Coping With Online Practicum

This chapter examines the experience of eight pre-service teachers of Czech as a Second Language both in Spring 2020, when their teaching practicum classes abruptly turned online, and Fall 2020, when online teaching became the “new normal,” and traces how they coped with the new instructional media. The data were collected in two group zoom sessions with a supervisor and two observed lessons with observation sheets and lesson plans, and finally, in a written reflection and a recorded group interview. The teachers identified two main problems: 1) a lack of previous training and experience with online instruction and 2) classroom management specifics related to the nature of online lessons. Peer observation and collaborative tasks emerged as the main coping strategies. Although the teachers adapted to the new situation well, training programs should provide more courses on CALL (computer-assisted language learning) in their curricula in the future.

Case Examination of Teacher-Tailored Student Evaluation of Teaching Augmented with Peer Observation of Teaching in a Vietnamese University

<p>This study explored how teacher-tailored student evaluation of teaching (TT-SET) augmented with peer observation of teaching (POT) impacted on academics’ pedagogical reasoning in a Vietnamese university. The qualitative case study within the constructivist paradigm used multiple data collection methods. Detailed analysis developed findings through descriptions of individual academics’ experience of the intervention and analysis across participants (using thematic analysis). The intervention encouraged academics to reflect on their practice. This reflection promoted changes in their understandings of practice, actions to refine practice, future plans, and other outcomes (e.g., enhanced confidence, self-efficacy, sense of autonomy, and collegiality). However, there were several challenges which varied among the participants, including perceiving TT-SET as lacking reliability and validity, limited learning from junior peers, disagreement with feedback and lack of sensitivity, and limited time for POT and changes. The findings also suggested that among other factors, the nature of the peer relationship, which is under the impact of the Vietnamese Confucian collectivist culture, was important to successful implementation of the intervention. The theoretical framework developed for this study helps explain the changes in academics’ pedagogical reasoning, particularly reflection. The study contributes to the area of tertiary teacher development, both theoretically and practically. It offers insights into how such an approach may be effective, particularly in the context of Vietnamese higher education, and provides guidance for both practice and policies. It identifies what needs to be done to improve the implementation of the intervention. It also offers ideas for leaders to make institutional policies to support academics’ professional learning and development. Its findings contribute to understanding how the intervention works, and why it works in the Vietnamese context and also of academics’ reflection and reflective practice. The study includes recommendations for the use of TT-SET augmented with POT for promoting teacher reflection that may lead to changes in practice by addressing necessary conditions for the intervention to be effective. Further research is recommended into the nature of the peer relationship and the characteristics of the peer for POT (e.g., in terms of age, experience, gender, and discipline), the impact of contextual factors, the role of leaders in creating the culture of the learning community, the timing of the intervention, and the use of students’ learning outcomes to evaluate the effectiveness of changes.</p>

Case Examination of Teacher-Tailored Student Evaluation of Teaching Augmented with Peer Observation of Teaching in a Vietnamese University

<p>This study explored how teacher-tailored student evaluation of teaching (TT-SET) augmented with peer observation of teaching (POT) impacted on academics’ pedagogical reasoning in a Vietnamese university. The qualitative case study within the constructivist paradigm used multiple data collection methods. Detailed analysis developed findings through descriptions of individual academics’ experience of the intervention and analysis across participants (using thematic analysis). The intervention encouraged academics to reflect on their practice. This reflection promoted changes in their understandings of practice, actions to refine practice, future plans, and other outcomes (e.g., enhanced confidence, self-efficacy, sense of autonomy, and collegiality). However, there were several challenges which varied among the participants, including perceiving TT-SET as lacking reliability and validity, limited learning from junior peers, disagreement with feedback and lack of sensitivity, and limited time for POT and changes. The findings also suggested that among other factors, the nature of the peer relationship, which is under the impact of the Vietnamese Confucian collectivist culture, was important to successful implementation of the intervention. The theoretical framework developed for this study helps explain the changes in academics’ pedagogical reasoning, particularly reflection. The study contributes to the area of tertiary teacher development, both theoretically and practically. It offers insights into how such an approach may be effective, particularly in the context of Vietnamese higher education, and provides guidance for both practice and policies. It identifies what needs to be done to improve the implementation of the intervention. It also offers ideas for leaders to make institutional policies to support academics’ professional learning and development. Its findings contribute to understanding how the intervention works, and why it works in the Vietnamese context and also of academics’ reflection and reflective practice. The study includes recommendations for the use of TT-SET augmented with POT for promoting teacher reflection that may lead to changes in practice by addressing necessary conditions for the intervention to be effective. Further research is recommended into the nature of the peer relationship and the characteristics of the peer for POT (e.g., in terms of age, experience, gender, and discipline), the impact of contextual factors, the role of leaders in creating the culture of the learning community, the timing of the intervention, and the use of students’ learning outcomes to evaluate the effectiveness of changes.</p>

The application of the tracer method with peer observation and formative feedback for professional development in clinical practice: a scoping review

Introduction The tracer method, commonly used for quality assessment, can also be used as a tool for peer observation and formative feedback on professional development. This scoping review describes how, by whom, and with what effect the tracer method is applied as a formative professional development instrument between healthcare professionals of equal status and aims to identify the types of scientific evidence for this use of the tracer method. Methods The authors searched four electronic databases for eligible articles, which were screened and assessed for eligibility by two independent researchers. From eligible studies, data were extracted to summarize, collate, and make a narrative account of the findings. Results The electronic search yielded 1757 unique studies, eight of which were included as valid and relevant to our aim: five qualitative, two mixed methods, and one quantitative study. Seven studies took place in hospitals and one in general practice. The tracer method was used mainly as a form of peer observation and formative feedback. Most studies evaluated the tracer method’s feasibility and its impact on professional development. All but one study reported positive effects: participants described the tracer method generally as being valuable and worth continuing. Discussion Although the body of evidence is small and largely limited to the hospital setting, using the tracer method for peer observation and formative feedback between healthcare professionals of equal status appears sufficiently useful to merit further rigorous evaluation and implementation in continuous professional development in healthcare.

Interdisciplinary Class Observation in Higher Education: Lessons Learned from the Professional Development Experience of Four Teachers

Peer observation of teaching has been adopted as a method to improve the quality of teaching. It involves observers providing descriptive feedback to their peers on learning and teaching practices. However, although extensively described in the literature in the education field, its use as a tool for development beyond teaching skills has not been explored deeply, nor the best practices described. Therefore, the objective of this study was to compare quantitative with qualitative peer observation, as well as to investigate the role of interdisciplinarity in the observation process. The present study results from experimental observation work carried out by four professors of higher education. Veterinary science, social work, pharmaceutical sciences, and education, the disciplinary areas of origin of the teachers, were the ecosystems in which the initial observation techniques were explored and applied, and the intention was to share good practices and pedagogical improvements through peer support. This study reports the experience of building an observation grid and its application, as well as the lessons learned during the observation experience. The aim was to evaluate whether the constructive criticism was focused on the pedagogical practices rather than on the content, which can be useful in understanding if the learning objectives are being attained, from the teacher’s point of view. As such, we employed and assessed peer observation as a constructive, developmental process for higher education teachers from different fields of knowledge. The study concludes that feedback by peers is essential for the development of professional practice in higher education teaching, with the experience of qualitative observation being a fundamental path for teacher self-reflection in the search for their own authenticity. It further supports the notion that interdisciplinary differences, methodologies, styles, contexts, and practices can be used in a constructive way to improve course content and delivery, and, ultimately, to reinforce good teaching.

Shifting the focus of research on effective professional development: Insights from a case study of implementation

Globally, teacher professional development is heralded as a key mechanism for educational reform. With governments investing heavily in PD programs, the aim of these interventions is not only enhanced teacher knowledge and practice but, ultimately, improved student outcomes. A substantial body of research has attempted to identify characteristics of effective PD, generating a growing list of features that ostensibly ‘work’. As such, program design has become the dominant analytic focus. In this paper, we shift attention squarely to program implementation as necessary in conceptualising and evaluating effective PD. We apply the lens of implementation science to a case study of how one regional secondary school in NSW, Australia, implemented a robust PD program called Quality Teaching Rounds that has strong evidence of effectiveness. Despite the school’s attempts to remain true to the spirit of the PD, a combination of remoteness, lack of casual relief teachers, high teacher turnover, and negative perceptions of peer observation result in a form of QTR that is almost unrecognisable from its intended design. We argue greater attention must be given to understanding and supporting successful implementation within and across diverse school contexts in order to take effective forms of PD to scale.