Rural Teachers\u27 Perceptions of Collaboration and Professional Growth in Mathematics

Teachers are a focal point in rural communities, building educational and cultural connections between the families and schools they serve on a daily basis. At the same time, geography and other constraints can impact rural teachers’ access to professional development and other resources. This mixed methods exploratory study focuses on a two-year professional learning program that supported rural teachers’ (n=38) professional growth in mathematics and encouraged the development of a collaborative Community of Practice spanning 14 elementary school sites in four Northern California counties. Research methods incorporated a secondary data analysis, as well as the collection of new data. Quantitative data collection included a survey derived from the Teacher Collaboration Assessment Rubric (TCAR; Gajda & Koliba, 2008) which yields scores regarding dialogue, decision-making, action, and evaluation. Hierarchical linear regression analyses were conducted to evaluate possible associations between participants’ perceptions about collaboration opportunities offered through the two-year professional learning program, and teachers’ self-reported and observed classroom practice and their role as mathematics leaders. In addition, independent-samples t-test analysis was conducted to address possible variation in perceptions about program collaboration among participants who did versus did not opt to complete additional hours of professional learning. Quantitative results suggest that, as structured opportunities for decision-making and for reflective evaluation increases between program participants, lower quality mathematics instructional practice may be self-reported. It is possible that teachers initially overestimated or later changed their understanding of what constitutes quality instruction, given that initial levels were controlled in the analyses. Also, the survey results suggest that the more teachers report that collaboration occurs by reflective evaluation, the higher number of colleagues at their school site they self-report to be viewed by as a mathematics education leader, controlling for the initial level reported two years prior. Qualitative data gathered during follow up interviews revealed that teacher participants valued the shared experience of collaborating with peers from other rural schools. Participants appreciated dialogue and problem-solving opportunities offered through engaging, rigorous math tasks and attributed this work to a building of confidence and efficacy in the classroom. Limitations of the study, implications, and suggestions for further research are discussed

Teacher Professional Development Using Iterative Inquiry-Based Chemistry Workshop

The National Science Teachers Association recommends that all science teachers use instructional practices that support scientific inquiry, in alignment with Next Generation Science Standards that integrate content with inquiry practices. However, research has shown that many science teachers do not have robust understandings and experiences of scientific inquiry or may not manifest it successfully in their classroom practices. This study investigates teachers’ learning of inquiry elements including scientific communication skills and evidence and reasoning to support claims, through the use of iterative inquiry-based chemistry activities. The study was conducted during Professional Development (PD) in the context of a rural Mathematics and Science Partnership (MSP). We asked three major questions related to the effects of iterating inquiry activities: 1. What was the effect of the professional development on teacher’s scientific communication skills? 2. In what ways did the professional development affect the use of evidence and reasoning in supporting claims? 3. What was the effect of the professional development on teacher’s understanding of inquiry? Our research questions are chosen to evaluate the impact of a designed professional development experience embedding components of effective PD and our iterative model. The workshop offered a variety of activities that were focused on content information and discussions of teacher’s gaps in understanding. The PD participants conducted activities including inquiry-based laboratories, content presentations, chemistry theory, clicker questions, discussions, and demonstrations. The iterative inquiry chemistry workshop model included an iterative design offered to the cohort. The five steps of the iterative activity were inquiry, data collection, data analysis, poster creation, and community discussion. The iterative experience was initiated with guided inquiry and then moved to more open inquiry. At the end of each inquiry iteration, groups of teachers constructed posters. The posters scientifically communicated their experimental findings and were used as a data source for this study. The data sources included pre and post surveys, posters that were constructed at the end after each iteration of the activity, and interviews with teachers (1 month and 18 months) following completion of the workshop. Data collected during the workshop was used to evaluate our claims regarding the workshop’s effectiveness. The data sources were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively to evaluate our research questions. Pre and post surveys provided insight into teacher’s scientific understanding as well as qualitative data used to assess the workshop’s impact. The posters created at the conclusion of each laboratory explicitly communicate the teacher’s scientific findings and were analyzed with a rubric that was designed to measure participant’s communication of informational elements, data, and conclusive findings. The short and long term teacher interviews illuminated the impact on teacher’s instruction, as it pertains to strategies and techniques learned during the iterative inquiry chemistry workshop. The qualitative and quantitative data collected were assessed for commonalties to provide evidence in support of three claims. The first claim was workshop participants increased their understandings of the practice of scientific communication and gained practical skills in scientific communication. The second claim was teachers’ understandings of using evidence and reasoning to support claims improved during the iterative workshop. The third claim was the iterative nature of the iterative inquiry chemistry workshop facilitated an increase in teacher’s understanding of scientific inquiry

Curriculum renewal for interprofessional education in health

In this preface we comment on four matters that we think bode well for the future of interprofessional education in Australia. First, there is a growing articulation, nationally and globally, as to the importance of interprofessional education and its contribution to the development of interprofessional and collaborative health practices. These practices are increasingly recognised as central to delivering effective, efficient, safe and sustainable health services. Second, there is a rapidly growing interest and institutional engagement with interprofessional education as part of pre-registration health professional education. This has changed substantially in recent years. Whilst beyond the scope of our current studies, the need for similar developments in continuing professional development (CPD) for health professionals was a consistent topic in our stakeholder consultations. Third, we observe what might be termed a threshold effect occurring in the area of interprofessional education. Projects that address matters relating to IPE are now far more numerous, visible and discussed in terms of their aggregate outcomes. The impact of this momentum is visible across the higher education sector. Finally, we believe that effective collaboration is a critical mediating process through which the rich resources of disciplinary knowledge and capability are joined to add value to existing health service provision. We trust the conceptual and practical contributions and resources presented and discussed in this report contribute to these developments.Office of Learning and Teaching Australi

‘Knotworking’ and ‘not working’: a realist evaluation of a culture change intervention with a frontline clinical team in an acute hospital

Culture change and teamwork are often cited in healthcare policy and research as central to improvements in patient care. A critical review of the literature suggests that theory is insufficiently used to inform culture change or team development interventions. Culture change interventions are rarely evaluated in implementation research with few rich qualitative accounts of clinical team development in context. This case study drew on the principles of realist evaluation to identify what worked, or did not work, for whom, in what circumstances in relation to an eighteen-month culture change intervention that had been carried out with a frontline clinical team identified as being in difficulty. It addressed the following research questions using multiple methods in a pragmatic and reflexive way: 1. How does a clinical team identified as being in difficulty experience a change process directed at changing team culture? 2. How do collaborative change processes engender culture change in the context of teams in difficulty? Conventional problem-solving approaches to team development were found to reinforce existing patterns of deficit relating leading to a critique of organization development practice. The project found that different contextualized experiences had different effects on the learning behaviour of the team and on the leadership-followership relationship. A critical appreciative approach and narrative methods were found to create psychological safety for a collaborative inquiry to take place. Building on previous theoretical research, the study proposes a reconceptualization of experiences of teamwork as emergent states of “knotworking” and “not working”. The project offers a framework for realist evaluation with clinical teams in difficulty. It recommends that intervention and evaluation are collapsed into a single approach of collaborative inquiry, and has provided easy to use resources for clinical teams to evaluate and improve their team culture in a climate of psychological safety. A practice model of creating a critically appreciative space is proposed and described. Narratives of patient care emerged as a source of generativity for team development, which led to reflections about how patient experience and involvement might support future team development interventions and directions for research

Service learning : a vehicle to reflective thinking

Education reform is a topic that has been around for a long time. With the passage of No Child Left Behind in 2002, states set out to set high standards for students. While setting high standards is a worthwhile goal, the method to reach those high standards has not been mandated. This research study sought to determine if exposing students to a service-learning project would increase reflective thinking, communication, and social interaction skills. The questions that guided this study were: 1. Does engagement in a service-learning project impact the individual\u27s development of reflective thinking? If so, what is that impact? 2. Does engagement in a service-learning project impact the individual\u27s development of communication skills? If so, what is that impact? 3. Does engagement in a service-learning project impact the individual\u27s social interaction skills? If so, how? Data was collected using a variety of sources, including written reflective journal entries, interviews, and observations. The service-learning project was divided into three phases -- Planning, Implementation, and Concluding -- and data was collected from each of the phases to determine the impact the project had on reflective thinking, communication, and social skills. Data was analyzed using qualitative research methods in which categories and themes were identified. The three data sources served to triangulate the information from the data and to maintain the reliability of the findings. The analysis and interpretation of the data suggests that students involved in a service-learning project do show gains in the consistency of their reflective thinking skills and communication skills. The data did not show significant changes to social interaction skills, although many students commented that they enjoyed service-learning and would like to continue working with their organizations. Data also suggested that the improvements in reflective thinking may have been a result of allowing students to choose their project rather than assigning a project to them. Students wrote more reflective journal entries when they were passionate about their actions than when they felt as though they just had to write something. More research is needed to identify the overall benefits of utilizing service-learning in individual classrooms at the high school level

A CASE STUDY OF SCIENCE TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF SELF-EFFICACY IN TEACHING THE SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING PRACTICES

This case study examined South Carolina public school science teachers’ perceptions of self-efficacy related to planning and executing STEM-centric lessons. The adoption of the South Carolina Academic Standards and Performance Indicators for Science in 2014 required science teachers to make substantial pedagogical shifts in their instructional practices, which influenced their self-efficacy. The standards included science and engineering practices (SEPs) embedded in the standards. Understanding how science teachers’ perceptions of self-efficacy influence their instructional competence for planning and executing SEP-integrated lessons might guide schools and districts to create focused instructional support for the teachers designed to meet their unique pedagogical needs. An examination of 10 South Carolina teachers’ lived experiences and their STEM-centric lesson plans provided insights into what type of professional development they needed to make the necessary pedagogical shifts to integrate the SEPs successfully. The insights gained from the teachers’ interview and lesson plan data revealed that they preferred one-on-one mentoring from expert-teachers who model SEP integration. The findings from this study may be valuable for school and district level educators as they explore alternative professional development options for science teachers. The information may also expand the types of professional development offered by the South Carolina Department of Education

A Case Study of Arts Integration Practices in Developing the 21st Century Skills of Critical Thinking, Creativity, Communication, and Collaboration

This qualitative, single case study explored teacher perceptions of arts integration practices in developing critical thinking, creativity, communication, and collaboration (4 C’s) at a North Carolina A+ (arts-integrated) kindergarten through eighth grade charter school. A combination of interviews, document analysis, and site observations were utilized to answer the guiding question: What is the impact of a school-wide arts integration program on creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and communication? The research focused on three questions: (RQ1) What strategies/methods are used to implement a school-wide arts integration program at this school? (RQ2) What strategies/methods are used to foster student acquisition of the 4 C’s through arts integration at this school? (RQ3) What 21st century support systems align with the school-wide arts integration program at this school? Data gathered from interviews, observations, and documents revealed common themes or practices implemented at the school to sustain the school-wide arts integration program: collaborative planning, leadership support, focus on the process of learning rather than the product, multiple learning pathways and measures of success, professional development, community partnerships and relationships, and reflection as a tool for growth. The arts integration strategies perceived by participants at the research site that promote the 4 C’s include student engagement in group projects, student self- and peer- analysis of artistic work, student creative choice, and student expression of knowledge through multiple art forms and mediums. The 21st century support systems of standards, assessments, curriculum and instruction, professional development, and learning environments were found to be in alignment with the arts integration support systems at the school site. The results of this study led the researcher to conclude the school-wide practices of arts integration promote student acquisition of the 4 C’s. Recommendations include providing education preparation programs with redesigned curriculum offerings to emphasize the connection between the arts and 21st century skills, such as the 4 C’s. Adapting the school infrastructure to support collaborative planning, teaching, and professional development in arts integration practices that support the 4 C’s should also be considered

Empowering Adults to Thrive at Work: Personal Success Skills for 21st Century Jobs: A Report on Promising Research and Practice

The growing significance of personal success skills has been a challenge for those trying to help struggling adults get and keep good jobs, and grow in careers. Workforce development programs tend to focus on occupational skills, like welding, truck driving, and phlebotomy. And "job readiness training" in these programs too often means resume writing and interviewing -- two skills no employer asks for. Three reasons for this collective neglect are (1) a lack of clarity about what, specifically, we're talking about when we refer to these skills; (2) common belief that these factors, which seem in sum to constitute one's personality, aren't going to change in adulthood; and (3) uncertainty about the best ways to help adults develop them. A new study conducted by SRI International for the Joyce Foundation addresses each of these hurdles. It supplies a coherent framework for understanding what the skills are, summarizes research that shows they can still be developed well into adulthood (old dogs CAN learn new tricks), and highlights effective programs around the country that are already empowering so many struggling adults to successfully pursue quality employment. This report is a charge to educators and workforce development providers, human services agencies, policymakers, foundations and researchers to begin addressing the economic opportunity challenge of our time. SRI has provided recommendations to each of these groups on how to get started. Now, it's our job to take up the charge

Strengthening the Clinical Orientation of Teacher Preparation Programs

Educators and policymakers across the United States recognize a growing urgency to improve the nation's systems of teacher preparation. Ensuring that teachers stay and thrive in the profession depends largely on having system-wide policies and practices in place that address teacher shortages, promote equity and excellence, and cultivate expertise, diversity, and more.The California State University (CSU) system partnered with the S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation to launch the New Generation of Educators Initiative (NGEI), in an effort to transform the nature and quality of teacher preparation at both individual CSU campuses and across the CSU system as a whole. To answer the question, "What does it take to transform teacher education?" WestEd and SRI International conducted an evaluation to examine and share learnings about the CSU-led effort to implement large-scale clinically oriented teacher preparation reform.As part of a series of new evaluation reports that explore key transformational elements of effective teacher preparation programs, this paper identifies key levers to put high-quality clinical experience - that is, the opportunity to practice the work of teaching in classrooms - at the center of teacher preparation. Findings in this report explore the following high-leverage strategies to strengthen the clinical orientation of teacher preparation programs:Lever 1: Identify prioritized skillsLever 2: Select or create a rubric to assess candidate proficiency with prioritized skillsLever 3: Integrate and expand opportunities to practice prioritized skillsLever 4: Re-conceptualize clinical roles, selection, and supportLever 5: Define and implement processes to provide formative feedback to candidates on prioritized skill

A Case Study on Undergraduate Entrepreneurial Constructivist Learning in Morocco

Jobs are available for university graduates with entrepreneurship skills, but unemployment in Morocco persists because of the dissociation between university entrepreneurship graduate skills and professional market demand. While university graduates have achieved academic standards, they have lacked the entrepreneurial attributes to be employable. The purpose of this case study was to explore the use of entrepreneurship learning initiatives at Université Internationale de Casablanca (UIC), a private for-profit university, to promote students\u27 employability. The constructivism and learning paradigm frameworks served as the theoretical foundations of this project study. The research questions addressed the effectiveness of entrepreneurship learning strategies in the promotion of students\u27 employment and self-employment and what challenged their implementation at UIC. Data were collected from 11 individual interviews with students, academic leaders, and business professionals and from accreditation application documents. The interviews were recorded, transcribed, and hand analyzed for the discovery of thematic codes. Results indicated that the implementation of a capstone project model could cultivate entrepreneurial student experience. It was recommended that comprehensive business plan capstone projects presented the opportunity of integrating experiential learning activities and assessment tools to develop the entrepreneurial mindset of undergraduate students and increase their affective attachment to the course and the university. Implications for social positive change included the use of entrepreneurship learning to foster internal collaboration among faculty, promote university external partnerships, and create an experiential learning environment that motivates students to learn and achieve professional immersion