Practice-based professional learning

Last updated

Practice-based professional learning (PBPL) is understood in contrast to classroom- or theory-based learning. It is kindred to terms such as work-based learning, workplace or work-centred learning. Distinctive, though, are a concern for professional learning, and the preference for practice rather than work. While it does not disdain propositional knowledge and what is sometimes called theory, its prime interest is in the formation of self-renewing and effective professional practices—a distinct theoretical position in its own right.

Contents

UK Higher Education

The range of concerns may be seen, for example, in the UK Open University's practice-based professional learning centre, [1] one of the Higher Education Funding Council for England's centres for excellence in teaching and learning. [2] Its interests cover the inter-relation of various forms of professional knowledge, ways of fostering them and their co-ordination, workplaces as sites of learning, the assessment of practice-based learning achievements, and the use of modern technologies to support distributed learning.

Other centres for excellence occupy some or all of the territory, notably the Professional Development Unit at the University of Chester, [3] SCEPTrE in the University of Surrey, [4] CEPLW in the University of Westminster [5] and NCWBLP in Middlesex University. [6]

Interest in this territory is not confined to the UK, with some of the most respected work associated with David Boud at the University of Technology, Sydney, NSW. [7]

US K-12 Education

As practiced in K-12 education in the United States, practice-based professional learning develops and integrates a school's use of curriculum and assessment, instructional leadership, and professional learning communities (PLCs) to create a system-wide shift in day-to-day classroom instruction. [8] Indeed, it is this focus on daily classroom practice, "the core tasks and activities of teaching rather than knowledge or theory" that distinguishes practice-based professional learning from other models of professional learning and development. [9] Several US universities and educational companies have created materials and resources that use a PBPL approach. [10] [11]

See also

Related Research Articles

Educational psychology Branch of psychology concerned with the scientific study of human learning

Educational psychology is the branch of psychology concerned with the scientific study of human learning. The study of learning processes, from both cognitive and behavioral perspectives, allows researchers to understand individual differences in intelligence, cognitive development, affect, motivation, self-regulation, and self-concept, as well as their role in learning. The field of educational psychology relies heavily on quantitative methods, including testing and measurement, to enhance educational activities related to instructional design, classroom management, and assessment, which serve to facilitate learning processes in various educational settings across the lifespan.

A teaching method comprises the principles and methods used by teachers to enable student learning. These strategies are determined partly on subject matter to be taught and partly by the nature of the learner. For a particular teaching method to be appropriate and efficient it has to be in relation with the characteristic of the learner and the type of learning it is supposed to bring about. Suggestions are there to design and selection of teaching methods must take into account not only the nature of the subject matter but also how students learn. In today's school the trend is that it encourages much creativity. It is a known fact that human advancement comes through reasoning. This reasoning and original thought enhances creativity.

Teacher Person who helps others to acquire knowledge, competences or values

A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence or virtue.

Student-centered learning Methods of teaching

Student-centered learning, also known as learner-centered education, broadly encompasses methods of teaching that shift the focus of instruction from the teacher to the student. In original usage, student-centered learning aims to develop learner autonomy and independence by putting responsibility for the learning path in the hands of students by imparting to them skills, and the basis on how to learn a specific subject and schemata required to measure up to the specific performance requirement. Student-centered instruction focuses on skills and practices that enable lifelong learning and independent problem-solving. Student-centered learning theory and practice are based on the constructivist learning theory that emphasizes the learner's critical role in constructing meaning from new information and prior experience.

Pedagogy Theory and practice of education

Pedagogy, most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken as an academic discipline, is the study of how knowledge and skills are imparted in an educational context, and it considers the interactions that take place during learning. Both the theory and practice of pedagogy vary greatly, as they reflect different social, political, and cultural contexts.

This is an index of education articles.

Educational technology is the combined use of computer hardware, software, and educational theory and practice to facilitate learning. When referred to with its abbreviation, edtech, it is often referring to the industry of companies that create educational technology.

Reflective practice is the ability to reflect on one's actions so as to take a critical stance or attitude towards one's own practice and that of one's peers, engaging in a process of continuous adaptation and learning. According to one definition it involves "paying critical attention to the practical values and theories which inform everyday actions, by examining practice reflectively and reflexively. This leads to developmental insight". A key rationale for reflective practice is that experience alone does not necessarily lead to learning; deliberate reflection on experience is essential.

Teacher education Set of policies, procedures, and provision to equip teachers to perform their tasks effectively

Teacher education or teacher training refers to the policies, procedures, and provision designed to equip (prospective) teachers with the knowledge, attitudes, behaviors, and skills they require to perform their tasks effectively in the classroom, school, and wider community. The professionals who engage in training the prospective teachers are called teacher educators.

Formative assessment, formative evaluation, formative feedback, or assessment for learning, including diagnostic testing, is a range of formal and informal assessment procedures conducted by teachers during the learning process in order to modify teaching and learning activities to improve student attainment. The goal of a formative assessment is to monitor student learning to provide ongoing feedback that can help students identify their strengths and weaknesses and target areas that need work. It also helps faculty recognize where students are struggling and address problems immediately. It typically involves qualitative feedback for both student and teacher that focuses on the details of content and performance. It is commonly contrasted with summative assessment, which seeks to monitor educational outcomes, often for purposes of external accountability.

Contextual learning is based on a constructivist theory of teaching and learning. Learning takes place when teachers are able to present information in such a way that students are able to construct meaning based on their own experiences. Contextual learning experiences include internships, service learning and study abroad programs.

Peer feedback is a practice where feedback is given by one student to another. Peer feedback provides students opportunities to learn from each other. After students finish a writing assignment but before the assignment is handed in to the instructor for a grade, the students have to work together to check each other's work and give comments to the peer partner. Comments from peers are called as peer feedback. Peer feedback can be in the form of corrections, opinions, suggestions, or ideas to each other. Ideally, peer feedback is a two-way process in which one cooperates with the other.

Evidence-based education Use of empirical evidence to make policy and practice decisions in education

Evidence-based education (EBE) is the principle that education practices should be based on the best available scientific evidence, rather than tradition, personal judgement, or other influences. Evidence-based education is related to evidence-based teaching, evidence-based learning, and school effectiveness research. For example, research has shown that spaced repetition "leads to more robust memory formation than does massed training, which involves short or no intervals".

Differentiated instruction Framework or philosophy for effective teaching

Differentiated instruction and assessment, also known as differentiated learning or, in education, simply, differentiation, is a framework or philosophy for effective teaching that involves providing all students within their diverse classroom community of learners a range of different avenues for understanding new information in terms of: acquiring content; processing, constructing, or making sense of ideas; and developing teaching materials and assessment measures so that all students within a classroom can learn effectively, regardless of differences in their ability. Differentiated instruction, according to Carol Ann Tomlinson, is the process of "ensuring that what a student learns, how he or she learns it, and how the student demonstrates what he or she has learned is a match for that student's readiness level, interests, and preferred mode of learning." According to Boelens et al. (2018), differentiation can be on two different levels: the administration level and the classroom level. The administration level takes the socioeconomic status and gender of students into consideration. At the classroom level, differentiation revolves around content, processing, product, and effects. On the content level, teachers adapt what they are teaching to meet the needs of students. This can mean making content more challenging or simplified for students based on their levels. The process of learning can be differentiated as well. Teachers may choose to teach individually at a time, assign problems to small groups, partners or the whole group depending on the needs of the students. By differentiating product, teachers decide how students will present what they have learned. This may take the form of videos, graphic organizers, photo presentations, writing, and oral presentations. All these take place in a safe classroom environment where students feel respected and valued—effects.

Teacher quality assessment commonly includes reviews of qualifications, tests of teacher knowledge, observations of practice, and measurements of student learning gains. Assessments of teacher quality are currently used for policymaking, employment and tenure decisions, teacher evaluations, merit pay awards, and as data to inform the professional growth of teachers.

Feminist pedagogy is a pedagogical framework grounded in feminist theory. It embraces a set of epistemological theories, teaching strategies, approaches to content, classroom practices, and teacher-student relationships. Feminist pedagogy, along with other kinds of progressive and critical pedagogy, considers knowledge to be socially constructed.

One of the most visible approaches to peer learning comes out of cognitive psychology, and is applied within a "mainstream" educational framework: "Peer learning is an educational practice in which students interact with other students to attain educational goals." Other authors including David Boud describe peer learning as a way of moving beyond independent to interdependent or mutual learning among peers. In this context, it can be compared to the practices that go by the name cooperative learning. However, other contemporary views on peer learning relax the constraints, and position "peer-to-peer learning" as a mode of "learning for everyone, by everyone, about almost anything." Whether it takes place in a formal or informal learning context, in small groups or online, peer learning manifests aspects of self-organization that are mostly absent from pedagogical models of teaching and learning.

The 8 Learning Management Questions are a set of sequential design based questions for teachers that engage them to develop a teaching plan for their classrooms, so as to produce intended learning outcome in all students. The process is focused on enabling teachers to translate teaching theory into practice. The questions were developed by David E. Lynch in 1998. The 8 questions, which are organised into three design phases, are answered in their numerical sequence. The 8 Learning Management Questions underpin teacher training at Central Queensland University and Charles Darwin University in Australia and inform teaching in the Northern Territory.

In education, authentic learning is an instructional approach that allows students to explore, discuss, and meaningfully construct concepts and relationships in contexts that involve real-world problems and projects that are relevant to the learner. It refers to a "wide variety of educational and instructional techniques focused on connecting what students are taught in school to real-world issues, problems, and applications. The basic idea is that students are more likely to be interested in what they are learning, more motivated to learn new concepts and skills, and better prepared to succeed in college, careers, and adulthood if what they are learning mirrors real-life contexts, equips them with practical and useful skills, and addresses topics that are relevant and applicable to their lives outside of school."

Learning environment Term referring to several things; educational approach, cultural context, or physical setting in which teaching and learning occur

The term learning environment can refer to an educational approach, cultural context, or physical setting in which teaching and learning occur. The term is commonly used as a more definitive alternative to "classroom", but it typically refers to the context of educational philosophy or knowledge experienced by the student and may also encompass a variety of learning cultures—its presiding ethos and characteristics, how individuals interact, governing structures, and philosophy. In a societal sense, learning environment may refer to the culture of the population it serves and of their location. Learning environments are highly diverse in use, learning styles, organization, and educational institution. The culture and context of a place or organization includes such factors as a way of thinking, behaving, or working, also known as organizational culture. For a learning environment such as an educational institution, it also includes such factors as operational characteristics of the instructors, instructional group, or institution; the philosophy or knowledge experienced by the student and may also encompass a variety of learning cultures—its presiding ethos and characteristics, how individuals interact, governing structures, and philosophy in learning styles and pedagogies used; and the societal culture of where the learning is occurring. Although physical environments do not determine educational activities, there is evidence of a relationship between school settings and the activities that take place there.

References

  1. "Practice-based Professional Learning - PBPL - The Open University". Archived from the original on 2006-10-12. Retrieved 2006-10-14.
  2. HEFCE : Learning & teaching : Teaching initiatives : Centres for Excellence in Teaching and Learning
  3. University of Chester: The Professional Development Unit Archived 2008-03-17 at the Wayback Machine
  4. SCEPTrE Home Page
  5. CEPLW – Centre for Excellence in Professional Learning from the Workplace
  6. Middlesex University – Institute for Work Based Learning
  7. David Boud: UTS: Faculty of Education
  8. "Practice-Based Professional Learning". inquirED. May 2019.
  9. Evan J. Fishman, Hilda Borko, Jonathan Osborne, Florencia Gomez, Stephanie Rafanelli, Emily Reigh, Anita Tseng, Susan Million & Eric Berson (2019). "A PracticeBased Professional Development Program to Support Scientific Argumentation" (PDF). Journal of Science Teacher Education.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. "Practice-Based Teacher Education". teachingworks.org. University of Michigan School of Education . Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  11. "Designs for Practice-Based Teacher Education". tedd.org. University of Washington College of Education . Retrieved 2019-11-18.