teacher professional development

Introduction

Teacher professional development (TPD) is a critical component in the ongoing improvement of educational practices and student outcomes. It encompasses various strategies and programs aimed at enhancing teachers' skills, knowledge, and effectiveness in the classroom. This synthesis examines the key insights from multiple research papers on TPD, focusing on the factors that influence its effectiveness, the role of collaboration and leadership, and the impact of educational reforms.

Key Insights

Complexity and Factors Influencing TPD:
- TPD is influenced by a variety of factors including learning, facilitation, collaboration, and the overall school culture. Effective TPD programs consider these complexities to optimize teacher learning and development .
Program Design and Effectiveness:
- The design features of TPD programs, such as duration and intensity, do not necessarily correlate with their effectiveness. Instead, the pedagogies used to facilitate teacher learning and enactment of new ideas are more critical .
Constructivist Approach:
- A constructivist paradigm, which emphasizes the construction of meaning through social interaction, is effective for TPD. This approach highlights the importance of courses, lectures, and the development of metacognitive attitudes among teachers.
Leadership Roles in TPD:
- Expanding leadership roles for experienced teachers can enhance their professional growth and support their subject expertise. Leadership opportunities contribute to teacher development and help embed educational reforms.
Linking Teacher and Student Learning:
- Effective TPD programs link teacher learning to student performance. This approach involves using student performance data to identify areas of need and evaluating TPD through teacher reflection, classroom observation, and ongoing assessment.
Professional Practice Schools:
- Professional practice schools, which integrate school renewal with teacher education reform, provide a promising model for TPD. These schools support the preservice education of teachers, induct them into the profession, and offer ongoing development for in-service teachers.
Sustained and Job-Embedded TPD:
- TPD is most effective when it is an ongoing process embedded in teachers' daily responsibilities. Sustained professional development within communities of practice leads to better outcomes compared to one-time workshops or in-service days.

Conclusion

Teacher professional development is a multifaceted process influenced by various factors including program design, school culture, and leadership opportunities. Effective TPD programs are those that adopt a constructivist approach, link teacher learning to student outcomes, and provide sustained, job-embedded learning opportunities. Professional practice schools and expanded leadership roles for teachers also play a significant role in enhancing TPD. Overall, a comprehensive and well-structured approach to TPD is essential for fostering continuous improvement in teaching practices and educational outcomes.

Teacher professional development

Summary

Introduction

Key Insights

Conclusion

Sources and full results

Teacher professional development in Teaching and Teacher Education over ten years

Teacher professional development research and development show promising effects, but sustainability remains a challenge.

How Does Professional Development Improve Teaching?

Professional development programs' effectiveness depends on their underlying theories of action, not just design features or main ideas, and the pedagogies used to facilitate enactment within teachers' ongoing systems of practice.

Teachers’ professional development: a theoretical review

Teacher professional development is influenced by individual and organizational factors, with teacher cooperation, a positive school culture, and external resource cooperation being key.

Teacher professional leadership in support of teacher professional development

Expanded leadership roles for experienced teachers can enhance their subject expertise and leadership capacity, supporting educational reform implementation.

Professionally Developing as a Teacher Educator

Professional development for teacher educators involves transitioning into the profession, learning about teaching, and conducting research to shape scholarship in teacher education.

Linking Teacher and Student Learning to Improve Professional Development in Systemic Reform.

This paper presents a framework for linking professional development to student and teacher learning, using content standards and student performance to guide development decisions in standards-based reform.

Teachers’ Professional Development in a Climate of Educational Reform

The dominant training-and-coaching model is insufficient for teachers' professional development in educational reform, and subject matter collaboratives and other emerging alternatives offer six principles for assessing professional development policies and practices.

Professional Development and Teacher Learning: Mapping the Terrain

Effective professional development programs positively impact teacher learning, and this paper explores new research directions and strategies for extending our knowledge on this important topic.

Teacher Development in Professional Practice Schools

Professional practice schools can enhance teacher development and school improvement, but must avoid reinforcing the status quo and promoting professional growth.

Professional Development for Language Teachers

Professional development is an ongoing learning process in which teachers engage voluntarily to adjust their teaching to student learning needs, yielding best results when sustained over time in communities of practice and focused on job-embedded responsibilities.

Try another search