Page 199 - Innovative Professional Development Methods and Strategies for STEM Education

Impact of a Professional Development Programme

(if any) their existing beliefs. Their summative evaluations varied in length from 500 to 600 words.
Many respondents wrote extensive reports about their thinking expressing dilemmas resulting from
the mismatch between their existing beliefs and what they observed in the mentor’s teaching practice.
Producing a reflective commentary served an important element of the trainees’ professional learning,
and gave insights for the design of the PDP to be conducted in the second term of the practicum.

School Experience II: Eight trainee teachers, three male and five female, each supervised by a differ-
ent school-based mentor, participated in this part of the study. They were from the same cohort of
pre-service language teachers (150 in total). They were placed in two schools, which allowed me
convenience in data collection and explore the subject in depth.

The Process of CAR Research Teacher Development Programme

The process started with each trainee’s identified dilemma or a concern. Then, the trainees started to
investigate issues related to the concern and implemented a plan designed to address that concern. Re-
flection is an important part of an action research. Trainee teachers were actively engaged in the process
of critically exploring their own classroom contexts and working toward resolving that concern.
Prior to initiating CAR, a meeting was held with the participants by the author of this study to famil-
iarize them with the basic knowledge on action research and the PDP. I made it clear to the participants
that my role was to act as a supporter, organizer, facilitator and resource person (Goodnough, 2003).
The active role assumed by the trainees as researchers of their own teaching context was highlighted.
Drawing upon the action relationship principle of CAR (Kemmis, 1998; Mitchell, Reilly & Logue,
2009), each trainee teacher employed a recurring spiral of cycles, focusing on planning, acting, observing,
reflecting, re-planning, and re-acting for the attainment of goals which involved investigating dilemmas
and/or an authentic problem. They started examining their problem from various aspects, setting up an
inquiry in light of the literature as part of the planning process. The action research process involved each
trainee teacher conducting research within the school context. First, each trainee prepared action plans
to solve their problems or overcome their concerns in the areas in which they felt the need for further
improvement. In the following weeks, they read relevant literature, conducted research in their specific
school context, and reflected upon the action taken. Each trainee was guided through the entire process
lasting 10 weeks covering the whole practicum period. The author visited each trainee class every two
weeks. In addition, she had access to mentors through e-mail.

Data Sources during the CAR

Throughout the process of CAR, data were collected from multiple sources; interviews, classroom
observations, reflective journals and collaborative meetings about the participants’ belief changes and
learning experiences in the CAR professional development programme.

Semi-Structured Interviews

During the teaching practicum, trainee teachers’ beliefs were investigated with three rounds of semi-
structured interviews. These interviews were scheduled before, during and after the teaching practicum
to explore potential changes in trainees’ beliefs derived from their participation in different professional

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