Download or read book Teacher Agency Professional Development and School Improvement written by Judy Durrant and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-11-21 with total page 146 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Highlighting the role of teachers in school change, Teacher Agency, Professional Development and School Improvement explores the important related issues of professional identity, teacher self-efficacy, leadership and autonomy in the context of contested improvement agendas. Providing analytical frameworks and practical models, this book: Offers examples of projects, programmes and narratives to illustrate the role of teachers in school change Invites readers to reconceptualise professional development and re-imagine school improvement Focuses on enabling teacher agency as the foundation for improvement Emphasises the importance of human agency to influence environments, lives and learning Provides strategies for improvement with integrity amidst powerful accountability requirements and external forces for change. At the heart of this book is a fresh perspective on schooling, in which teacher agency is considered a fundamental dimension of professional development and key to school improvement. This raises necessary and challenging questions about purposes and processes in education. With practical ideas and strategies that can be used to inform and evaluate practice and policy, Teacher Agency, Professional Development and School Improvement is essential reading for headteachers and teachers wishing to lead changes to improve their school and for teacher educators who support them.
Download or read book Teacher Agency written by Mark Priestley and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2015-10-22 with total page 201 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recent worldwide education policy has reinvented teachers as agents of change and professional developers of the school curriculum. Academic literature has analyzed changes in how teacher professionalism is conceived in policy and in practice but Teacher Agency provides a fresh perspective on this issue, drawing upon an ecological theory of agency. Using this model for understanding agency, Mark Priestley, Gert Biesta and Sarah Robinson explore empirical findings from the 'Teacher Agency and Curriculum Change' project, funded by the UK-based Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). Drawing together this research with the authors' international experiences and perspectives, Teacher Agency addresses theoretical and practical issues of international significance. The authors illustrate how teacher agency should be understood not only in terms of individual capacity of teachers, but also in respect of the cultures and structures of schooling.
Download or read book Professional Development for School Improvement written by Stephen P. Gordon and published by Allyn & Bacon. This book was released on 2004 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book integrates knowledge from professional development and school improvement to describe frameworks that can increase the capacity of individuals, teams, and organizations to grow and develop. The text argues that both professional development and school improvement should have as their primary purpose the improvement of teaching and learning. Eleven frameworks for professional development are presented, along with strategies for integrating multiple frameworks in comprehensive programs. School leader development is addressed as a prerequisite for professional and school development.
Download or read book The Impact of Improvement Science Professional Development on Teacher Agency written by Daisy Sharrock and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page 124 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The educational field is riddled with ineffective top-down reform initiatives that have failed to address disparities in student learning outcomes for disadvantaged students. Over the past century, three successive waves of educational reform have situated decision-making power at the state and federal level, far away from the classroom where teaching and learning occurs. Reform efforts are often poorly funded and under resourced, leaving teachers frustrated and disengaged. There is a need for bottom-up educational reform that leverages teacher inquiry, promotes teacher collaboration, and supports teachers in building a robust pedagogical knowledge base. Improvement science, with its focus on small, iterative, inquiry cycles, networked learning, and evidence-based decision-making, is a promising bottom-up reform strategy that addresses these needs. This study utilized a mixed method approach to understand how teachers engaged with the tools and methods of improvement science by exploring: (1) How do teachers use improvement science tools and methods? (2) What structures support teachers in engaging in improvement work? And, (3) In what ways do improvement science tools and methods impact teacher agency? In this study teacher agency was conceptualized as teachers' sense of belonging to an improvement community - I am a member of a community that believes it can learn and improve, teachers' confidence that they can meet the learning needs of their students - I believe I have the skills and tools I need to meet the learning needs of my students, and teachers' perceived value of professional development support, - the improvement science tools and methods I'm learning are valuable to me now and in the future. The study found that engaging in improvement science professional development increased teachers' sense of agency along all three dimensions. Teachers reported an increased sense of belonging to an improvement community, an increased belief that they could meet the learning needs of all their students, and that learning about improvement science tools and methods was useful to them now and in the future. The study also determined four key structures that supported teachers as they engaged in learning and using the tools of improvement science, and two challenges that bear further investigation. Administrator support, regular meeting times, enlisting teachers as co-facilitators, and protocols to scaffold using improvement science tools, all contributed to teachers developing an improvement culture at their school site. Challenges teachers experienced during the study included deciding what data to collect to determine if a change idea was leading to improvement and using data to inform iterative cycles of inquiry during Plan Do Study Act cycles. The findings of this study suggest that the tools and methods of improvement science learned through professional development have a positive impact on teachers' sense of agency and the development of a school improvement culture. Considerations for adopting an improvement science professional development framework are also discussed.
Download or read book Developing Assessment Capable Visible Learners Grades K 12 written by Nancy Frey and published by Corwin Press. This book was released on 2018-01-11 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “When students know how to learn, they are able to become their own teachers.” —Nancy Frey, Douglas Fisher, and John Hattie Imagine students who describe their learning in these terms: “I know where I’m going, I have the tools I need for the journey, and I monitor my own progress.” Now imagine the extraordinary difference this type of ownership makes in their progress over the course of a school year. This illuminating book shows how to make this scenario an everyday reality. With its foundation in principles introduced in the authors’ bestselling Visible Learning for Literacy, this resource delves more deeply into the critical component of self-assessment, revealing the most effective types of assessment and how each can motivate students to higher levels of achievement.
Download or read book Teachers Caught in the Action written by Ann Lieberman and published by Teachers College Press. This book was released on 2001-04-27 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Because what we do in staff development can best be understood in terms of Contexts, Strategies, and Structures, the remainder of the book features distinguished educators who write from their own unique experiential and theoretical stances. Jacqueline Ancess describes how teachers in New York City secondary schools increase their own learning while improving student outcomes • Milbrey W. McLaughlin and Joel Zarrow demonstrate how teachers learn to use data to improve their practice and meet educational standards • Lynne Miller presents a case study of a long-lived school, university partnership • Beverly Falk recounts stories of teachers working together to develop performance assessments, to understand their student’s learning, to re-think their curriculum, and much more • Laura Stokes analyzes a school that successfully uses inquiry groups. There are further contributions (including some from novice teachers) by Anna Richert Ershler, Ann Lieberman, Diane Wood, Sarah Warshauer Freedman, and Joseph P. McDonald. These powerful exemplars from practice provide a much-needed overview of what matters and what really works in professional development today.
Download or read book Teacher Agency in the Process of State Mandated Reform written by Kyle C. Ruggles and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 708 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Under No Child Left Behind (NCLB), federally funded schools and Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) that do not meet Adequate Yearly Progress (A YP) criteria for two consecutive years are designated Program Improvement (PI), mandating participation in school reform interventions. In February 2008, the California Department of Education (CDE) released a corrective action plan mandate requiring all LEAs, or school districts in Year 3 of PI to participate in intensive, moderate, light, or other levels of technical support that includes participation in the District Assistance and Intervention Team (DAIT) process. The DAIT process brings outside consultants and district office administrators into schools and classrooms for regular walkthroughs and assessments of improvement plan implementation. Yet little is known about how these state mandates influence teachers' instructional practices and decision-making power or agency. This study explores teachers' perceptions of the DAIT process and how agency is influenced in an urban fringe pre-kindergarten through grade 8, PI school district in California that volunteered to pilot the DAIT process during the 2006 - 2009 school years. The socio-cultural theory of learning (Gallucci, 2003) and the principal-agent theory (Ferris, 1992) guide the analysis of this embedded and longitudinal multi-case study of three middle schools and the district office within the PI school district. Rich, thick qualitative descriptions from 24 teachers and five district office administrators engaged in state mandated reform emerge from the single-case and cross-case analyses. Teachers perceive the DAIT feedback as vague and lacking in teacher involvement in classroom visitations, which led to teachers viewing the process as superficial. Yet teachers also considered the DAIT process as beneficial in increasing teacher-team reflection and collaboration around a singular, common instructional focus of reading comprehension, which seemed to be positively associated with agency. A variance of teacher agency levels was found to depend upon school context and how teachers perceived themselves while balancing the costs and benefits from DAIT feedback. Findings also reveal that the DAIT process may have compromised teacher agency due to the lack of teacher participation and involvement in the development of the process, potentially eroding teachers' sense of professionalism.
Download or read book Why Can t We Get It Right written by Marsha Speck and published by Corwin Press. This book was released on 2005-02-01 with total page 185 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In Why Can′t We Get It Right? Second Edition, Marsha Speck and Caroll Knipe provide a thorough overview of what is known about the nature of professional development that produces high levels of learning and performance for teachers and their students. They admirably achieve their goal of showing how well-designed professional development with a clear focus on improved student learning can make a difference in teaching and student success." —From the Foreword by Dennis Sparks, Executive Director National Staff Development Council How can we use professional development to provide the best teaching and learning opportunities for all students? To increase student achievement and prepare all students to meet standards, educators must be well prepared. Teachers who know their content and strategies can open a virtual toolbox and take out what they need to help all students become successful. This thoroughly revised and updated edition of Why Can′t We Get It Right? explains how educational leaders can design, deliver, and evaluate collaborative standards-based professional development. In this unique and indispensable guide, Marsha Speck and Caroll Knipe provide professional development designs, challenging teachers to make a difference for students and resulting in dramatically improved schools. This excellent resource contains: Essential questions about high-quality professional development Information on creating the culture for a learning community Conditions and processes for professional development Suggestions on designing your own model Tools for evaluating and rethinking professional development and learning Strategies for deepening a leader′s impact on a standards-based system If we are to improve learning and achievement in our schools, we must also nourish the growth of educators and foster a learner-centered environment!
Download or read book Leadership and Professional Development in Schools written by John West-Burnham and published by Financial Times Prentice Hall (a Pearson Education Company). This book was released on 1998 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Professional development in education is about to undergo yet another change as the Teacher Training Agency sets up its framework of national standards of competency. This book explores a range of issues in professional development.
Download or read book Handbook of Professional Development in Education written by Linda E. Martin and published by Guilford Publications. This book was released on 2015-10-13 with total page 593 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This comprehensive handbook synthesizes the best current knowledge on teacher professional development (PD) and addresses practical issues in implementation. Leading authorities describe innovative practices that are being used in schools, emphasizing the value of PD that is instructive, reflective, active, collaborative, and substantive. Strategies for creating, measuring, and sustaining successful programs are presented. The book explores the relationship of PD to adult learning theory, school leadership, district and state policy, the growth of professional learning communities, and the Common Core State Standards. Each chapter concludes with thought-provoking discussion questions. The appendix provides eight illuminating case studies of PD initiatives in diverse schools.
Download or read book Professional Development written by Sally J. Zepeda and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-10-02 with total page 333 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This top-selling book will serve as the compass and road map to your school’s professional development journey. A comprehensive and authoritative resource you will go to again and again, this book helps guide principals, directors of professional development, school/district committees, and other leaders in creating an effective professional development program that moves ideas from knowledge to action. Topics include: Learning Communities Job-Embedded Learning Coaching Teacher Study Groups Critical Friends Lesson Study Portfolios And more! Additionally, this book features helpful case studies, useful forms and templates, sample agendas, and other invaluable resources for professional development. The second edition contains the following enhancements: Expanded coverage of job-embedded learning, which is a cost-effective way for administrators to enhance professional development with their staff More information on the theoretical grounding of professional development with applications that can be readily adapted for use in schools Updated references and figures to reflect newly published literature on the topics covered User-friendly tabs, so you can find and return to your favorite sections time after time
Download or read book Managing Professional Development in Schools written by Sonia Blandford and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2012-11-12 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The importance of professional development for teachers cannot be overstated. In recent years there has been much debate on how to raise standards in schools and it is now recognised by theorists, policy-makers and practitioners that the professional development of teachers is an important factor in this context. For professional development co-ordinators and senior management, knowledge and understanding of the nature of professional development roles and human resource management theories will provide a framework for practice. This book includes chapters on: *managing professional development in a human resources context *government policy *initial teacher training *the school development plan *appraisal *middle management *leadership skills. It will be of interest to co-ordinators of professional development in schools and across local education authorities, and to anyone who is part of a school's senior management team.
Download or read book Teacher Professional Development for Improving Quality of Teaching written by Bert Creemers and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-11-05 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book makes a major contribution to knowledge and theory by drawing implications of teacher effectiveness research for the field of teacher training and professional development. The first part of the book provides a critical review of research on teacher training and professional development and illustrates the limitations of the main approaches to teacher development such as the competence-based and the holistic approach. A dynamic perspective to policy and practice in teacher training and professional development is advocated. The second part of the book provides a critical review of research on teacher effectiveness. The main phases of this field of research are analysed. It is pointed out that teacher factors are presented as being in opposition to one another. An integrated approach in defining quality of teaching is adopted. The importance of taking into account findings of studies investigating differential teacher effectiveness is argued. Another significant limitation of this field of research is that the whole process of searching for teacher effectiveness factor was not able to have a significant impact upon teacher training and professional development. For this reason it is advocated that teacher training and professional development should be focused on how to address grouping of specific teacher factors associated with student learning and on how to help teachers improve their teaching skills by moving from using skills associated with direct teaching only to more advanced skills concerned with new teaching approaches and differentiation of teaching. The book refers to studies conducted in different countries illustrating how the proposed approach can be used by policy and practice in teacher education. Specifically, the book provides evidence supporting the validity of the theoretical framework upon which this approach is based. Moreover, experimental and longitudinal studies supporting the use of this approach for improvement purposes are presented and suggestions for further research utilising and expanding the Dynamic Approach for teacher training and professional development are provided.
Download or read book Designing Professional Development for Teachers of Science and Mathematics written by Susan Loucks-Horsley and published by Corwin Press. This book was released on 2009-11-24 with total page 425 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The classic guide for designing robust science and mathematics professional development programs! This expanded edition of one of the most widely cited resources in the field of professional development for mathematics and science educators demonstrates how to design professional development experiences for teachers that lead to improved student learning. Presenting an updated professional development (PD) planning framework, the third edition of the bestseller reflects recent research on PD design, underscores how beliefs and local factors can influence PD design, illustrates a wide range of PD strategies, and emphasizes the importance of: Continuous program monitoring Combining strategies to address diverse needs Building cultures that sustain learning
Download or read book Designing and Implementing Effective Professional Learning written by John Murray and published by Corwin Press. This book was released on 2013-09-10 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For sustained success, educators must commit to their own lifelong improvement. Commitment to high-quality professional learning is a common aspect of educational systems of the the world’s highest-achieving nations. Despite evidence that effective professional learning can be a powerful lever for school improvement, much of the professional development (PD) that is conducted in the United States has had limited impact on teacher practice... In these pages, John Murray identifies research-based characteristics of effective teacher professional learning, detailing eight strategies for planning and executing professional development programs and evaluating their results. Content includes: The proven "backward" approach to articulating the goals of your PD program Descriptions of innovative and effective designs for professional learning such as Lesson Study and Instructional Rounds Powerful approaches to designing and implementing online PD Packed with templates that make getting started easy, this all-in-one resource will facilitate deep professional learning that truly enhances student achievement. "This book is one that any teacher or administrator who is involved with leading professional learning and continuous improvement—new to the field or with great experience—would find great value in." — Jeff Ronneberg, Superintendent Spring Lake Park Schools, MN "This is a critical resource that should be on every education leader’s bookshelf. You will be challenged to find another book with so much helpful information on so many important professional development strategies that you can get started on immediately to facilitate real change in your school." — John D. Ross, Educational Consultant Pulaski, VA
Download or read book Professional Learning Communities at Work written by Richard DuFour and published by Solution Tree. This book was released on 1998 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Provides specific information on how to transform schools into results-oriented professional learning communities, describing the best practices that have been used by schools nationwide.
Download or read book Leading Managing Continuing Professional Development written by Sara Bubb and published by SAGE. This book was released on 2007-09-25 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Praise for the first edition: ′Peter Earley and Sara Bubb bring together, in a very accessible way, theoretical and practical aspects of CPD and suggest how leadership and management can be applied in this vital area of staff development. This book will help co-ordinators and school leaders to develop their most important resource - the people who work with the children′ - Richard Stainton, Education Journal ′The most obvious target user for the book is the (not rare) person suddenly hoist with the staff development responsibility petard: but, thoughtfully used, most staffrooms will include several people who could benefit from thinking about its contents and putting some of the ideas into practice′ - British Journal Educational Technology ′This book is a welcome and practical guide to the wealth of publications on Continuing Professional Development... [M]akes an excellent contribution to the current and widening debate on the nature of Continuing Professional Development. For School Leadership Teams it is an essential resource and reference for the managing of professional development and learning. It also serves as an excellent practical guide, and CPD coordinators reading this book will find themselves questioning and as a result developing their own practice. The book is written in accessible language using believable case studies to illustrate the wealth of research that has been carried out. The deeply embedded notion among some teachers that professional development consists of the one day course is challenged, and the reader is left in no doubt as to the range of opportunities that exist and need for them to be harnessed in order to ensure school improvement. The book is will surely act as a catalyst for the review and development of CPD in schools′ - Stephen Merrill, Edge Hill College of Higher Education, British Journal In-Service Education ′A practical guide to all aspects of professional development which ought to be in the possession of every professional development coordinator in every primary and secondary school in the land - and their colleagues in leadership teams′ - Tim Brighouse, TES Friday Magazine This new edition of a best-selling book provides an up to date overview of Continuing Professional Development (CPD), combined with a guide to best practice. Changes include: - expanded sections on the professional development of support staff and the wider school workforce (particularly important in the light of workforce remodelling) and the evaluation of CPD - more on making sure that professional development has an impact, and provides good value for money - the common core of skills and knowledge for the children′s workforce, the new standards for qualified teacher status, induction, threshold, excellent teachers and advanced skills teachers as well as those for higher level teaching assistants. Drawing on the latest research, the contents include: - a clear explanation of CPD and latest developments; - practical tips on how to lead and manage CPD for a range of staff in schools - identifying training needs, designing and implementing programmes and evaluating their impact; - detailed guidance on CPD for staff at different stages of their careers. Written in a clear readable style it covers the latest standards and offers examples of current good practice. It is an essential professional reference for all those responsible for leading and managing professional learning in schools (headteachers, deputies, CPD and staff development coordinators) and Local Authorities (LAs). It will also prove invaluable to training providers and universities.
