Reflection as meta‐action: Lesson study and EFL teacher professional development

Professional development is a necessity for teachers in the K-20 system. To achieve effective teaching, teachers must be engaged in learning. On the job training and professional development provide learning opportunities for professional teachers in K-20 education. To achieve the most authentic professional development, students should be part of the learning process as they are part of the instructional equation. In order to promote lifelong learning of adults, teacher training needs to arise from problems and interests found in their practice. In this chapter, the author discusses Japanese Lesson Study (JLS) as a method for teacher professional development in the area of English Language Arts with emphasis on Situated Learning Theory as a necessary emphasis for teacher learning in K-20 classrooms. Connections are made to the National Common Core Standards as teachers compete globally to prepare students for success.

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Lesson Study as democratic teacher professional development

Lesson Study-based Teacher Education ◽

10.4324/9781003036852-13 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 199-214

Author(s):

Jongsung Kim

Keyword(s):

Professional Development ◽

Teacher Professional Development ◽

Lesson Study ◽

Teacher Professional

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Teacher Professional Development in Singapore: Depicting the Landscape

Psychology Society & Education ◽

10.25115/psye.v7i3.523 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 7 (3) ◽

pp. 311 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Alfredo BAUTISTA ◽

Joanne WONG ◽

Saravanan GOPINATHAN

Keyword(s):

Professional Development ◽

Teacher Professional Development ◽

Professional Learning ◽

Lesson Study ◽

Career Paths ◽

National Curriculum ◽

Ministry Of Education ◽

Centers Of Excellence ◽

Teacher Professional ◽

Different Levels

ABTRACT: This article depicts the landscape of teacher professional development (PD) in Singapore, one of the world’s top-performing countries in education. We provide an overview of the resources available to the approximately 30,000 teachers within the 350 primary and secondary schools run by the Ministry of Education (MOE). We focus on the three main PD providers: the National Institute of Education, the Academy of Singapore Teachers and six Centers of Excellence, and schools themselves. Guided by the “Teacher Growth Model,” these providers aim at making PD coherent with teachers’ interests, the needs of schools, and the national curriculum. Teachers in Singapore are given the exceptionally high allotment of 100 voluntary hours of PD per year. There are multiple types of activities teachers can engage in, ranging from formal/structured courses and programs to more informal/reform-based initiatives (action research, lesson study). Teachers with different levels of expertise and career paths have access to different PD opportunities. Most PD is subject-specific and provides teachers with opportunities for networked learning, collegial sharing, and collaboration. In fact, all MOE schools have been recently mandated to become Professional Learning Communities (PLC). We conclude that this comprehensive set of PD resources, considered as a whole, presents the features of “high-quality” PD described in the international literature. However, we suggest that more research is needed to examine the extent to which such an ambitious PD model is enhancing teachers’ knowledge and pedagogies, and ultimately students’ learning.

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