents created through that process along with transcripts of the discussions of the panel of experts were analyzed to identify the factors that affected the group's decisions. Three dimensions were identified, and variation in those were used to define three types of professional development activities.
... The details of the typology and the process that led to its definition are detailed elsewhere (Ackerman, 2020). In this section, the nature of the experience and its meaning from the perspective of the individuals on the leadership team is summarized. ...
A group of school leaders redesigned their schools' professional development agenda related to information technology. Delphi methods were adapted, and qualitative data used to capture this work. Analysis led to the definition of a typology of professional development activities characterized by differences in the focus on technology, the source of expertise, and the role of students. The typology is presented, and important elements identified. The nature of the experience from the perspective of school leaders who sought to gain expertise in the field is explored.
Novice-expert interaction plays an important role in teacher professional development for Chinese vocational education and training (VET). Both Chinese and international research shows that expert-teachers' support is associated with the improvement of novice-teachers' teaching. However, insights into how exactly novice teachers learn with the help of expert teachers are lacking. The learning processes of four novice VET teachers were explored in the context of a professional development project. Data were collected by semi-structured interviews with novice teachers and recordings of novice-expert interactions. A learning model was constructed based on the interconnected model of professional growth. The results showed that novice teachers internalised comments from expert teachers by active reflection and practice. Moreover, this study suggests that teachers' professional development is a complicated long-term process, and that during their development the support from expert teachers is an important external source for novice-teachers. Expert-teachers' support not only provides feedback and suggestions for alternative teaching methods, but also encourages and maintains novice-teachers' learning. The results are discussed in relation to the cultural (Chinese) and educational context (VET).
Critics often characterise the study of educational technology as under‐theorised. To test this assertion and to determine the extent of this criticism, the present paper reports an in‐depth analysis of the 503 most recent empirical articles published in three selected education‐technology‐related journals (Computers & Education; Learning, Media and Technology; and British Journal of Educational Technology). These journals were selected because they publish studies related to all education settings rather than focusing on only a certain segment such as higher education; they have broad geographical catchment; and they were the most highly ranked journals in terms of their 2017 journal citation impact factor. The present paper examines how explicitly existing theory was identified in previous research, how theories were applied and how often these theories were advanced in education technology research. In the majority of cases, explicit engagement with theory was absent. Many studies either were wholly bereft of theories or made vague use of theory. Where theory was explicit, the articles were more likely to use theory to conceptualise the research, to inform the data collection or analysis process and to discuss the results. Very few articles reported findings that help us to learn something new about a particular theory (ie, little evidence of theory advancement).
In recent years, many institutions have transformed traditional classrooms (TCs) into technology-rich active learning classrooms (ALCs) to accommodate the pedagogical concept of “active learning”. In order to investigate the impact of ALCs on teaching and teaching, we observed an instructor teaching in an ALC for an entire academic year, audio/video-recorded every class and took field notes. A focus group discussion was conducted with faculty from six allied health disciplines who taught weekly classes in the ALC and an online survey was distributed to students who took those classes. Data was then analysed using a qualitative constant comparative method (CCM). Findings indicated that the ALC generated greater teaching and learning enjoyment, deepened engagement, amplified interaction, enhanced group activity efficiency and fostered the development of creative ideas. All these features were interrelated and created a synergistic effect on student learning.
The quality of teachers is a very strong influence on the quality of education. In an era when societies and technologies are changing rapidly, both the nature of the education that is appropriate and the means available for its delivery are also changing rapidly. Hence, if teachers are to contribute to the ongoing transformation of societies by transforming education through the use of technologies, they will need to engage in personal transformation through ongoing learning. The wide variety of contexts in which teachers work with differing resources, the variability in their prior learning and in the needs of learners, the rapid changes in technologies, and the shifting expectations of society make it impossible for central authorities to prescribe educational experiences that will be suitable for all circumstances. Teachers must be empowered to practice their profession by orchestrating resources and activities to match educational provision to learners’ needs. Recognizing the agency of teachers as professionals is essential to enlisting them as contributors to the ongoing transformation of education through application of ICT. This chapter addresses the essential role of teacher agency in the transformation of teachers and the education systems in which they work.
As digital platforms are transforming almost every industry today, they are slowly finding their way into the mainstream information systems (ISs) literature. Digital platforms are a challenging research object because of their distributed nature and intertwinement with institutions, markets and technologies. New research challenges arise as a result of the exponentially growing scale of platform innovation, the increasing complexity of platform architectures and the spread of digital platforms to many different industries. This paper develops a research agenda for digital platforms research in IS. We recommend researchers seek to (1) advance conceptual clarity by providing clear definitions that specify the unit of analysis, degree of digitality and the sociotechnical nature of digital platforms; (2) define the proper scoping of digital platform concepts by studying platforms on different architectural levels and in different industry settings; and (3) advance methodological rigour by employing embedded case studies, longitudinal studies, design research, data-driven modelling and visualisation techniques. Considering current developments in the business domain, we suggest six questions for further research: (1) Are platforms here to stay? (2) How should platforms be designed? (3) How do digital platforms transform industries? (4) How can data-driven approaches inform digital platforms research? (5) How should researchers develop theory for digital platforms? and (6) How do digital platforms affect everyday life?
https://rowman.com/ISBN/9780761866084/Technology-Rich-Teaching-Classrooms-in-the-21st-Century
Educational design research is a genre of research in which the iterative development of solutions to practical and complex educational problems provides the setting for scientific inquiry. The solutions can be educational products, processes, programs, or policies. Educational design research not only targets solving significant problems facing educational practitioners but at the same time seeks to discover new knowledge that can inform the work of others facing similar problems. Working systematically and simultaneously toward these dual goals is perhaps the most defining feature of educational design research. This chapter seeks to clarify the nature of educational design research by distinguishing it from other types of inquiry conducted in the field of educational communications and technology. Examples of design research conducted by different researchers working in the field of educational communications and technology are described. The chapter concludes with a discussion of several important issues facing educational design researchers as they pursue future work using this innovative research approach.
Postmodernism's rejecting of the possibility of an objective stance has led some educators to begin treating scientific knowledge as merely a matter of elite consensus ("Most scientists believe that."). Objectivity, I argue, is not an essential claim of science, but progress is. Whether theory B is an improvement over theory A is a question that can be discussed profitably without appeal to objective truth. Such discussion constitutes what I call progressive discourse, which depends on a set of quasi-moral commitments that amount to a devotion to progress in knowledge. Among other things, this view of science as progressive discourse provides more sensible and humane ways of dealing with misconceptions, scientific methodology, and authoritative texts than does the elite consensus view.
Schools have become places filled with digital tools. Despite this fact, school leaders find technology planning to be an area of relative weakness. This chapter describes the experiences of four school leaders who adopted an unfamiliar strategy for making technology decisions. The leaders participated in a series of semi-structured interviews. Two leaders displayed characteristics of early adopters of the innovative planning strategy and two displayed characteristics of early majority users of the strategy. Profiles of the two types of leaders are presented. The aspects of the planning strategy that differentiated it from more familiar planning strategies for these leaders are discussed.
This study aimed to investigate structural relationships between TPACK, teacher self-efficacy, perceived ease of use, and perceived usefulness for preservice teachers who intend to use technology, based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). A total of 296 responses from the College of Education from three Korean universities were analyzed by employing the structural equation modeling methods. The results indicated that preservice teachers’ TPACK significantly affected teacher self-efficacy and perceived ease of using technology. The teachers’ TPACK also positively influenced their perceived ease of using technology and perceived usefulness of technology in the classroom. Finally, teacher self-efficacy, perceived ease of use, and perceived usefulness of using technology affected teachers’ intention to use technology. However, TPACK did not directly affect their intention to use technology. Based on the findings, we discuss implications and suggest future research directions for preservice teachers’ intention to use technology.
This paper describes a teacher knowledge framework for technology integration called technological pedagogical content knowledge (originally TPCK, now known as TPACK, or technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge). This framework builds on Lee Shulman's (1986, 1987) construct of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) to include technology knowledge. The development of TPACK by teachers is critical to effective teaching with technology. The paper begins with a brief introduction to the complex, ill-structured nature of teaching. The nature of technologies (both analog and digital) is considered, as well as how the inclusion of technology in pedagogy further complicates teaching. The TPACK framework for teacher knowledge is described in detail as a complex interaction among three bodies of knowledge: content, pedagogy, and technology. The interaction of these bodies of knowledge, both theoretically and in practice, produces the types of flexible knowledge needed to successfully integrate technology use into teaching.
Evaluating teachers’ professional development initiatives (PDI) is one of the main challenges for the teacher professionalisation field. Although different studies have focused on the effectiveness of PDI, the obtained effects and evaluative methods have been found to be widely divergent. By means of a narrative review, this study provides an extended framework to guide the evaluation of (the effectiveness of) PDI. Furthermore, and in accordance with this framework, an overview of measurement instruments that are currently in use is provided. The study concludes with implications for educational research and developers of PDI.
It is widely accepted that the traditional predict-then-act approach to long-term planning for delivery of public services, such as energy, water or transportation, cannot withstand uncertainties and complexities associated with issues such as population growth, changing demands and climate change. In this regard, various planning approaches have been put forward by the scholarship as alternatives to the conventional model. The planning practice, however, is often following the path-dependent legacy of conventional approaches. This study puts forward a planning intervention, which can be plugged into conventional planning processes, as a way of building capacity for alternative planning approaches to take off. The intervention aims at enabling exploratory thinking within the planning process. Exploratory thinking considers alternative perspectives to planning issues, different from the well-established frames of reference, to potentially reveal some of the blind-spots in the business-as-usual planning. Trial application of the proposed intervention within the process of planning for development of a flood management strategy in Melbourne, Australia, provides propitious indications of widening the scope of thinking among the participants. Based on the achieved insights, a methodology for carrying out the proposed intervention is presented. The methodology would be relevant, and potentially useful, for both planning scholars and practitioners.
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From the Publisher:
Computers and Classroom Culture explores the meaning of computer technology for our schools. In clear and direct prose, Janet Schofield examines ways that computer use is shaped by the social context in which it occurs and how attitudinal and organizational barriers obstruct it. She brings to light issues of gender differences and equity, and she provides sound and thoughtful ideas for improving educational use of computers. This book is for all those concerned with the changing shape of the classroom and the future of our schools as well as for sociologists and psychologists interested in educational computing.
Teachers are responsible for juggling knowledge of where students are and where they need to go; having insights into students' special needs and progress; choices of curricular activities and materials; rules that govern children's participation; expectations from parents and communities; and the norms and rules that govern them as teachers. The addition of technology further complicates the equation and presents many new questions. This book provides information based on 10 years of data gathered from the Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow (ACOT) project. Started in 1985, ACOT is a research collaboration between universities, public schools, and Apple Computer, Inc. to investigate the results of teachers and children routinely using technology for learning. The book includes case studies and teachers' personal perspectives from experiences in ACOT classrooms. The chapters are: (1) "From Instruction to Construction"; (2) "The Challenge of Instructional Change: Two Teachers' Stories"; (3) "The Evolution of Instruction in Technology-Rich Classrooms"; (4) "Managing a Technology-Rich Classroom"; (5) "Redefining Student and Teacher Roles"; (6) "Maintaining Student Engagement"; (7) "Enhancing Innovation and Promoting Collegial Sharing: A Reciprocal Relationship"; (8) "Integrating Technology into the Curriculum: An Exemplary Unit of Practice"; (9) "Creating an Alternative Context for Teacher Learning"; (10) "Back to the Real World: Opportunities and Obstacles in Staff Development"; and (11) "Technology: One Tool Among Many." A methodological appendix and index are also included. (Contains 127 references.) (Author/SWC)