Page 82 - Innovative Professional Development Methods and Strategies for STEM Education

A Paradigm Shift for Teachers’ Professional Development Structure in Turkey

ning of the project almost all the teachers were fairly low in their pedagogical implementation; however,
they moved up to higher levels of implementation over the course of the project. Such pedagogical shifts
also continued in the second and third years of the project.
At the end of the second year of the project, around 60 percent of the teachers were in the develop-
ing level, 20 percent in the transitioning level and another 20 percent in the implementing level (Gunel,
Akkus, Ozer-Keskin &Keskin-Samanci, 2013). Finally, in the final year of the project, the teachers’
implementation levels were found to be 20 percent developing, 60 percent transitioning, and 20 percent
implementing (Gunel, Akkus, Ozer-Keskin &Keskin-Samanci, 2014). The above-mentioned pedagogical
shift originated in very low levels and carried on to the highly anticipated level, and took time, practice,
reflection as well as cooperative effort. Contrary to the current PD frameworks, content and beliefs in
the Turkish educational settings (short-term and content-oriented), the results of this project show that
pedagogical changes in teachers require at least two years of continuous effort. These findings are in line
with the international studies as well as the standards and norms regarding in-service teacher training.
To reveal how and why such a significant pedagogical shift occurred, the researchers focused on the
teachers’ evaluation of their own change over the course of the project.
The participating teachers stressed the importance of observing their own change and students’ learning
outcomes as the project progressed. Since the project staff shared the implementation reports with the
teachers every six months, the teachers were able to see and reflect on their own practices, strengths, and
areas to improve in the long term (Tanriverdi & Gunel, 2012). Furthermore, Gunel (2013a) and Gunel
(2013b) reported that being able to see and align teachers’ own progress with their students’ academic
achievements and improvement in thinking skills was a crucial motivation for the participants to pursue
the change and development.
As in the case of in-service training programmes in any sector, generating and scaffolding internal
motivation towards a sustainable change is an essential element in professional development activities
for teachers. While the current in-service practices in the Turkish educational settings have shifted to-
wards content delivery through distance education, the structure of the programmes also suffers from
the lack of assessment, absence of motivation, and inconsistency of the content due to daily practices
(Gunel &Tanriverdi, 2014). On the other hand, the current project activities in relation to the profes-
sional development of teachers provide an opportunity to adopt effective, data-driven, sustainable, and
value-added in-service practices in the Turkish educational settings. Despite being the rudiments of
professional development programmes in an international setting, these components are still far from
being embedded in the Turkish teacher-training policies and practices.

The Process of Change in Students over the Course of Project

Reaching out to the students is the ultimate goal of any in-service teacher training programme across
the globe. Therefore, aligning the purposes, structure, and implementation of PD with expected learning
outcomes in students is a key element during the planning and enactment phases of in-service trainings.
However, as argued by Gunel and Tanriverdi (2014), up-to-date PD legislation, programmes and prac-
tices in the Turkish educational settings do not consider students’ learning outcomes. The implemented
programmes do not assess the effects of PD on teachers’ pedagogy or students’ learning enhancements.
While one would argue that such shortcomings are a blueprint of most Turkish legislative and operative
actions, the inclination for the PD accountability calls for a robust relationship between what is done
within the PD and how it is reflected in students’ learning.

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