With numerous opportunities for professional development, teachers are inundated with a variety of workshop styles to choose from. In the development of the Life Through Time workshop, we have made every attempt to consider recent research that outlines the most effective methodologies in professional development implementation including consideration of existing conceptions, teacher motivation, and highly reflective engagement. The intention of this long-term professional development is to motivate teachers to implement changes in the delivery of content related to evolution in the science classroom. After reviewing the strategies implemented in this professional development opportunity, practices that were used can be extended to future teacher training programs. / text

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The advent of the internet has changed the mode of delivery for many courses in the tertiary sector and courses are now offered in an online learning environment with variable success. There has been a range of studies concerning online learning however there is little research about the role of information technologies in promoting professional learning for teaching practitioners. Initially courses were posted online using the resources from a face-to-face course for the course members to download. Now the capabilities of the internet allow for a range of technologies to be used to enhance the learning in an online learning environment. Educational practitioners undertake professional development to either develop their skills and knowledge to improve student learning in their classrooms or for promotional reasons. Educational practitioners want to be inspired by their teachers when undertaking professional development. Some researchers point to the relationship between the teacher and the course members as being an important factor in the success of a course. As many professional development courses are being delivered in an online learning environment the course members never meet the teacher and the teacher needs to develop strategies to allow these relationships to develop. The aim of this study was to explore the perceptions of educational practitioners who are undertaking an online professional development course. It sought to understand the teaching practitioners’ expectations of the teacher in the online environment. A range of strategies was used to collect the data including questionnaires, data gained from the online learning environment, email correspondence and semi-structured interviews. The findings from this study identify the importance of the teacher designing an online learning environment to enhance learning, by having tasks and assignments related to the course members’ own practice, and by having a range of interactions that provide reflection opportunities to enhance thinking and learning. Other important findings included the importance of the teacher taking an active role in the interactions. .

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This research begins with an argument for the implementation of a professional development model that would empower mathematics teachers to make changes to their mathematical teaching practices. As this argument evolves so does the need for further investigation into what key components are necessary for effective professional development. What emerges from this investigation is the discovery of a Japanese professional development model known as Lesson Study. This research includes a case study that allows for an exploration of mathematics teachers as they, using the Japanese Lesson Study process, collaboratively research, implement, and reflected upon how this alternative professional development model influences changes in their mathematical teaching practices. The three mathematics teachers in this case study provide evidence and support for how Lesson Study can be used as an effective professional development model while providing the opportunity for teachers to be the professionals in their professional development.

Ongoing teacher professional development is an essential part of the wellbeing of the schooling system and successful outcomes for students. In the past, teacher professional development has been used to describe an often �top-down� method of training to meet systemic needs while taking little account of teacher's individual needs. This approach often conceptualises the teacher's life as a dichotomy with the personal and the private separated and unrelated. In contrast, teacher professional development in this study is conceptualised as a journey that includes encouraging and discouraging turns. The journey is explored through the experiences of two primary and two secondary drama educators using Hargreaves and Fullan's (1992) organisers: teacher development as knowledge and skill development; teacher development as self understanding and teacher development as ecological change. The study focussed specifically on teachers of drama. Of the four educators two were beginning teachers, one primary and one secondary and two were experienced teachers, one primary and one secondary. The teachers were interviewed over twelve months. Narrative vignettes were developed from the interviews. As the context for these teacher journeys was pivotal, the influences on the teaching of drama in New South Wales were investigated. This included an exploration of the major issues that have influenced the development of drama education both internationally and in Australia. The concluding reflections from this study suggest that there is strong interaction between teachers' personal and professional lives. Teachers' personal circumstances, family histories and schooling backgrounds all have an important influence on their work as teachers. Significantly, issues related to drama education's history and current context reflected these teachers' classroom realities. The teachers argue that they understand their professional development needs best and should have influence and ownership of their own professional development experiences. They found aspects of their tertiary training and teacher induction unsatisfactory. The two beginning teachers in this study struggled to survive the difficulties of their first year and both seriously considered leaving teaching. The teachers describe self understanding through distinct phases of development that are made unique by each teacher's personality and context. The teachers saw subject identity and pedagogy as important to their professional identity. They report that times of crisis often lead to positive changes in their professional development journeys. The ecology for these teachers was made up of several complex issues that are resistant to change and there were a number of impediments reported by the teachers that arise from their teaching ecologies. Two of the teachers have used a change of context to improve their satisfaction and confidence levels. Two teachers described beneficial experiences with supervisors in the school setting. If beneficial ecological change is to occur, education systems must attend to the needs of teachers and provide opportunities to teach unimpeded by systemic obstacles. The study calls for changes in professional development and for the recognition of the multilayered nature of the teachers' journey. The study calls for a reconceptualisation of teacher professional development that recognises each teacher's ecology and self understanding. The renewed impetus for arts education will only be successful if the complexity of the teachers' journey is recognised and systemic obstacles are removed.

The main purpose of the study was to produce a model that will elucidate the relationships among a number of variables associated with employees' participation in activities of continuing professional development (CPD). The study specifically aimed to explore public librarians' motivation for participation in CPD and to investigate the interest generated by various topics and types of CPD. A subsidiary purpose was to examine work environment factors and management policies and practices impinging on public librarians' CPD. The model hypothesised that perceptions about the applicability of new skills and motivational orientations influenced employees' updating behaviour through the mediation of educational interest. The study used two research methodologies: a survey of public librarians, by means of questionnaires; and semi-structured interviews with 22 library officials and policy-makers. A response rate of 73 percent yielded 303 valid questionnaires. Data were analysed through various statistical and qualitative analyses. In addition, path analysis was used to examine two causal models of participation in CPD activities. The results suggested that the perception of the applicability of new skills was significantly correlated to all motivational factors and with most educational interest factors, particularly to IT skills. Most deterrent factors were negatively correlated with educational factors, indicating that the perception of deterrents stifled the interest in virtually every topic. The study revealed a serious mismatch between librarians' motivations and perceptions of deterrents to participation in CPD activities, on the one hand, and library directors' opinions regarding librarians' motivations and constraints, on the other. Several recommendations are made to advance employees' professional development. Ways were suggested to strengthen the collaboration between state and local initiatives that could encourage librarians to engage in lifelong, planned, professional development.

Three projects are represented in this portfolio. Two involve practical work in the National Health Service and the higher education sector and one is a conceptual study of reflection in learning and professional development. All of the projects had the aim of developing clarity and effectiveness in particular areas of education - professional development, training, teaching and learning. The NHS project on professional development in health promotion (UK Professional Development Project in Health Promotion) aimed to improve the ability of those in non-specialist health promotion posts (e.g. nurses and teachers) to educate for health. Contributions of the work towards knowledge are in its concerns for ensuring that short courses have a significant impact on participants particularly through the use of an outcomes-based approach and planned reflective activities. The second project concerned the implementation of a credit framework in Welsh higher education. The development of a credit framework increases access to and flexibility within higher education by providing a generally accepted currency for learning. The main contributions of this work are in the development of specifications for this currency - guidance for writing learning outcomes and level descriptors. Reflection plays an important role in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of learning and the development of reflective capacities is central to the level of learning expected of graduates. The third project is a conceptual investigation of reflection, its interpretation in theoretical, professional and educational contexts and a consideration of how reflection is related to deep and effective learning. This involves the development of a new model of learning and the representation of learning both to elucidate reflection and to find better ways of using it to support the quality of learning at higher levels. There is substantial section on practical activities that encourage reflection in learning, including journal writing. While there are various interests in reflection, there have been few attempts to synthesise the ideas emanating from different disciplines and to relate them to current thinking about learning. The portfolio itself consists of the unpublished papers of the first two projects and an overview document that accompanies the portfolio describes the portfolio in the context of their contribution towards purpose, clarity and effectiveness in training, teaching and learning.

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The study in this thesis is a longitudinal case study of a group of overseas teachers involved in research as part of an in-service B.Ed. (Honours) degree in TEFL. It addresses the process of development as teacher-researchers of the group during the course. In terms of outcomes it seeks to investigate the contribution, as perceived by the participants, of involvement in research to their professional development, and the impact of this experienceo n their ways of conceiving of teacher-researcha nd of themselves as reflective, enquiring practitioners. The findings of the study suggest that the adoption of a multi-stranded approach to involvement in research with in-service teachers may be desirable to the extent that it may foster the development of teachers as reflective practitioners, while also providing for their development at an academic level. However, the study also suggests that the particular type of approach to involvement in research undertaken by this group can be problematic, given the difficulties in reconciling the on-going professional development perspective with the certification element. The efforts to include a teacher-researche lement in degreec oursesf or teachersi s not unique to this course, and the conflict between the two aims may be relatively common. The end result is that the approach may require from participants a lot of effort to create a balance between their pedagogical expectations from the course and the criteria of academic certification. The study also provides some empirically-based analytical frameworks which may be of value in attempting to understand what happens when teachers encounter research.