FOSTERING CONSTRUCTIVIST TEACHING BELIEFS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE CLASSROOMS THROUGH THE IMPLEMENTATION OF PARTICIPANT-DRIVEN WORKSHOPS, PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES, AND COACHING FACILITIES WITHIN A PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT STRUCTURE IN INDIA

professional development;India;teachers’ beliefs;classroom practices;Education

Shah, RachnaBryant, Camille ;

Johns Hopkins University

关键词: professional development;    India;    teachers’ beliefs;    classroom practices;    Education;   

Others  :  https://jscholarship.library.jhu.edu/bitstream/handle/1774.2/60051/SHAH-DISSERTATION-2018.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

瑞士|英语

来源: JOHNS HOPKINS DSpace Repository

【 摘 要 】

Several education policy initiatives in India have failed to improve students’ reading comprehension achievement. It is widely recognized that students’ comprehension is critical to overall academic achievement. A review of the literature and a needs assessment at a special needs private school in Mumbai, India revealed teachers’ traditional beliefs about learning and teaching, and instructional practices in the classroom were impeding student’s comprehension scores. A mixed methods study was conducted to determine if participant-driven workshops, professional learning community meetings, and coaching sessions embedded within a constructivist professional development framework over a three-month period would be effective in enabling teachers to adopt more constructivist beliefs and classroom practices, thus influencing students’ comprehension levels within the context. English language teachers (n = 9) at the school participated in three 3-hour monthly participant-driven workshops, four 45-minute bi-weekly professional learning community meetings, and eleven 1-hour weekly coaching sessions. The study findings demonstrated that when high to medium high fidelity was maintained with regard to delivery, adherence, and participant responsiveness, there were notable alterations on comprehensive professional development models for special education teachers and opportunities for more inclusive learning environments for special needs children.