Teacher Research Competency Matters!
Drawing on a pilot study, Jana Groß Ophoff, Chris Brown and Jane Flood show that achieving a research-informed teaching profession requires radical reform in teacher training and development.
Professional Development – what works in professional learning
Professional development is crucial in the world of teaching. Professional development within education is all about the improvement of teacher performance, mainly within a school setting. With articles, research and ‘how to’ guides on implementing new professional learning strategies and projects.
In our professional development articles for teachers, we look at how to develop teachers as researchers, the importance of reflective practice, understanding the special skills required for teaching children with special needs and how to deliver emerging pedagogies like project-based and exploratory learning. We also look at the special skills required by different levels of leadership in schools and how to develop teaching assistants to their fullest potential. Improving subject teaching is emerging as an increasingly important theme.
Teachers' beliefs about what assessment is for and how it works may prove a vital platform for professional development, as Gavin Brown explains.
How confident are school leaders in their role as data-based decision-makers? David Kemethofer looks at research in Austrian schools and finds implications for similar challenges in other countries.
Joel Malin explores a bottom-up, self-directed, evidence-informed approach to professional learning.