Making Practice Public: Teacher Learning in the 21st Century

Lieberman, Ann; Mace, Desiree Pointer

doi:10.1177/0022487109347319

Cited by 228 publications

(190 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…The dichotomy between theory and practice is a well-documented complaint within the educational community (Given, 2010;Lieberman & Mace, 2010;Little, 1993;Riveros, Newton & Burgess, 2012;Servage, 2008;Wood, 2007). Perhaps the prevalence of disconnect between theory and what occurs in the classroom is notably increasing is because there is a lack of focus on critical reflection for teachers.…”

Section: Critical Reflectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Professional Learning and Adult Learning Theory: A Connection

Kelly¹

2017

NWJTE

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__________________________________________________________________________ This study documents and interprets teachers' experience in a two-year professional development provincial initiative called Changing Results for Young Readers in western Canada. The interviews of a group of teachers in a rural school district were examined in order to understand how the participants' learning experiences were connected to adult learning theory. Themes emerged in teachers' changes of assumptions, expectations, values and beliefs about their identity as a teacher. These findings have implications for understanding how professional development opportunities can be structured and facilitated to support the complex role of a teacher. Keywords: Adult Learning, Professional Learning, Teacher Development ____________________________________________________________________________ IntroductionProfessional development for teachers in British Columbia (and within Canada) has traditionally revolved around a facilitated session by an expert in a specific field. With continual research (Hargreaves & Fullan, 2012;Mitchell & Sackney, 2011), the educational community is beginning to realize a change of focus is needed in order to fully utilize our greatest assets within our schools -our teachers. Changing Results for Young Readers is a provincial initiative that relies on a framework of continual professional development for teachers to meet the needs of their early readers who are struggling with the formation of their reading processing system (Pinnell & Fountas, 2009). The teachers participate in collaborative inquiry and choose a research question they will focus on throughout a year-long process, or perhaps longer. The professional learning involves knowledge for practice, knowledge in practice, knowledge of practice and knowledge of self (Cochran-Smith & Lyle, 2001).The framework of Changing Results for Young Readers (CR4YR) is developed after a professional learning community (PLC) model which has gained popularity recently and has impact on teaching practice (Vescio, Ross & Adams, 2008). Much has been written about PLCs (Hargreaves & Fullan, 2012;Hord, Roussin & Sommers, 2010;Mitchell & Sackney, 2009a and their effectiveness (Vescio et al, 2008). However, there has been little research conducted on the connection between PLCs and the type of learning teachers are experiencing through their participation in this model of professional learning. I focus on term transformative learning, which is connected to adult learning theory (Mezirow, 2000), in order to provide a framework for a specific kind of learning educators may experience in a professional learning Professional Learning and Adult Learning Theory: A Connection community. In this study, I examine research findings on teachers' learning in professional learning communities to answer the following questions:• In what ways do teachers experience transformative learning as a result of participation in a PLC? • What aspects of PLCs enhanced the likelihood of transformative chang...

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Section: Critical Reflectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Professional Learning and Adult Learning Theory: A Connection

Kelly¹

2017

NWJTE

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“…Knowledge is created within the networks (earl & Katz, 2007). This is in contrast with the more traditional form of PD that requires a more passive role, in which the teacher only has to absorb knowledge (Lieberman & Pointer Mace, 2010). Therefore, we explored whether teachers preferred passive forms of PD over active (item 6; see Table 3).…”

Section: Aspects Related To Forms Of Pdmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…That is, professionals are in need of 'training' or 'developing' through knowledge being 'delivered' to them in courses". Teachers are assumed to absorb information presented to them, even though they often perceive PD to be fragmented, disconnected and irrelevant to the real problems of their classroom practice (Lieberman & Pointer Mace, 2010). It is widely recognised that the current mode of providing PD needs a radical change (Lieberman & Pointer Mace, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Teachers are assumed to absorb information presented to them, even though they often perceive PD to be fragmented, disconnected and irrelevant to the real problems of their classroom practice (Lieberman & Pointer Mace, 2010). It is widely recognised that the current mode of providing PD needs a radical change (Lieberman & Pointer Mace, 2010). The traditional workshops are becoming less effective in our changing, busy society (Hunzicker, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Social learning as approach for teacher professional development; how well does it suit them?

Meijs

Prinsen

Laat

2016

Educational Media International

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Learning from others has been reported as a productive approach for teacher Professional Development (PD) and is seen as a valuable addition to formal PD. Specific insights into whether social learning suits teachers is still lacking. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to develop and apply an instrument to assess social learning mindedness of teachers. A questionnaire called the "Quiz: Social learning, how does it suit me?" was developed and its reliability and factor structure were explored. A total of 110 teachers, ranging from primary school to pre-university education filled out the Quiz. Results indicated that the teachers were already quite social learning minded; they were positively oriented towards social learning. Social learning mindedness encompassed five underlying factors including counteracting social-learning preferences, teachers' opinions and preferences related to learning from colleagues/ others, their orientation towards collaboration in new approaches to PD, an autonomy factor, and a more general attitude towards knowledge dissemination. Mostly, teachers like to explain and share their knowledge, like to collaborate with others to enhance their knowledge and ask others for advice if they have a problem. At the same time, they want some control over their PD (e.g. the outcomes). The teachers in this sample did not show much preferences that would counteract social learning, leading to the conclusion that social learning suits teachers as a form of PD. The Quiz, which is accessible online (in Dutch), is a useful tool for teachers to quickly get acquainted with social learning.

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“…Traditionally, most teachers carry out their work individually, in their own classroom settings (Doppenberg et al, 2012). This isolated position can harm their continuous learning and development (Lieberman & Pointer-Mace, 2010). In response to this situation, teachers can join forces to create teacher groups.…”

Section: Social Learning In Teacher Groupsmentioning

confidence: 99%

What’s in a name: dimensions of social learning in teacher groups

Vrieling

Beemt

Laat

2015

Teachers and Teaching

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Induced by a literature review, this paper presents a framework of dimensions and indicators highlighting the underpinning aspects and values of social learning within teacher groups. Notions of social networks, communities of practice and learning teams were taken as the main perspectives to influence this social learning framework. The review exercise resulted in four dimensions: (1) practice, (2) domain and value creation, (3) collective identity and (4) organization. The indicators corresponding to these dimensions serve as the foundation for understanding social learning in practice. The framework of dimensions and indicators can be of assistance for researchers as well as teacher groups that aim to assess their views on social learning and analyse whether these views fit the learning goals of the group, or that adjustments are required. In this way, learning processes within groups of teachers can be improved.

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Making Practice Public: Teacher Learning in the 21st Century

Cited by 228 publications

References 17 publications

Professional Learning and Adult Learning Theory: A Connection

Professional Learning and Adult Learning Theory: A Connection

Social learning as approach for teacher professional development; how well does it suit them?

What’s in a name: dimensions of social learning in teacher groups

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