Continuing Professional Development Strategies: A Model for the Iranian EFL Teachers’ Success

Abstract

Throughout the past decade, evaluating teachers' success has become a crucial issue due to the increased motivation on teacher accountability. In view of that the purpose of the present study is to determine EFL (English as a foreign language) teachers' success in the Iranian institutional context based on students' perspectives. More specifically, the present study surveyed any significant correlation between teachers' practices of continuing professional development (CPD) strategies and teachers' success. For this purpose, a CPD model was suggested and verified using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), to examine CPD factors contributing to EFL teachers' success. A total of 316 English-major institutional teachers in Iran completed the CPD questionnaire. Besides, about 30% of their students, 828 students, are asked to fill in teachers' success questionnaire, which intended to check students' opinions on how successful they measured their teachers in teaching. Findings specified that practice of CPD strategies had a strong direct predicting power on EFL teachers' success. It was illustrated that "updating" construct strongly affects both "collaborating" and "reflecting." Moreover, "reflecting" moderately influence "collaborating" and "collaborating" intensely affects "decision making." The results, specifically, highlight the fact that one to be a successful teacher in the field of EFL should be a good decision maker in the field too.

Understanding lack of development in early career teachers’ practical knowledge of teaching speaking skills

“…Additional studies (e.g. Tabatabaee-Yazdi et al, 2018) have shown a significant correlation between teachers' personal continuing professional development strategies adopted by teachers and the development of teaching expertise. Research into personal developmental activity undertaken by practitioners (at times with degrees of institutional involvement as noted by Borg, 2018) have included mentoring (e.g.…”

“…In this time, significant progress has been made in better understanding how and when learning takes place; however, much of the research has been conducted in the context of large-scale, formal professional development interventions, whether pre-service or in-service (Borg, 2015). Far less attention has been paid to those language practitioners 'taking charge of their own learning' (Wyatt & Ončevska Ager, 2017, p. 176), where developmental activity is primarily selected or initiated by teachers themselves and teachers' own development strategies play a central role (see, for example, Tabatabaee-Yazdi, Motallebzadeh, Ashraf, & Baghaei, 2018). This paper aims to provide insights into teacher learning in such contexts through a longitudinal study exploring practical knowledge growth in English language practitioners' teaching of speaking skills to migrants.…”

The Power of Continuing Professional Development on EFL Teachers’ Creativity

“…The Institute of Personnel and Development of the United Kingdom defines CPD as a constant keeping up-to-date (updating) of the professional knowledge throughout the entire working life through systematic, informal, or self-directed learning models (Refrigeri, 2018). However, unfortunately, for many teachers, CPD has been passive, one-shot workshops, designed by the administration and imposed on teachers for their implementation (Tabatabaee-Yazdi, Motallebzadeh, Ashraf, & Baghaei, 2018). Therefore, training aspects are instrumental in shaping the personality of a teacher.…”

Further Teacher Training As A National System Component Of Professional Teacher Development

“…This https: //doi.org/10.15405/epsbs.2020.01.5 Corresponding Author: Liliya V. Goryunova Selection and peer-review under responsibility of the Organizing Committee of the conference eISSN: 37 process is based on the practicality oriented principle, which enables establishing conditions for constants teachers' development (Bourke, Lidstone, & Ryan, 2013). Another important direction in studies aimed at the search of more efficient system in further teacher training is creating various tools of evaluation of teachers success, designing a motivational system for teachers to develop professionally and constantly (Tabatabaee-Yazdi, Motallebzadeh, Ashraf, & Baghaei, 2018). Most activities in teachers' professional development in modern conditions of further training have tutoring technologies and portfolio as a basis.…”