Title:

Professional Development Project 

Name of co-ordinator:

Pam McPherson

Project aims:

• To identify the skills, knowledge and resources that enable teachers to identify their individual Professional Development needs, and investigate opportunities for professional growth.

• To identify local Professional Development resources available to AMEP teachers seeking opportunities for reflection and investigation to enhance professional growth

• To identify and trial institutional resources that support teachers in identifying and meeting individual Professional Development needs

• To identify ways that institutions can support reflective approaches that promote dissemination of teacher expertise

• To explore ways that institutions can evaluate the impact of teacher development on institutional goals and AMEP program delivery.
  

Background:

In an environment of dynamic change researchers are reconsidering their view of what constitutes effective TESOL teacher development. While agreeing on its importance for enhancing teaching practice (Burgoyne, Cipollone, MacKay & Warwick, 2006) they suggest that teachers can be more actively involved in identifying their own Professional Development needs and self-accessing opportunities for professional growth.  (Bailey, Curtin & Noon 2001, Richards & Farrell, 2005). A recurring theme in the literature on teacher development is the role of reflection, and a number of techniques are suggested (see Yates, 2007 in press; Edge. 2007 forthcoming). Additionally, the increasing availability of learning technologies offers options for Professional Development that have not yet been fully explored

AMEP Service Provider coordinators have raised the question of how to provide Professional Development to teachers of varied experiences, and how to draw on the expertise of teachers with advanced skills to extend the professional growth of their colleagues.  (AMEP RC Consultations 2006)

Methodology:

• A literature review will examine current and emerging trends in Professional Development practice.
  

• Teachers and Professional Development Coordinators will be surveyed nationally to identify current beliefs and practice in access and use of Professional Development in the AMEP.  and interviewed.
  

• Project participants will be interviewed to further explore issues arising from the national survey.
  

• Project participants will identify and prioritise Professional Development needs, identify specific techniques, strategies and resources for trial, and contribute to evaluations of these.   
  

• PD Coordinators will explore strategies for evaluating the impact of trialled Professional Development on program delivery
  

Outputs:

The outcomes of the project will be:

• edited monograph with teacher and PD Coordinator reports of trials of teacher-directed Professional Development, and its impact on dissemination of teacher expertise
• Presentations by researcher, PD coordinator and teacher at AMEP National Forums