Professional Development

Continuing professional development through reflexive networks: Disrupting online communities of practice

by Gurmit Singh

Singh, G., McPherson, M. & Sandars, J. (2012). Continuing professional development through reflexive networks: Disrupting online communities of practice. Paper presented at ProPEL International Conference 2012, University of Stirling, UK, May 2012.

Beyond your résumé: Getting noticed and getting in

by George Schaaff

Professional learning and the materiality of social practice

by Åsa Mäkitalo

Published in the Journal of Education and Work in a special issue on Reconceptualising Professional Learning in a Changing Society edited by T. Fenwick, M. Nerland and K Jensen

This article addresses professional learning as intrinsic to social practices. It takes its point of departure in a... more This article addresses professional learning as intrinsic to social practices. It takes its point of departure in a sociocultural notion of mediation and communication in human activity and addresses the constitutive nature of language and artefacts as material-semiotic tools in the social coordination of perspectives and action, meaning-making and gap-bridging
in professional work. The empirical examples are taken from different settings; an IT helpdesk team working in a multinational production company; vocational guidance officers working in a public employment office and from nurses at a rehabilitation ward in a hospital. The theoretical perspective is used when discussing these cases so as to display the
use of the core concepts and the dynamics of change which may be illuminated by the analytical approach. In the conclusion, specific aspects of the materiality of social practice relevant for the study of learning and knowing in professional work are made salient.

Training for cultural competence: Individual and group processes

by Charmaine C. Williams

Aristotle, validity, and action research

by Olav Eikeland

pp.29-44 in Boog, Ben; Preece, Julia; Slagter, Meindert; and Zeelen, Jacques (eds.): Towards Quality Improvement of Action Research, Rotterdam / Taipei, Sense Publishers

Library Instruction and Graduate Professional Development: Exploring the Effect of Learning Environments on Self-Efficacy and Learning Outcomes

by Penny Beile

Few teachers use scholarly literature to improve their professional practice because they do not perceive the... more Few teachers use scholarly literature to improve their professional practice because they do not perceive the connection between research and practice (Kennedy, 1997). Although Kennedy does not suggest why this is occurring, other studies have indicated that students lack the requisite skills to access and retrieve information effectively (Fox & Weston, 1993; Greer, Weston, & Alm, 1991; Maughan, 2001). As a minimum, graduate education should improve teachers' ability and self-efficacy in library research.

From exploring practice to exploring inquiry: a practitioner researcher's experience (this PhD thesis gives the beginnings of "messy method")

by Nigel Mellor

Vist website www.nmellor.com for this thesis - on page called "messy method"

Implementing a technology-supported model for cross-organisational learning and knowledge building for teachers

by Mart Laanpere

Co-authored with Kairit Tammets and Kai Pata, published in European Journal of Teacher Education, Volume 35, Issue 1, 2012

This study proposed using the elaborated learning and knowledge building model (LKB model) derived from Nonaka and... more This study proposed using the elaborated learning and knowledge building model (LKB model) derived from Nonaka and Takeuchi’s knowledge management model for supporting cross-organisational teacher development in the temporarily extended organisations composed of universities and schools. It investigated the main LKB model components in the context of teachers’ professional development; the kind of technological barriers to be overcome in order to implement such a model; and what the application scenarios of an LKB model are. Four groups of stakeholders, altogether 10 persons, were interviewed for the study. Data were analysed using a qualitative framework analysis method. The main findings of the study exposed the following difficulties in applying an LKB model for extended organisations for teacher development: teachers’ sense of identity, technical issues and organisational barriers. Several scenarios were proposed for the use of technology to facilitate the LKB model in the teacher development context using the e-portfolio and social learning resources repository.

The Children of the New Historicism: Literary Scholarship, Professionalization, and the Will to Publish

by Rebecca Munson

Co-authored with Claude Willan. Forthcoming in "The Limits of Literary Historicism"  (ed. Thomas Haddox and Allen Dunn) by University of Tennessee Press.

Reflective practice in developing world contexts: a general review of literature and a specific consideration of an Iranian experience

by Juup Stelma

Co-authored with: Hamid Rahmani Sangani (English Department, Iranshar University, Iran).

Sangani, A-H. and Stelma, J. (2012). Reflective practice in developing world contexts: a general review of literature and a specific consideration of an Iranian experience. Professional Development in Education, 38(1):113-129.

This paper begins with a review of an emerging set of studies, combining a critical focus on reflective teacher... more This paper begins with a review of an emerging set of studies, combining a critical focus on reflective teacher development in developing educational contexts, and a greater level of authorial identification (as compared with previous studies) with the contexts being researched. Next, the paper adds to this emerging literature an analysis of a teacher development initiative in Iran, aimed at giving a group of experienced English-as-a-foreign-language writing teachers time to reflect on their practice. This analysis reveals some shaping influences that appear similar to influences observed in other developing contexts. At the same time, the analysis highlights particularities of this Iranian context. Consistent with findings in other contexts, the teachers’ reflections focused on their working conditions, but did not go very far beyond understanding the challenges these conditions constituted. The teachers also talked about their limited engagement with professional literature, and reflected on how this may have affected their ability to enact new practices. Despite these constraints, the teachers did raise their awareness of various aspects of policy and practice, they did challenge aspects of the hierarchical Iranian education system, and over time they appeared to develop a heightened sense of professional agency.

Occupational Health and Safety Professionals strategies to improve working environment and their self-assessed impact

by Kirsten Olsen

Published in "Work", presented at the International Ergonomics Assosiations congress in Recife, Brazil, 2012

Abstract. Research suggests that Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) practitioners have difficulty influencing the... more Abstract. Research suggests that Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) practitioners have difficulty influencing the decision-making process because they are placed on the sidelines in the organisation. This paper analyses the strategies that OHS practitioners use to fulfill their job role and the impact they have on the working environment and OHS management systems. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten New Zealand OHS practitioners from mainly large private and public organisations about their job role, OHS tasks, strategies and their impact. The interviews were tape recorded, transcribed, entered into a qualitative data management programme and analysed thematically in relation to their strategies, barriers and their impact on the OHS management system and working environment. The analysis revealed that these OHS practitioners used multiple strategies - chosen in relation to the situation, the stakeholders and their own resources. They saw themselves as change agents or facilitators. They preferred to use a knowledge strategy, supported by an audit strategy. Their last resort was a regulation strategy. All of the practitioners had a positive impact on stakeholders’ knowledge, attitude and behavior and on OHS management systems. Some practitioners improved the working environment but few were involved in introduction of new technology.

Leadership trajectory: did the Aurora Leadership Institute make a difference?

by Kim Tairi

Paper presented at the 15th ALIA Information Online Conference and Exhibition, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 01-03 February 2011

The Aurora Leadership Institute started in 1995 its mandate 'to position leaders as dynamic and effective voices in... more The Aurora Leadership Institute started in 1995 its mandate 'to position leaders as dynamic and effective voices in our sophisticated information environment.' Since then many librarians and others who work in the information industry have completed the program. As a 2006 graduate who made life changing decisions post-Aurora, I have often reflected on whether going to Aurora changed or boosted my leadership trajectory and whether other Aurorans had experiences similar to mine. Last year, using surveys, interviews and focus groups, I asked Aurora graduates about their experiences post-Aurora and whether the program had equipped them to meet their own leadership aspirations and the expectations of their employers. I really wanted to know whether they perceived themselves as more effective leaders now and if the program had helped them along the way. This paper will present the findings of a small-scale study. Many of the stories told are quite personal. As expected a significant number of those who participated in the study have gone on to become senior managers. Some left the profession and others made momentous decisions about their professional and private lives. The study does however answer the question - did Aurora make a difference. Many of the participants are on their way to becoming leaders in the profession and others have arrived.

Beyond the Holy Grail: why academic librarianship is more than just reference (2008)

by Rebecca Parker

Paper presented at the 4th ALIA New Librarians Symposium (NLS4), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 05-06 December 2008

It’s easy to graduate from library school with the perception that all academic librarians spend their days behind a... more It’s easy to graduate from library school with the perception that all academic librarians spend their days behind a reference desk. Reference work is the primary focus of most information provision subjects and is held up as the exemplar of library services, the ‘holy grail’ of professional librarianship. Yet there are many other challenging quests that need the support of librarians in the academic library context. In the past there has been a tendency to focus almost exclusively on the information needs of students in the university environment, but academic libraries also serve a variety of other user groups central to the existence of universities and the advancement of research. By engaging with new areas of responsibility within universities, academic librarians step outside the traditional boundaries of librarianship and into new and exciting professional realms. Skills in information management and a detailed understanding of publication trends make librarians invaluable to universities for collecting and managing research outputs. Their support for open access publishing and institutional repositories puts academic librarians at the vanguard of the open access movement, a response to the desire for wider access to research than established scholarly publishing models allow. Increased research exposure benefits universities and individual academics, as it improves their research profiles both here and overseas. In this paper, I will show how the open access movement fosters opportunities for academic librarians to break down barriers to information access, while still actively serving researchers--and universities--who are often neglected as academic library users.

The Role of Reflective Journals in Early Childhood Pre-Service Teachers’ Professional Development

by Halil Eksi

Nesrin ISIKOGLU (ISHIKOGLU)
Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice
7 (2) • May 2007 • 819-825

The purpose of this study was to examine how early childhood pre-service teachers
developed professionally... more The purpose of this study was to examine how early childhood pre-service teachers
developed professionally through reflective journals. The study focused on the quality
of reflection and the effects of reflection on pre-service teachers’ professional development.
Thirty-two students, majoring in early childhood education, were participated
in this qualitative research study. Data were gathered through documents
and semi-structured interiews and analyzed through content analysis techniques.
The results of the study indicate that pre-service teachers demonstrate three stages
of reflection “routine, technical and critical” in professional development themes
named “evaluation, problem solving and consciousness.” Technical and critical level
reflections indicated that pre-service teachers were in the process of professional
development and change.

Graduate Foundation Scheme with a Focus on Dignity and Older Adults

by Allyson Lipp

The care experiences of older people in Wales and rest of the UK have risen to the top of the political agenda... more The care experiences of older people in Wales and rest of the UK have risen to the top of the political agenda recently, and it is the role of the nurse manager to find ways to meet the demands of the ‘dignity agenda’. A review by the Older People’s Commissioner of Wales (Marks 2011) recommended that ‘better knowledge of the needs of older people with dementia is needed, together with improved communication, training, support and standards of care’.  In an effort to meet this recommendation, a health care organization, Cwm Taf Health Board, has developed a Graduate Foundation Programme which focuses on the dignity of older patients in various hospital settings. This article describes the develoment and implementation of the Programme.

The Power of Professional Development.

by Trish Hatch

Signifying authenticity in academic practice: a framework for better understanding and harnessing portfolio assessment

by Chris Trevitt

Using narrative reflection to explore attitudes on stigma and professional formation.

by John Steven Cummins

Presentation at CGEA 2012 (March 30-31, 2012).

Background
The University of Missouri School of Medicine identifies the ability to provide effective... more Background
The University of Missouri School of Medicine identifies the ability to provide effective patient-centered care as a key characteristic of its graduates. Such care requires, amongst other attributes, the ability to explore the patient’s feelings, ideas and expectations (Stewart et al 2003); an ability that is of particular relevance to the care of patients with mental illnesses (Baldwin 2005). Narrative exercises, including self reflection and point-of-view writing, have considerable potential for developing this ability (Charon 2001). As part of our “Introduction to Patient Care” curriculum, our students meet with volunteer patients with chronic mental illness. After the patients leave, students have seven minutes to provide a written response to the following prompt: “Imagine that the person you have just met is going to his/her annual physical. Describe the feelings, ideas, fantasies, and expectations that he are she may have about it.” They then share their thoughts with each other in faculty mentored small group discussion. Issues of stereotyping and stigma in mental health are addressed in a contemporaneous didactic session.

Methods
94 anonymous narratives were collected; 7 were omitted from analysis for being uncodable (viz., contained only a DSM-IVTR diagnosis, or were blank). The remaining 87 narratives were then coded and analyzed for thematic content using methods derived from grounded theory and thematic analysis. A second year of data was collected in November 2011 and will be analyzed in the same manner. In addition, during year two a focus group was conducted to explore student perceptions of the experience in general and specifically of using narrative in this way.

Results
Frequently occurring themes included both positive and negative affective content; mistrust of medicine/the physician; and stigma associated with mental illness. Professional formation
themes (those speaking to the understanding of the role of the physician) were also prominent. The narratives suggested a conception of a multivalent physician: one that is a technician, an expert, a relationship builder, an authority figure, and even a shaman.

Conclusions
Our research suggests that narrative reflection can offer useful insight into attitudes held by medical students, both regarding mental illness and professional formation. While exploring
these narratives elucidated a specific group of students' attitudes, it also provided a way to elaborate upon broader themes pertinent to professional formation as a whole in medical
education.

"What the doctor (I) told him”: Using narrative reflection to explore attitudes on stigma and professional formation

by John Steven Cummins

Poster for University of Missouri - Columbia, School of Medicine Research Day 2012
Co-authored with Rachel Brown, MD; Jessica Nittler, MD; Melissa Griggs, PhD

Narrative reflection has been infrequently used as a method of evaluation and teaching for medical trainees. To... more Narrative reflection has been infrequently used as a method of evaluation and teaching for medical trainees. To explore this further, we invited 94 pre-clinical students to listen to a mental illness advocate discuss the experiences they've had in healthcare. The students then were prompted to free-write on what they imagined the person they just met would feel about or expect of an annual physical examination.

These narratives were coded and analyzed for key themes and concepts using grounded theory. Frequently occurring themes included both positive and negative affective content; mistrust of medicine/the physician; and stigma associated with mental illness. Professional formation themes (those speaking to the understanding of the role of the physician) were also prominent: in the end, the narratives suggested a conception of a multivalent physician: one that is a technician, an expert, a relationship builder, an authority figure, and even a shaman.

Our research suggests that narrative reflection can offer useful insight into attitudes held by medical students, both regarding mental illness and professional formation. While exploring these narratives elucidated a specific group of students' attitudes, it also provided a way to elaborate upon broader themes pertinent to professional formation as a whole in medical education.

The Use of Narrative in Building Empathy Towards Patients with Mental Illness.

by John Steven Cummins

Workshop at The Examined Life conference, University of Iowa Carver School of Medicine, April 19-21, 2012. Co-presented with Jessica Nittler, M.D.; Rachel Brown, M.B.B.S.; Melissa Griggs, Ph.D.; Karen Gordy-Panhorst, M.A.

This Workshop combines an experiential component with the report of the outcomes of an educational intervention for... more This Workshop combines an experiential component with the report of the outcomes of an educational intervention for second year medical students. The University of Missouri School of Medicine identifies the ability to provide effective patient centered care as a key characteristic of its graduates. Such care requires, amongst other attributes, the ability to explore the patient’s feelings, ideas and expectations (Stewart et al 2003); an ability that is of particular relevance to the care of patients with mental illnesses (Baldwin 2005). Narrative exercises, including self reflection and point-of-view writing, have considerable potential for developing this ability (Charon 2001). As part of our "Introduction to Patient Care" curriculum, our students meet with volunteer patients with chronic mental illness. After the patients leave, students have seven minutes to provide a written response to the following prompt: "Imagine that the person you have just met is going to his/her annual physical. Describe the feelings, ideas, fantasies, and expectations that he are she may have about it." They then share their thoughts with each other in faculty mentored small group discussion. Issues of stereotyping and stigma in mental health are addressed in a contemporaneous didactic session. We will provide a brief introduction to narrative and point of view writing and then describe our educational intervention. We will lead all (or a subgroup as appropriate) of workshop participants through a similar exercise prompted by recollection of participants’ experience of working with patients with chronic mental illness. This activity will be followed by a report of a qualitative analysis of the themes identified in the student narratives, and of feedback obtained from the student body about the effectiveness of this exercise in learning patient centered care and reducing stereotypes and stigma surrounding mental illness.

Objectives: Participants will be able to understand the impact of point-of-view writing on student perceptions of people with mental illness, and articulate one process that may assist in student development as patient centered physicians.