A concern following school counselors participation in professional training is whether or not they are able to implement information learned. One such professional training that school counselors attend is Adventure Based Counseling (ABC). ABC groups are effective for addressing a myriad of concerns with young people. ABC groups address problem-solving skills, self-esteem, responsibility, goal setting, cooperation, and interpersonal skills. Although many school counselors have participated in ABC training, there is a lack of research that supports whether they are actually utilizing these techniques with their students. Additionally, current research does not provide information as to how training programs and school dynamics may be improved to allow for increased utilization of ABC with students; therefore, the purpose of this study is to understand the barriers that inhibit and the factors that support school counselors' ability to implement information learned from Professional Trainings, with a focus on ABC training. This qualitative study took a phenomenological approach, with a constructivist philosophical stance. Data sources included interviews with school counselors, which provided descriptions of their Professional and ABC training experiences and reasons for either using or not using Professional and ABC activities. The themes included What Professional and ABC training sessions school counselors attended and What they are implementing that they learned from these sessions. In addition, school counselors' various reactions to Professional and ABC training, such as Choice, Type of Delivery, Presenter Qualities, Time and Applicability were delineated. Results also included information pertaining to the Impact and Logistics of using information learned at Professional and ABC trainings. The results of this study may have important implications for school counselors, counselor educators, and administrators related to the implementation of skills learned from Professional and ABC training experiences. Implications for future research and limitations of this study are discussed.

Critical Friends Groups (CFGs) were established in 1995 as a form of professional development for teachers. The current study employed the use of video as a medium for documenting the effects of CFG participation on teaching practices. This allowed links to be drawn between CFG participation and teaching practice, a critical gap in the literature. This qualitative case study drew upon Knowles’s Adult Learning Theory to help provide a framework for thinking about Critical Friends Groups and analyzing the findings. The 9 participants in this study included 1 third grade Early Intervention Program teacher and 8 CFG members from an urban elementary school. Multiple data sources were analyzed including classroom teaching practice videos, focal teacher's and CFG members’ written reflections, CFG meeting verbatim transcriptions, focal teacher and CFG member interviews, and researcher memos. Data analysis was iterative and axial coding led to a code book depicting the final 6 key themes: change in teacher attitude toward the use of video, shared teaching practice, pedagogical-driven conversations, change in pupil engagement, captured classroom practice and promotion of teacher reflection. Barriers to the use of video in a CFG included logistics and teacher resistance. The researcher used data triangulation, member-checking and an audit trail to assure the trustworthiness of the study. Teachers reported that they learned from watching one another’s practices and from discussing each other’s ideas. The use of video in this study appeared to offer a viable innovation in an already prevalent model of professional development, CFGs. Video appeared to have much potential at the in-service level as it helped to cultivate knowledge, skills, and attitudes among teachers.

An alarming trend of student non-compliance with reading assignments in secondary and post-secondary environments is causing concern in many areas, including college readiness. Public school teachers and university faculty alike are responsible for the literacy levels of graduating students; however, many educators are not implementing the adequate literacy supports within their content area courses. This project used current research on best practice in literacy instruction, as well as the Characteristics of Highly Effective Teaching and Learning to create the Readers Matter™ evaluative process in which faculty members self-select to be assessed regarding the current levels of student literacy support. After scoring the assessment, evaluators are then able to provide individualized professional development targeting areas of weakness made evident by the Readers Matter™ rubric. The current study evaluated five university instructors at a midsized university in the south-central United States. The results of this preliminary development research identified the data collection procedures that were beneficial and ultimately informative in the evaluation process and enabled developers to make informed decisions regarding individualized professional development.

The aim of this study was to investigate science teachers&rsquo / perceptions about the online teacher professional development (oTPD) program. The research study included two consecutive steps. The first step was related to the design of the oTPD program. With the help of related literature, examples of oTPD programs and expert opinions, an oTPD program was designed. In the second step, ten of the alumni of Bilkent University Graduate School of Education Biology Teacher Education Program participated in a ten week oTPD program. The program consisted of instructional activities such as reading case studies, self reflection, forum discussions, watching videos of a sample lesson, hands-on activity and WebQuest. The study was mainly a qualitative study. The case was a professional development program for in-service science teachers that was offered online via learning management systems (LMS). The data were collected through pre- and post- interviews, online questionnaire, observations and documentation that include weekly assignments, forum discussions, e-mail correspondence, weekly e-journals, detailed notes of phone calls and the researcher&rsquo / s journal. The data were analyzed according to qualitative data analysis techniques with the assistance of Weft QDA software. Data gathered from the participants demonstrated that they were not satisfied with professional development programs that they got before this oTPD program because of the problems about content, process and organization connected with them. They preferred oTPD program, because of its flexibility and versatility, sharing information among colleagues from different parts of the country, and self-paced learning. Some obstacles were also identified, such as technical problems, not having face-to-face sessions and the timing of the program.

The objective of this thesis is to develop a theoretical understanding of team-based knowledge sharing and creation in professional cyber-communities. In order to provide contextual richness in environmental, information technology, project, organizational, group, and individual contexts, we apply the grounded theory approach to discover essential factors affecting team-based knowledge sharing and creation across organizational boundaries. Moreover, the thesis summarizes five types of processes of team-based knowledge sharing and creation in professional cyber-communities, defined by the sequence of causal conditions, action/interactional strategies, and consequences, and concludes nine main propositions that can be tested empirically in the future research. The research results will support sustained development of professional cyber-communities and be a basis for further studies of team-based knowledge sharing and creation across organizational boundaries.

Based on activity competency model (ACM), this study investigated the perceived importance of professional activities and required knowledge/skills/abilities of three levels of information systems (IS) managers from two sectors of industries. Our findings indicate that the importance of IS managerial activities varies significantly for different levels of management, but does not vary significantly for different industries. The results of this study have implications for management development, training, and IS manager career planning. They can also serve as guideline for recruiting the proper IS managers.

The aims of this study were to understand current status of professional development schools in the state of Maryland, USA. The definition, theoretical framework and theories of PDS were discussed firstly. Then, the researcher went on analyzing the PDSs of Towson university and collaborative elementary schools in Maryland, in order to find out the collaborative model and their implementation. There were five purposes in this study. The first purpose was to understand the definition of PDS. Secondly, the theoretical framework was discussed. Thirdly, the theories of PDS were explained and explored. The forth purpose was to analyze the implementation in the PDSs of Towson University and the collaborative elementary schools in Maryland. Finally, to synthesize the results of this study, the researcher suggests some strategies in the establishment of partnership between teacher education universities and elementary schools. For these purposes, the author made use of methods of document analysis and case study to discuss teacher education endeavors in Towson University, teacher¡¦s professional development and organizational change in schools withibn collaborative elementary schools, in order to understand the current status of the PDSs in Towson University and the collaborative elementary schools. According to the results, the following conclusions have been concluded: 1. Action research and inquiry into practicum should be highlighted in the PDSs, in order to improve the achievement of students from both sides. 2. Due to different context in the PDSs, diversified measures sould be provided. 3. Integration of teacher education, teacher¡¦s professional development, research and inquiry did improve the learning achievement of students. 4. Teachers in PDSs can promote themselves in professional development. 5. Teachers in PDSs need to be evaluated regularly in order to maintain their professional quality. 6. Whole member of university, school, family or community are supposed to participate in the improvement of students¡¦ achievement. Based upon the above conclusions, several suggestions have been raised by the researcher to play a solid basis for the country¡¦s teacher education and to upgrade the quality of future teachers.

<p>The purpose of this study is to investigate ethical dilemmas and ethical difficulties experienced by psychologists in Sweden and South Africa. The study is a replication of previous studies conducted by Colnerud (1997) and Slack and Wassenaar (1999). A sample of 295 psychologists in Sweden and 312 psychologists in South Africa were asked to describe situations that they identified as ethically difficult. 53 psychologists in Sweden described 61 incidents and 21 psychologists in South Africa described 24 situations. This corresponds to a response rate of 20% in Sweden and 8% in South Africa. The reported dilemmas were categorized according to a qualitative content analysis developed by Pope and Vetter (1992). The contribution of this study is that the results confirm that confidentiality is a prominent ethical dilemma for psychologists in Sweden and South Africa. This finding is consistent with findings in comprehensive international research. Furthermore, the results indicate that psychologists, especially in Sweden, experience ethical problems due to weakened legitimacy when conducting assessments. The results are discussed taking into consideration the different contexts in which psychologists work, the application of different ethics codes and different levels of ethical awareness. The weaknesses of the study and the method used are also discussed.</p>

Thesis (M. Soc. Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1987.

Lesson study professional development, LSPD, is a technique during which teachers work collaboratively to create, implement, revise, and reflect on a specific lesson (Fernandez, 2002). This research proposed that using LSPD on integrating technology into teaching would provide teachers a collaborative and safe way to explore technology use in their classrooms. Technology adoption is not a single occurrence, but a process that takes time (Fullan, 2007; Roger, 2003). Unlike traditional forms of training, LSPD provides sustained support and a way to test technologies in low stakes situations through collaboration and observation. Both of these aspects, experimentation and observation, are important in the adoption of technology (Rogers, 2003). This study was aimed at understanding how teachers in a technology-infused LSPD change their beliefs and practices over time. Research questions included the following: a) how would teachers in a technology-infused LSPD develop their attitudes toward technology and in their technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK)?, b) how would teachers in a technology-infused LSPD change their lesson planning and teaching behaviors?, and c) would certain features of the group play a role in the teachers’ development? To address these questions, the study took qualitative approach to understanding teachers’ experiences during the lesson study process. Using interview transcripts, lesson plans, group meeting transcripts, and field notes, group cases were compiled to examine the experiences of the groups. Although three groups of teachers were followed during the semester, only one team was able to plan, teach, and re-teach a lesson. The LSPD process was disrupted by several factors independent of the lesson study model and more related to mandated testing and its results at the individual school level. The focus of the study shifted to describing the factors that contributed to and interfered with the carefully planned professional development model. The findings in this study can help us better understand the impact and intricacies of LSPD. / text