Teacher Training And Professional Development

Regardless of the field or discipline, technology is rapidly advancing, and individuals are faced with the challenge of adapting to these new innovations. To remain up-to-date on the current practices, teachers and administrators alike must constantly stay informed of the latest advances in their fields. Teacher Training and Professional Development: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications contains a compendium of the latest academic material on the methods, skills, and techniques that are essential to lifelong learning and professional advancement. Including innovative studies on teaching quality, pre-service teacher preparation, and faculty enrichment, this multi-volume book is an ideal source for academics, professionals, students, practitioners, and researchers.

Ready-to-go activities for teacher trainers running pre- and in-service training courses. For busy teacher trainers who practise what they preach: trainees will benefit from learning about methodology in training sessions which are in themselves models of good teaching practice.

This book makes a major contribution to knowledge and theory by drawing implications of teacher effectiveness research for the field of teacher training and professional development. The first part of the book provides a critical review of research on teacher training and professional development and illustrates the limitations of the main approaches to teacher development such as the competence-based and the holistic approach. A dynamic perspective to policy and practice in teacher training and professional development is advocated. The second part of the book provides a critical review of research on teacher effectiveness. The main phases of this field of research are analysed. It is pointed out that teacher factors are presented as being in opposition to one another. An integrated approach in defining quality of teaching is adopted. The importance of taking into account findings of studies investigating differential teacher effectiveness is argued. Another significant limitation of this field of research is that the whole process of searching for teacher effectiveness factor was not able to have a significant impact upon teacher training and professional development. For this reason it is advocated that teacher training and professional development should be focused on how to address grouping of specific teacher factors associated with student learning and on how to help teachers improve their teaching skills by moving from using skills associated with direct teaching only to more advanced skills concerned with new teaching approaches and differentiation of teaching. The book refers to studies conducted in different countries illustrating how the proposed approach can be used by policy and practice in teacher education. Specifically, the book provides evidence supporting the validity of the theoretical framework upon which this approach is based. Moreover, experimental and longitudinal studies supporting the use of this approach for improvement purposes are presented and suggestions for further research utilising and expanding the Dynamic Approach for teacher training and professional development are provided.

As new trends emerge in the realm of education, instructors are faced with the task of continuing development in order to stay up to date on the latest teaching methodologies for both virtual and face-to-face education. Facilitating In-Service Teacher Training for Professional Development is a pivotal reference source for the latest research on the scenarios faced by in-service educators, uncovering models, recent trends, and perceptions of in-service teacher training. Featuring extensive coverage across a range of relevant perspectives, such as teacher identity, collaborative teacher development, and exploratory practice, this book is ideally designed for researchers, practitioners, and professionals seeking current research on the need for continuing development in teacher education.

A central aspect of teachers’ professional knowledge and competence is the ability to assess students’ achievements adequately. Giving grades and marks is one prototypical task in this context. Besides giving grades, assessments for school placements or tracking decisions belong to these tasks. Relevant students’ characteristics which influence teachers’ assessments do not only involve academic achievement but also students’ responses to different task demands as well as non-academic characteristics such as learning motivation or school anxiety. Closely associated with the investigation of teachers’ assessment competences and, more specifically, the investigation of conditions associated with high quality of assessments is the development and evaluation of teacher training programs to improve professional competences. In recent years, there has been considerable progress in the domain of professional teacher training; however, only a very limited number of studies are dedicated to the question to what extend training programs might offer valuable approaches to improve the quality of assessments and to implement high assessment competences. Another important field which is closely related to teachers’ competences concerns the question how teachers’ professional development is linked to students’ learning and learning outcomes. In recent years, the societal demand for evidence that teachers’ professional development will result in improved student learning outcomes is increasing. This volume brings together questions on assessment, training, and learning in the professional development of teachers which have not been fully discussed yet. The identification of these research gaps was the reason for dedicating a series of lectures given at the University of Luxembourg 2012 to the topic of professionalization of teachers in these domains. Therefore, this book contains contributions from outstanding international scholars in different academic disciplines to present ideas about open research questions concerning the domains of assessment, training, and learning in the professional development of teachers.

This publication is the first report from the OECD’s Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS). It provides quantitative, policy-relevant information on the teaching and learning environment in schools in 23 countries.

Focusing on the partnerships and collaborations between teacher educators and students with regards to faculty members’ professional development, contributors from around the world provide insight into professional development opportunities in the context of teaching and collaborating with students. Contributions from these distinguished scholars come from a broad range of countries and cultures to ensure that the presented studies reveal rich information about diverse systems of teacher education. The studies presented in the book demonstrate how these faculty student partnerships can significantly assist faculty members to develop professionally and produce benefits and impacts on their professional identity. Providing ideas and tools aimed at teacher educators around the world, this book explores partnerships and cooperation as a tool to lead to development and ultimately promotion. This book is a must-read for all researchers, teacher educators and lecturers looking to expand their knowledge of partnerships with students in higher education.

Technology plays a vital role in bridging the digital divide and enhancing student learning both in and outside of the classroom. This is possible thanks to the successful use of educational online technologies and other new teaching resources being integrated into learning environments. Advanced Online Education and Training Technologies is an essential reference source that explores student and teacher learning through various online platforms. Featuring research on topics such as professional development in the twenty-first century and cultural differences in online learning environments, this book is ideally designed for educators, students, academicians, and other education professionals seeking coverage on enhanced student learning through technology-based learning tools.