Designing a Professional Development Program

The present paper is an attempt to explore professional development practices for teachers in secondary schools of Pakistan. Research has attempted to discover the better ways for professional development of teachers in secondary schools in addition to many other factors like continue training, in service education, workshops etc. counseling and incentives are also very important factors to discuss here because in Pakistan teachers face many problems while getting professional development so counseling, incentives are necessary for continuous professional development of teachers. Otherwise many lose heart due to a lot of problems faced by them during professional development trainings. The purpose of the study is to explore the term professional development, to make teachers able to manage the class more efficiently and also increase the level of learning throughout their career and also find the hindrances in professional development programs of teachers in secondary schools of Pakistan and to provide the better solution to overcome the hurdles by providing different training programs batter than that provided in the past. So for these purpose schools of Pakistan we took a sample for the collection of relevant data. Our study is also helpful to explore how we can make the professional development programs more effective and professional development is helpful for teachers and what are their purpose to design these programs moreover explore the challenges they are facing recently and what issues arises related to it and how could we minimize these. Researchers have applied qualitative technique in order to collect and interpret data. Semi structured interview were conducted from ten teachers of public and private schools. Moreover hundred questionnaires are also filled up from both of the schools, in which we use the liker scale. This study also explores practical implications and what adoptions can be utilized in order to improve the professional development program of public and private school teachers in Punjab. From research it has concluded that professional development programs are not so effective because programs are characterized with inflexible curriculum which ignored teacher’s needs. In other sense there is no connection between their professional development and every day class room needs. Secondly due to the time constraints mostly teachers are not interested in these programs, they just take in to get certificates. Thirdly teachers have no input while planned training topics there is lack of teacher’s involvement in planning and training process. At the end there is no proper plan for follow up and transferred activities to class room practices. Professional development of teachers must be planned, funded and supported. Teachers must be encouraged to participate in training programs. There should be proper co-ordination in professional development programs, so that logical sequence of experience should be followed. Key words:Professional Development, Enhancement, Issues, Secondary education, Appraisal, Learning

Journal article reviewing is often considered an unexplored or unknown practice. There is limited discussion about it, and what there is often rests on assumptions that reviewers are experienced and have knowledge about the topic of the article review, and that the model of practice involves double-blind reviewing. This curriculum review investigates a professional development program for article reviewers which was introduced by an educational journal in response to its reviewers’ request for professional development. The curriculum was based on a community of practice model and was reviewed by inviting stories of experience from the program participants. The review highlights that professional development initiatives can be evaluated based on participants’ perception of improvement in practice, and that hidden practice elements exist in any professional practice development program, and these can also be enhanced by professional development. The implications of this realisation for academic development practice emphasise not only the viability of a community of practice model for professional development but the value of participant stories in evaluating the impact of such initiatives.

Professional development (PD) programmes take a wide variety of forms. Lloyd and Davis (2018) present a model to map the diversity of PD programmes based on the extent to which intrinsic control of learning was afforded to the teachers by the PD. In this study, Lloyd and Davis’s model was applied to map two different PD programmes. Both programmes aimed to achieve similar outcomes, they ran over a similar timeframe of 2 years, and both were targeted at early career teachers (ECTs). Yet, despite these similarities, the ECTs mapped the programmes differently onto the model, and the extent to which the programme outcomes were achieved also varied. The degree to which ECTs considered that the PD afforded them a sense of control and an influence over the direction of their learning was found to be associated with the extent to which the intended programme outcomes were met. Building in an optimal balance of autonomy supportive opportunities into PD programmes is likely to be an important feature of their success.

This study explored a professional development (PD) program preparing mathematics coordinators to lead effective PD in their schools. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic emerging in the midst of this study, the PD program and school team PD were performed online instead of face-to-face. We explored the PD program and school team PD design before and during COVID-19 period, and the coordinators' expertise-based PD leadership professional identity (LPI). Findings revealed structural stability of the PD program design, and support of coordinators’ LPI. Coordinators enacted a structural transition of effective PD design into the school team PD, demonstrating their LPI in practice.

In this study, researchers designed and implemented a 1-year professional development (PD) program that focused on supporting teachers in evaluating and selecting digital learning contents. Participants in this investigation included 109 teachers who consented to the study amongst a total of 171 teachers from five school districts across central Ohio. In addition to their participation in the PD program, they completed surveys, interviews, and self-reflections in this mixed-method study. The results revealed that teachers’ perceived TPACK increased over time throughout the PD program, suggesting that training teachers to evaluate digital contents can be an effective PD model to improve teachers’ capacity in learning technology integration. The PD program was especially effective for teachers with less prior experience in technology integration or related training. Mathematics teachers, in comparison to teachers from other disciplines, began with low TPACK; however, these initial differences gradually diminished over the course of the PD program. In terms of their motivation in digital content evaluation, teachers’ expectancy for success increased significantly while their task values remained medium high. The qualitative analyses provided additional insights and revealed design suggestions for success in future PDs.

This past five years has seen a drastic reform takes over in English Language Education. The reform prompts a significant change in the field of teaching, learning and the assessment system. To note, the recent implementation of CEFR-aligned Classroom-Based Assessment (CEFR CBA) demands teachers to be a comprehensive implementer in assessing students within their teaching and learning practices. As this enactment is concerned, teachers’ professional development (TPD) program plays the crucial roles to ensure teachers are well equipped with the content and pedagogical knowledge in the new policy. TPD has become an important professional learning medium for teachers in the aim of increasing their professionalism to enact educational change. Hence, this study was conducted to explore the enactment of teachers’ professional development program within two main contexts which are at the meso (school) and macro (education department) level. This study revealed that the enactment of TPD program for CEFR CBA was largely transmissive but lacking the sense of practicality to ensure the dispersion of knowledge can happened throughout the entire cascade system. Several challenges like the uncertainty to conduct in-house training, non-option teachers, participants engagement and limited time was discovered to become the factors which impede the effectiveness of TPD to serve its purpose in coaching and mentoring teachers to implement CEFR CBA. The findings of this study have the implication on the program designers and providers to better equip TPD which can address the needs of teachers at the micro level.

IntroductionIn regional Australia and New Zealand, museums and art galleries are increasingly becoming primary sites of cultural engagement. They are one of the key tourist attractions for regional towns and expected to generate much needed tourism revenue. In 2017 in New South Wales alone, there were three million visitors to regional galleries and museums (MGNSW 13). However, apart from those (partially) funded by local councils, they are often run on donations, good will, and the enthusiasm of volunteers. Regional museums and galleries provide some paid, and more unpaid, employment for ageing populations. While two-thirds of Australia’s population lives in capital cities, the remainder who live in regional towns are likely to be in the 60+ age cohort because people are choosing to retire away from the bustling, growing cities (ABS). At last count, there were about 3000 museums and galleries in Australia with about 80% of them located in regional areas (Scott). Over the last 40 years, this figure has tripled from the 1000 regional and provincial museums estimated by Peter Piggott in his 1975 report (24). According to a 2014 survey (Shaw and Davidson), New Zealand has about 470 museums and galleries and about 70% are located outside capital cities. The vast majority, 85%, have less than five, full-time paid staff, and more than half of these were run entirely by ageing volunteers. They are entrusted with managing the vast majority of the history and heritage collections of Australia and New Zealand. These ageing volunteers need a diverse range of skills and experience to care for and interpret collections. How do you find the time and budget for professional development for both paid staff and volunteers? Many professional development events are held in capital cities, which are often a significant distance from the regional museum—this adds substantially to the costs of attending and the time commitment required to get there. In addition, it is not uncommon for people working in regional museums to be responsible for everything—from security, collection management, conservation, research, interpretation and public programs to changing the light bulbs. While there are a large number of resources available online, following a manual is often more difficult than learning from other colleagues or learning in a more formal educational or vocational environment where you can receive timely feedback on your work. Further, a foundational level of prior knowledge and experience is often required to follow written instructions. This article will suggest some strategies for low cost professional development and networking. It involves planning, thinking strategically and forming partnerships with others in the region. It is time to harness the power of modern communications technology and use it as a tool for professional development. Some models of professional development in regional areas that have been implemented in the past will also be reviewed. The focus for this article is on training and professional development for workers in regional museums, heritage sites and keeping places. Regional art galleries have not been included because they tend to have separate regional networks and training opportunities. For example, there are professional development opportunities provided through the Art Galleries Association of Australia and their state branches. Regional galleries are also far more likely to have one or more paid staff members (Winkworth, “Fixing the Slums” 2). Regional Museums, Volunteers, and Social CapitalIt is widely accepted that regional museums and galleries enhance social capital and reduce social isolation (Kelly 32; Burton and Griffin 328). However, while working in a regional museum or gallery can help to build friendship networks, it can also be professionally isolating. How do you benchmark what you do against other places if you are two or more hours drive from those places? How do you learn from other colleagues if all your colleagues are also isolated by the ‘tyranny of distance’ and struggling with the same lack of access to training? In 2017 in New South Wales alone, there were 8,629 active volunteers working in regional museums and galleries giving almost five million hours, which Museums and Galleries NSW calculated was worth over $150 million per annum in unpaid labour (MGNSW 1). Providing training and professional development to this group is an investment in Australia’s social and cultural capital.Unlike other community-run groups, the museums and heritage places which have emerged in regional Australia and New Zealand are not part of a national or state branch network. Volunteers who work for the Red Cross, Scouts or Landcare benefit from being part of a national organisation which provides funding, support workers, a website, governance structure, marketing, political advocacy and training (Winkworth, “Let a Thousand Flowers” 11). In Australia and New Zealand, this role is undertaken by the Australian Museums and Galleries Association AMaGA (formerly Museums Australia) and Museums Aotearoa respectively. However, both of these groups operate at the macro policy level, for example organising annual conferences, publishing a journal and developing Indigenous policy frameworks, rather than the local, practical level. In 1995, due to their advocacy work, Landcare Australia received $500 million over five years from the federal government to fund 5000 Landcare groups, which are run by 120,000 volunteers (Oppenheimer 177). They argued successfully that the sustainable development of land resources started at the local level. What do we need to do to convince government of the need for sustainable development of our local and regional museum and heritage resources?Training for Volunteers Working in Regional Museums: The Current SituationAnother barrier to training for regional museum workers is the assumption that the 70:20:10 model of professional development should apply. That is, 70% of one’s professional development is done ‘on the job’ by completing tasks and problem-solving; 20% is achieved by learning from mentors, coaches and role models and 10% is learnt from attending conferences and symposia and enrolling in formal courses of study. However, this model pre-supposes that there are people in your workplace whom you can learn from and who can show you how to complete a task, and that you are not destroying or damaging a precious, unique object if you happen to make a mistake.Some museum volunteers come with skills in research, marketing, administration, customer service or photography, but very few come with specific museum skills like writing exhibition text, registering an acquisition or conserving artefacts. These skills need to be taught. As Kylie Winkworth has written, museum management now requires a [...] skills set, which is not so readily found in small communities, and which in many ways is less rewarding for the available volunteers, who may have left school at 15. We do not expect volunteer librarians to catalogue books, which are in any case of low intrinsic value, but we still expect volunteers in their 70s and 80s to catalogue irreplaceable heritage collections and meet ever more onerous museum standards. That so many volunteers manage to do this is extraordinary. (“Let a Thousand Flowers” 13)Workers in regional museums are constantly required to step outside their comfort zones and learn new skills with minimal professional support. While these challenging experiences can be very rewarding, they are also potentially damaging for our irreplaceable material cultural heritage.Training for museum professionals has been on the agenda of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) since 1947 (Boylan 62). However, until 1996, their work focused on recommending curricula for new museum professionals and did not include life-long learning and on-going professional development. ICOM’s International Committee for the Training of Personnel (ICTOP) and the ICOM Executive has responded to this in their new curricula—ICOM Curricula Guidelines for Professional Museum Development, but this does not address the difficulties staff or volunteers working in regional areas face in accessing training.In some parts of Australia, there are regional support and professional development programs in place. For example, in Queensland, there is the Museum Development Officer (MDO) network. However, because of the geographic size of the state and the spread of the museums, these five regionally based staff often have 60-80 museums or keeping places in their region needing support and so their time and expertise is spread very thinly. It is also predominantly a fee-for-service arrangement. That is, the museums have to pay for the MDO to come and deliver training. Usually this is done by the MDO working with a local museum to apply for a Regional Arts Development Fund (RADF) grant. In Victoria there is a roving curator program where eligible regional museums can apply to have a professional curator come and work with them for a few days to help the volunteers curate exhibitions. The roving curator can also provide advice on “develop[ing] high quality exhibitions for diverse audiences” via email, telephone and networking events. Tasmania operates a similar scheme but their two roving curators are available for up to 25 days of work each year with eligible museums, provided the local council makes a financial contribution. The New South Wales government supports the museum advisor program through which a museum professional will come to your museum for up to 20 days/year to give advice and hands-on training—provided your local council pays $7000, an amount that is matched by the state government—for this service. In 2010, in response to recommendations in the Dunn Report (2007), the Collections Council of Australia (CCA) established a pilot project with the City of Kalgoorlie-Boulder in West

Health care reform should be driven by the goals of better patient experience, improved population health, lower per capita costs, and improved provider satisfaction. Electronic consultation (eConsult) services have been adopted by several jurisdictions in the United States, Canada, and Europe to improve access to specialists by primary care providers (PCPs) and are being heralded as a key component for delivery of coordinated care. The primary intent of an eConsult service is to provide PCPs with efficient, timely, direct access to specialist expertise to help guide the management of their patients, reduce the need for unnecessary face-to-face specialty consultations, and improve the quality of the initial face-to-face consultation when needed, through the preconsultative communication.In addition to improving access to care, eConsult services have been praised by PCPs and specialists for their educational value, in particular their ability to enrich practice-based learning. Less recognized, but equally important from the educational perspective, include the abilities of eConsult programs to promote reflection by PCPs and specialists, improve collegiality and professionalism between primary and specialist care, inform continuing professional development activities and maintenance of certification, and enhance training programs' teaching of effective communication and care coordination.As eConsult services become increasingly available, the medical community must leverage the educational opportunities inherent in eConsult programs to further improve the delivery of coordinated specialty care. The educational role of eConsults should be considered as a priority outcome in their evaluation and must be highlighted and optimized in next iterations of eConsult systems design.

PurposeThe South African vocational education and training (VET) sector is required by legislation to redefine postsecondary education, advance industrialisation and expand the job market to address unemployment in the country. Yet, VET leaders' heterogenous educational and occupational backgrounds do not enable them to address the needs of the VET sector. Continuous professional development of leaders in the education sector needs to include support structures such as mentoring.Design/methodology/approachThe present study sought to investigate how VET managers in South Africa perceive three different types of mentoring – individual, peer group and expert-based key performance area (KPA) mentoring – during a part-time professional leadership development programme. Using interactive qualitative analysis (IQA), the authors collected and analysed data from focus group discussions (n = 24) and individual interviews (n = 21) from two cohorts of the programme.FindingsThe results revealed that individual mentoring represented the most important driving mechanism, followed by peer group mentoring and expert-based KPA mentoring. Participants identified leadership as a prerequisite for their development. Emotions formed the final outcome of the mentoring framework.Research limitations/implicationsBased on the findings, the authors suggest investigating the role played by leaders' interpersonal competences such as emotional competence in the workplace. Additionally, research needs to clarify if and how mentoring can support leaders to develop interpersonal competences in formal and informal settings.Originality/valueThe study offers empirical evidence on a three-pillar mentoring framework adopted in a professional development programme for leaders in VET in South Africa. It highlights the importance of individual, social and emotional factors.

BackgroundGender disparity has long been noted in nursing, a predominantly female-dominated profession. However, recently the increase in the number of male nurses disproves the existing belief that nursing is exclusively a female profession. Even though the studies have reported changing gender trends in nursing, the information is not sufficient and the effects of the changing trend on professional practice and professional development have not been explored. Therefore this study aims to assess the influence of gender in nursing on professional practice and development in Tanzania.MethodsThis was an analytical Hospital-Based Cross-sectional Study Design, conducted at four hospitals in Dar es Salaam, with 580 nurses between 20th May and 20th June 2024. Proportionate sampling was used to determine the required number of participants from each of the four facilities. Moreover, systematic random sampling was used to recruit participants from each facility. The validated questionnaire was used to obtain data, which were analyzed through descriptive and inferential statistics.ResultsAmong seventy items that measured professional practices, sixty three items indicated good professional practices among female nurses compared with their male counterparts male. On the association of gender in nursing to professional practice and development, the findings revealed no significant association between gender in nursing and professional practice (χ2 = 1.384; P = 0.239). Moreover, the item analysis revealed that male nurses have professional development in three items similar to female nurse who had shown professional development on other three items. Through binary logistic regression, male nurses were 0.528 (OR) times less likely to have good professional development than their female counterpart (P < 0.001; 95% CI: 0.379, 0.737). Several social demographic factors were found to be associated with professional practice and development.ConclusionIt was found that professional practice does not depend on gender in nursing, because the practice was optimal across both genders. Nurse’s self-image of nursing, facility factors, and professional development influence their professional practice. Moreover, gender in nursing is associated with professional development, indicating the existence of gender stereotypes in the distribution of opportunities between male and female nurses. The study recommends extending this cross-sectional study to nonclinical settings such as training institutions.

Purpose While it is particularly important that professional programs help teachers become members of a community of practice, especially in crisis situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a lack of research about strategies to effectively encourage the development of a community of practice and to support teachers’ transformation of their way of teaching. Thus, this paper aims to report on lessons learned from a blended professional development (PD) program for elementary and middle school teachers in Japan focused on computer programming education. In particular, the authors explored how application of the creative learning principles in the blended teacher PD may have helped to nurture a community of practice among teachers in Japan, and how the creative learning principles may be a valuable framework for designing online or blended teacher PD to support teachers’ transition into emergency remote education. Design/methodology/approach This paper reports on the lessons learned from two iterations of blended teacher PD situated within a larger design-based research project on applying creative learning pedagogy in teacher PD. Creative learning is a learning approach focused on engagement in personally meaningful projects by tinkering with materials and learning from peers. A total of 26 teachers and coaches participated, all of whom work in elementary or middle schools across Nagano prefecture in Japan. Participant experiences were evaluated based on a pre-survey and a post-survey conducted before and after the in-person kick-off camp; observation notes taken; a final report submitted by each teacher; a debrief meeting at the end of the program; and semi-structured interviews with three selected participants after the program concluded. For this paper, the authors focus on two participants who fully and actively engaged in the program, and they introduce their stories to highlight the outcomes from the PD. Findings The results highlight how a blended PD designed to support creative learning of teachers provided teachers with opportunities to gain help from other teachers and cultivate their expertise. The results also illustrated that how a community of practice emerged from the PD program, providing teachers with moral support when they tried new lesson designs. This paper offers several recommendations for designing professional learning experiences for instructional designers and professional developers that incorporate remote learning technologies. Originality/value While an increased number of studies have shown the values of online and blended communities of practice for teacher PD, there are still limited insights on different strategies to support teachers in transforming their teaching practices. They generally do not provide teachers with opportunities to continue learning with and from one another beyond the program itself. This study examined the teachers’ experiences in a unique PD that implemented a creative learning approach into a blended learning environment for teachers.

The rapid shift from traditional classroom teaching to online and hybrid learning environments has highlighted the need for effective professional development (PD) programs to support educators. This study aims to identify the key PD needs of educators adapting to various modes of teaching delivery, evaluate the effectiveness of current PD programs, and offer recommendations for improvement. Using a quantitative survey design, data were collected from 56 educators at S College in China. The findings reveal that educators prioritize customized PD programs, collaborative learning opportunities, and ongoing support to address challenges such as technology integration, online course design, and student engagement. While current PD programs are generally effective, there is a need for greater alignment with educators' specific needs and more sustained support. The study concludes with actionable recommendations, including the development of learner-centered PD initiatives, the promotion of collaborative learning, and the provision of continuous professional support. These recommendations are grounded in the theoretical frameworks of Andragogy, Social Learning Theory, and Experiential Learning Theory, offering valuable insights for institutions aiming to enhance teaching quality in digital learning environments. This study contributes to the broader discourse on online education by addressing critical gaps in PD and providing practical strategies to support educators in the evolving landscape of higher education.

Purpose: Teacher content knowledge (CK) and its contribution to student achievement (SA) are understudied in physical education, especially concerning the examination of the effectiveness of professional development (PD) programs using direct measures of teachers’ CK and SA. To make progress in this research area, this study investigated the contribution of a content-focused PD program to teachers’ CK and SA in basketball, using direct measures thereof. Methods: A quasi-experimental design was utilized to examine the contribution of a PD program. The authors measured the CK of 52 elementary classroom teachers and their fifth or sixth grade students’ (n = 913) achievement in basketball before and after the PD program. The data were analyzed using unilevel and multilevel regression analyses. Results: Teachers who participated in the PD program exhibited higher learning gains in their CK; their students also exhibited higher learning gains. Discussion and Conclusion: The study findings suggest that PD programs focused on enhancing teachers’ CK might also support SA.

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of professional development programs on the leadership practices of head teachers in secondary schools in Rubavu District, Rwanda. The study was motivated by the growing concern over the effectiveness of school leadership and the need to strengthen head teachers' competencies through continuous professional development. Despite the availability of various training initiatives, there remains a gap in understanding how these programs influence leadership performance and what challenges hinder their successful implementation. A descriptive and correlational research design was employed, targeting a population of 72 head teachers, from which a sample size of 61 was determined using Yamane’s formula. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and Likert-scale questionnaires and analyzed through descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and multiple regression analysis using SPSS. The results revealed that head teachers in Rubavu District have access to several professional development programs, including the Diploma in Effective School Leadership (DEL) by Rwanda Basic Education Board (REB) and Vlaamse Organisatie voor Ontwikkelingssamenwerking/ Flemish Association for Development Cooperation and Technical Assistance (VVOB), Head Teacher Capacity Building Workshops, Peer Learning Communities (PLCs), and School Leadership Forums and Conferences. Statistical analysis showed a strong positive relationship between participation in professional development programs and effective school leadership practices (R = 0.992, R² = 0.983, p &lt; 0.01). Among these, Peer Learning Communities (PLCs) were found to have the most significant influence, followed by School Leadership Forums and Capacity Building Workshops. However, implementation challenges such as limited funding, time constraints, logistical barriers, and inconsistent delivery were also identified. The study concludes that well-structured and continuous professional development programs significantly enhance the leadership effectiveness of head teachers. To maximize their impact, it is recommended that the Ministry of Education and Rwanda Education Board (REB) increase funding, incorporate online learning options, and align training schedules with the academic calendar. Furthermore, school leaders should actively participate in such programs and apply the acquired skills, while NGOs and education stakeholders are encouraged to provide follow-up mentorship and support. Future research should explore the differential impact of professional development in rural versus urban settings, the long-term influence on student outcomes, and the role of policy and digital platforms in program sustainability.

STEM professional development program for gifted education teachers: STEM lesson plan design competence, self-efficacy, computational thinking and entrepreneurial skills