Bolstering teacher retention through collaborative professional development

Committed in a general way to the idea of teaching and teacher education for social justice, the nine co-authors of this paper embarked upon a multi-year collaborative research and professional development project that came to be known as ‘Seeking Social Justice’. The project was designed to allow group members (all faculty in the same department) to examine their own understandings of social justice issues as part of the process of helping their students do the same as well as to encourage students to work for social change and effectively meet the needs of the increasingly diverse K-12 school population. In this article the authors discuss the framework for the project and the first two years of collaborative work. They suggest that their work together provides a ‘proof of possibility’ for faculty groups attempting to emphasize or infuse social justice into pre-service teacher education despite profound differences in politics, disciplines and perspectives. They argue that part of what made this possible was a commitment to extended and repeated conversations that evolved over time into a culture of careful listening. This led to deeper and richer understandings of participants' own biases as well as understandings of where colleagues were coming from on particular issues. The article suggests that it was these deeper understandings, and not consensus, that allowed the group to take action—designing and implementing new administrative policies and practices, establishing social justice as the centrepiece of the curriculum, and beginning to look critically and publicly at their own pedagogy as teacher educators.

ABSTRACTThis study examined collaborative professional development (PD) as a policy instrument for relating external ideas to present teaching practices. The study interprets the global emphasis policymakers place on collaborative PD as a response to the devolution of responsibility in many school systems, accompanied or followed by increased external guidance to local actors. In relation to these tendencies, collaborative PD may function either as a support for professional self-governance or enable increased top-down control. Thus, by analysing collaborative PD as a policy instrument, the study contributes to the understanding of the contemporary governing of public education. The analysed empirical material derived from a large-scale PD program organized by the Swedish National Agency for Education. The results show that the investigated PD model appears as an instrument for persuading teachers to follow external ideas rather than for strengthening local self-governance. Collegial dialogue focused on the potential of enacting PD guidelines, and made teachers’ stances to external ideas visible, including expressions of resistance. Such visibility of resistance enabled suggestions for stronger adherence to guidelines. This focus on adherence may come at the cost of a meaningful adaptation of external ideas to local settings and decrease the sustainability of changes.

This essay aims to explore the need of in-service teachers of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in Indonesia to pursue Continuing Professional Development (CPD) by explaining what this means for the teachers and including some perspectives, types, and implementation of CPD. Based on some explorations of related literature reviews, my reflections on teaching practice, and some recent issues concerning Teacher Development (TD) in Indonesia, some suggestions for collaborative Professional Development (PD) is offered. As the result, this essay outlines the advantages of implementing collaborative PD to fulfil the needs of in-service TEFL in Indonesia, which could be acquired through mentoring as one way to pursue CPD. Based on related literature review, this essay will give suggestions on applying collaborative PD through mentoring which, it will be argued, can generate positive impacts for in-service TEFL in Indonesia. By mentoring, teachers may have opportunities to do self-reflection, appreciate their achievements, have some correction on their practices, and learn from others’ practices as well as help one another. It is hoped that this essay may give useful information and knowledge for teachers, teacher educators, trainers, and governments about the needs of CPD and why implementation of collaborative PD through mentoring in Indonesia is recommended. For further research, this essay may contribute to some extension of related studies or suggestions from other teachers or researchers based on their experiences and perspectives of pursuing CPD through collaborative PD.

The topic of standards-based instruction is currently at the forefront of conversations about education at every level, including teacher education and professional development. The proliferation of state curriculum standards over the past decade and the recent development of the Common Core State (CCSS) for English/Language Arts and Mathematics as well as the release of the second draft of the Next Generation Science (NGSS) in January 2013 have fueled this conversation. Standards-based curriculum and assessment, and the accompanying accountability associated with their implementation, place considerable pressure on preservice and inservice teacher educators to enable teachers to effectively incorporate the standards into instruction. The more recent content standards emphasize student depth of knowledge, higher order thinking, and adaptive application that places great demands on the kind of teaching skills that few teachers currently possess (Lampert, this issue) and will require particular attention to the type of professional development needed for both preservice and inservice teachers (Moon, Michaels, & Reiser, 2012). In our Call for Manuscripts for this theme issue, we invited empirical or conceptual manuscripts addressing teacher professional development in the context of reforms such as CCSS. Our intent was to move the community forward in understanding and studying the nature and impact of professional development focused on recent standards-based curricular reforms. Three articles emerged which addressed the topic either directly through (a) design of professional development programs for CCSS (Marrongelle, this issue) or indirectly through (b) examination of the relationship between teacher education and the alignment of instruction with standards (Polikoff, this issue) and (c) examination of teacher education strategies to develop the kind of teaching practices associated with rigorous curricular reforms (Lampert, this issue). Overview of Features and Articles This issue is divided conceptually into three parts. The first part represents the theme of standards-based instruction discussed previously and features three articles. The first article, Scaling up Professional Development in an Era of Common State Standards by Karen Marrongelle, Paola Sztajn, and Margaret Smith, describes the process and outcomes of a project to generate design recommendations for professional development programs to support CCSS in mathematics (CCSSM). While the focus is mathematics, the authors argue that the process and many of the elements are applicable to other content areas. The project involved the collaboration of practitioners and researchers representing a mixture of expertise (math, math education, assessment, policy, equity, and systems-thinking) and resulted in a set of recommendations for large-scale, systems-level professional development aligned with CCSSM. The second article, Education, Experience, and the Practice of Aligned Instruction by Morgan Polikoff uses a large-scale survey approach to examine the relationship between teacher education and experiences and teacher reports of their content coverage in comparison with content analyses of state standards. The author found that more experienced teachers, beyond the 1st year and up to 11 years of experience, with more content area courses exhibited more aligned instruction. However, the effects were small and the author suggests that other factors such as work environment and student characteristics and consideration of more precise measures of teacher education may be needed. The findings indicate that more professional development support for standards implementation may be needed for preservice and 1st-year teachers as well as more experienced teachers. The last theme article, Keeping It Complex: Using Rehearsals to Support Novice Teacher Learning of Ambitious Teaching by Lampert, Franke, Kazemi, Ghousseini, Turrou, Beasly, Cunard, and Crowe, provides a very different approach to standards-based instruction. …

The purpose of this manuscript is to share the work of a collaboration between professional development providers and university faculty as they created, implemented and refined a professional development series focused on supporting primary teachers' use of data‐based decision making in reading. Using a formative and design‐based approach, multiple sources of informal, formative data were collected (surveys, memos and teacher feedback). Data analysis led the team to make refinements to the professional development in response to three broad challenges experienced during Year 1 of implementation. Key refinements made to the professional development series included (1) breaking down the data‐based decision making (DBDM) process in reading into more tangible, explicit components (e.g., identifying appropriate assessments, organising and analysing data, using data to target instruction); (2) creating materials tailored specifically to support teachers' knowledge and skills in the DBDM process; and (3) identifying external affordances or barriers to teacher implementation of DBDM (e.g., access to high quality reading assessments and/or intervention materials, communication cycles with other teachers/providers). Challenges experienced and refinements made in this study may provide a framework for thinking about how to support primary teachers to use DBDM in reading and may help administrators understand and reflect on systems‐wide factors that may play a role in supporting or hindering teacher enactment of and confidence related to DBDM.

Zoos and museums often rely on interpretive staff, called explainers, to facilitate visitors' learning through conversations and demonstrations. Many explainers begin their careers as teens, and would benefit from ongoing Professional Development (PD). As institutions begin to use mobile devices to enhance explainers' interpretation, new opportunities arise to support explainers' individual and collaborative professional development. This paper presents the results of structured participatory design sessions to engage explainers in examining and proposing features for a Facilitation, Reflection, and Augmented Interpretation Mobile System (FRAIMS). The goal for FRAIMS is to support everyday interpretive tasks while also gathering information on how explainers perform that interpretation (both passively, via logging and recording, and actively, via self-reports and ratings) to support them in their PD. Reflecting on one's own performance and the performance of others is a powerful PD strategy, but can be emotionally fraught. Via participatory design sessions with expert, in-development, and novice explainers at different informal learning institutions, we found that explainers' preferences for socially sharing performance information gathered via mobile devices varied with their experience. We detail emerging themes captured from the sessions and make suggestions for how these findings might apply more broadly to computer-supported professional development systems.

Despite existing research on AI applications in education (AIEd), the release of ChatGPT has disrupted the status quo in the educational landscape. Although this technology can personalize learning, decrease teacher workload, and offer access to a wealth of information, concerns around generative AI (GenAI) tools have emerged, including academic integrity, data accuracy, and bias in information. Given research highlights and acknowledging educators’ varied levels of awareness and conflicting views toward AIEd, two teacher educators (also authors of this paper) in the Faculty of Education at Brock University facilitated three workshops among different groups of teacher educators. The workshops focused on the emerging nature of GenAI tools, their affordances, and their implications for educators’ practices. Adopting a narrative inquiry approach, the authors describe the details of these workshops and present their reflections on the process of preparing for and facilitating them. Implications for teacher education research and practice are also presented and discussed.Keywords: artificial intelligence (AI), artificial intelligence in education (AIEd), teacher education, professional development, generative AI (GenAI)

Taking into account the pressing need to understand more about what teacher educators’ professional development characterises, this article adopts a mixed method approach to explore Flemish (Dutch-speaking part of Belgium) teacher educators’ professional development needs and opportunities. Analysis results of a large-scale survey study with 611 teacher educators and analysis of five qualitative focus groups (with 24 teacher educators) are presented. The results confirm the lack of attention for teacher educators’ professional development in the Flemish teacher education system. Moreover, the findings indicate a structural need for participation in professional development activities that are linked to teacher educators’ own practices, organised as long-term sustainable professional development trajectories, and formally recognised. To conclude, a professional development agenda for research, policy and practices related to teacher educators’ professional development is discussed.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the discourse patterns characterizing individual special education teachers as they participated in a collaborative professional development (PD) group, and how these individual discourse patterns influenced other group members’ opportunities to learn about reading instruction for upper elementary students with disabilities. Videotaped cohort meetings and associated artifact data were collected during a 2-year period and analyzed using Gee’s (2005) methods of discourse analysis. Findings indicate that teachers’ individual discourse varied along the two dimensions: knowledge (integrated, implementation, and low) and inquiry (high and low). Teachers whose discourse conveyed both integrated knowledge and a proclivity for inquiry provided other group members with the most sophisticated learning opportunities related to PD content. Additional implications for future research and practice regarding collaborative learning groups as a method of PD are provided.

The present study aimed to explore the professional identity development of English teachers through the lens of the Possible Selves Theory, focusing on the experiences of three distinct groups of educators. An explanatory sequential mixed‐method research design was employed using 194 student, novice and experienced English teachers working or studying at various state schools in Turkey. The findings suggested that teacher groups held similar perceptions of their ideals and fears and there was not a significant difference among student, novice and experienced English teacher groups in terms of their possible selves. Additionally, the results revealed that the participants placed a significant emphasis on factors such as professional development, language proficiency, professional competence, personal attributes and recognition in relation to their ideal language teacher selves. The major fears related to their professional identity included language incompetence, inadequate professional development, undesirable personal attributes, undesired professional tendencies and a lack of recognition. The participants also noted various external and internal factors that influenced their possible selves. Based on the findings, a data‐driven model on English as a Foreign Language (EFL) Teacher Professional Identity Development (TPID) is proposed to contribute to the existing literature in the field. Context and Implications Rationale for this study Knowing about teachers' current thoughts and their expectations and fears for the future can aid in understanding their identities and potentially transform their future selves, thereby improving the formation of their professional identity. Why the new findings matter The findings of this study are significant as they add to the existing literature on English teachers' professional identity development using the Possible Selves Theory. This framework allows for an examination of teachers' expectations and fears, providing a comprehensive understanding of their professional selves and how these perceptions influence their future actions and goals. This knowledge is critical for designing teacher training programmes and professional development initiatives that support teachers' ongoing professional growth. Implications It is recommended to give increased attention and emphasis to the practical component of student teacher education, specifically the practicum experience, in the curriculum. Opportunities for interaction and collaboration among trainees, mentors and teacher educators should also be provided to enhance the effectiveness of the practicum. Furthermore, to address the concerns of EFL student, novice and experienced teachers about losing their enthusiasm for teaching in the future, comprehensive support mechanisms should be put in place through in‐service training and counselling services. Lastly, the Ministry of National Education could establish online and in‐person platforms to facilitate interaction and collaboration among teachers.

Debate about teacher supply, demand, retention, and attrition has been renewed in recent years by an increased concern about the reduced numbers of prospective teachers entering teacher education programs, the high attrition rate of beginning teachers, and the resulting teacher shortages. U.S. schools are experiencing teacher shortages, especially in low-income urban areas, because of increased school enrollment, teacher retirement, reduction in class size, teacher attrition, and turnover related to low salaries, job dissatisfaction, and lack of administrative support and influence over decision-making. Recently, the increased interest in teacher quality has been the topic of debate for policy-makers, the public, and the educational community. The purpose of this study was to determine if a nontraditional teacher preparation program, the Transition To Teaching program, was a viable way to ease the teacher shortages in a high poverty, urban U.S. school district, and at the same time, to evaluate the impact of teacher training on students' academic achievement. The results of this study afford evidence that the students taught by 1st-year, alternatively prepared teachers achieved as well as or better than their peers taught by traditionally certified 1st-year teachers, according to student achievement in mathematics, specifically Algebra I.

Teacher collaboration, and teacher professional development within this context, has become an area of interest in recent years. In particular, teacher education has seen the rise of collaboration as an effective school-based professional development activity, where in-service teachers plan, observe and reflect on lessons together. The most common form of teacher collaboration is between teachers within one school or department; however, in England networks do exist that involve teachers from different schools (cross-school). Of the small number of collaborations that do extend beyond a single school, few involve teachers from different age phases (cross-phase), and only a very small number of these involve teachers planning lessons together, observing and jointly reflecting on teaching practice. This article analyses and discusses the experiences of two primary school teachers in a cross-school and cross-phase collaborative year-long innovative initiative to speculate about the implications of this type of professional development. Specifically, the article examines whether cross-phase and cross-school collaboration affords primary school mathematics teachers opportunities to develop and addresses what hinders their participation. Implications for future research on primary school teacher collaborative professional development are discussed.

The transformative vision of NEP 2020 in developing critical thinking, creativity, innovative pedagogies, and professional development of teachers is very closely aligned with the philosophy of reflective learning. Reflective learning involves the process of thinking and analysing one’s own learning experience for continuous improvement in the future. Reflective learning moves beyond rote or procedural engagement, fostering an adaptive mindset that is responsive to dynamic classroom realities and diverse learner needs. It equips teachers with the ability to question their own pedagogical choices, integrate feedback constructively, and adapt to evolving educational contexts. Therefore, the objectives of this paper are: i) To explore the influence of reflective learning practices on critical thinking, self-awareness, and professional growth among pre-service teachers focussing on Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle, and ii) To analyse the role of post-teaching reflection in developing reflective thinking and professional competencies in pre-service teacher education. It is a qualitative research where the case study research design has been followed, and data has been collected qualitatively from 125 pre-service B.Ed students for in-depth analysis, for which written reflections, classroom discussions, and observational records have been analysed using inductive thematic analysis. The findings show that structured reflective learning has significantly enhanced critical self-examination, empathy, creativity, professional awareness, and life skills such as problem-solving, decision-making, and resilience among the pre-service teachers. Aligned with the vision of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, the study recommends that reflective learning should be an integral part of teacher education because it is vital pedagogical tool for cultivating reflective, adaptive, and professionally competent teachers. Key words: Critical thinking, Creativity, Reflective learning, Professional development

There have been several recent calls for the development of recording and profiling in teacher education. This paper considers the possible forms these might take and describes the response of one University Department of Education to accommodate the demands of recording and profiling within a context that emphasises the role of students in their own professional development. Issues in implementing recording and profiling in preservice teacher education courses are considered, and questions are raised about their possible effects on student teachers' professional development.

With the country’s emphasis on teacher professional development and teacher education, the research on pre-service teacher education has attracted a lot of researchers’ attention. However, the impact of the teacher education researches has not been presented effectively so far. The analysis of the researches on the pre-service teacher education helps to explore the actual situation of my current English teacher education research, and promotes the reflection of researchers. In order to understand the development and research characteristics of the English teacher’s study in China since 2000, the study used CiteSpace V to conduct 381 valid literatures on English teacher education from January 1st, 2000 to 2017 of CNKI. The results show that, since 2000, the topic of English teacher education research focuses on internships, curriculum standards and English majors. These researches have been influenced greatly by education policies, and the cooperation of researchers is not prominent.