On-the job knowledge sharing: how to train employees to share job knowledge

One of the challenging issues many organizations are facing is to find the best ways to encourage employees share what they have learned on their jobs. Rewarding employees may be one of the techniques used to promote knowledge sharing but there are still psychological barriers preventing employees from sharing knowledge. In many cases, rewarding employees for sharing knowledge ends up in developing the behaviour of hoarding knowledge among employees. Based on a review of existing literature, this article explains how employers can make employees practice knowledge sharing in their daily work activities. The article introduces 12 approaches on how knowledge sharing can be cultivated in the job and train employees to accept that it is their job to share knowledge. Some of the methods discussed include; peer assist, training and mentoring, challenging projects, job description, job rotation, cross training, and sharing sessions. The article also discusses how on-the-job knowledge sharing can promote individual performance among employees. The intention of this article is to provide a framework that helps organizations to choose various methods of knowledge sharing that suit the organization’s needs in order to cultivate sharing of job knowledge and to save the knowledge as an asset

A Development Evaluation Study of a Professional Development Initiative to Strengthen Organizational Conditions in Early Education Settings

High quality instruction is essential to producing developmental gains for young children and can mitigate risk factors such as family poverty and low parental education. Even in programs with highly qualified teachers, teacher-child interactions often do not provide the level of instructional support that children need to be well-prepared for success in kindergarten. In order to improve instructional quality, an emerging focus on early childhood professional development involves supporting leaders in creating a web of supports for teacher learning and child growth. The purpose of the 3-year evaluation study was to assess the effectiveness of an Early Childhood Education Professional Development Initiative (ECE PDI) in advancing the knowledge, skills, and dispositions of community-based early childhood leaders and teachers in relation to creating the conditions for superior developmental outcomes for low-income students served by these community-based centers. Findings from the implementation and impact studies are reported

The Greater Sum of Collaboration: Adding Value to Mathematics Education Through Teamwork

The role of a Mathematics Specialist can vary from pre-K through grade 8 schools. One of the most distinguishing factors involves the relationship between the Mathematics Specialists, administrators, and teachers. In this article, we share our experiences in a school culture that supports common language, collective commitments, trust, and transparency. Using this model, we have experienced high levels of teacher professionalism and student success. As lifelong learners, we continually reflect upon our practices and look for ways to meet the needs of our students. This occurs by implementing purposeful meeting structures that allow us to facilitate discussions around mathematics content, lesson planning, assessment results, and student progress. Administrators Brian Butler and Diane Kerr, along with Mathematics Specialists Tracey Hulen and Jennifer Deinhart, have formed a powerful relationship at Mason Crest Elementary School. This is a Title I school with 560 students, pre-K through grade 5, which promotes reflective practices and allows for flexibility and creativity as we continue to strengthen and improve our practices. Together, we share a story of our collaborative journey with teachers and students to create an effective mathematics program that embraces a conceptual learning philosophy. Ultimately there are two kinds of schools: learning-enriched schools and learning impoverished schools. I have yet to see a school where the learning curves ... of the adults were steeped upward and those of the students were not. Teachers and students go hand in hand as learners ... or they don\u27t go at all. [1] Roland Barth, Hand in Hand, We All Lear

Performance-Based Compensation: Design and Implementation at Six Teacher Incentive Fund Sites

Examines preliminary outcomes for student achievement, stakeholder support, recruitment and retention, and changes in school cultures; success factors; challenges; and the role of states and districts in implementation and financial sustainability

Building Teacher Capacity to Support English Language Learners in Schools Receiving School Improvement Grants

The Study of School Turnaround examines the improvement process in a purposive sample of 35 case study schools receiving federal funds through the School Improvement Grants (SIG) program over a three-year period (2010 -- 11 to 2012 -- 13 school years). This brief focuses on 11 of these SIG schools with high proportions of English Language Learner (ELL) students (a median of 45 percent ELLs), describing their efforts to improve teachers' capacity for serving ELLs through staffing strategies and professional development (PD). Key findings that emerged from the ELL case study data collected during the 2011 -- 12 and 2012 -- 13 school years include:Few schools reported leveraging staffing strategies to improve teacher capacity for serving ELLs. Administrators in 3 of the 11 schools reported considering ELL expertise and experience when hiring classroom teachers, while respondents in 2 of the 11 schools reported that teachers' ELL expertise and experience purposefully factored into assignment of teachers to specific classrooms.Most teacher survey respondents (54 to 100 percent) in all 11 schools reported participating in ELL-related PD during the 2011 -- 12 school year. On average, teachers reported that ELL-related PD accounted for less than 20 percent of their total PD hours.Teacher survey respondents in schools that reported a greater PD focus on ELL-related topics, such as instructional strategies for advancing English proficiency or instructional strategies to use for ELLs within content classes, also generally appeared more likely to report that PD improved their effectiveness as teachers of ELLs

Designing professional learning

The Designing Professional Learning report provides a snapshot of the key elements involved in creating effective and engaging professional learning in a globally dispersed market. AITSL commissioned Learning Forward to undertake this study to give greater guidance around the ‘how’ of professional learning. Learning design involves making careful decisions based on an integration of theories, research and models of human learning in order to contribute to the effectiveness of professional learning. This work is not presented as definitive findings, but seeks to draw attention to observed trends and areas of commonality between learning designs that have demonstrated success. Following an analysis of a broad range of professional learning activities, a Learning Design Anatomy was developed to provide a framework for understanding the elements of effective professional learning. Each learning design element is framed by a detailed series of questions that challenge users to refine and clarify aims, intended learning outcomes and the most effective ways in which to engage—taking into consideration the unique context for learning. Examples of professional learning design are provided to illustrate elements of the Anatomy. The report is designed to be of use to teachers, school leaders, policy makers, system administrators and professional learning providers. It is intended that this report and the Anatomy will serve as provocation for a broader conversation about the composition of professional learning and the elements that establish the strongest correlation between participants, environment, delivery and action

Getting Districtwide Results

How a district's central office can actively support and nurture excellence in instructional leadership, teaching and learning at the school level. Based on experiences of Edmonton Public Schools