{"id":1965,"date":"2021-07-13T19:22:26","date_gmt":"2021-07-13T17:22:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/value.invalsi.it\/portale\/?post_type=magazine&p=1965"},"modified":"2021-07-13T19:22:27","modified_gmt":"2021-07-13T17:22:27","slug":"motivation-and-exchange-of-best-practice-key-issues-for-the-development-of-educationists-professional-skills","status":"publish","type":"magazine","link":"https:\/\/value.invalsi.it\/portale\/en\/magazine\/motivation-and-exchange-of-best-practice-key-issues-for-the-development-of-educationists-professional-skills\/","title":{"rendered":"Motivation and exchange of best practice: key issues for the development of educationists\u2019 professional skills"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Editorial Board of Valu.Enews met Professor Chris Brown and Professor Cindy Poortman during the last three International Congresses for School Effectiveness and Improvement<\/a> held in Stavanger (2019), Marrakech (2020), and online due to the Covid pandemics (2021). In the light of the reflections on ensuring quality education for all, that Valu.Enews has promoted during the last four years, the Editorial Board decided to facilitate a \u201cdouble interview\u201d between the two scholars, on issues such as professional learning, personal motivation of school personnel in taking part in professional development projects, and the exchange of educational best practice. The recent ICSEI Congress on \u201cCrossing Boundaries and Building Bridges<\/a>\u201d was crucial in delving into such questions, and with the help of the two researchers we try to sum up these key elements. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chris Brown is Professor in Education at Durham University<\/a>‘s School of Education. Chris is seeking to drive forward the notion of Professional Learning Networks (PLNs) as a means to promote the collaborative learning of teachers. In April 2021, he co-edited the monograph \u201cEducating Tomorrow. Learning for the Post-Pandemic World<\/a>\u201d (Emerald Publishing), with Ruth Luzmore (school principal of the St. Mary Magdalene Academy in London). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cindy Poortman is an Associate Professor at the University of Twente<\/a> in the Netherlands. Her research and teaching focus on teachers\u2019 and school leaders\u2019 professional development in doing research in teams and networks. Poortman is also responsible for the research program for the education of future engineers 4TU.CEE<\/a> (Center for Engineering Education) of the Dutch University of Twente. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chris and Cindy are the co-founders and co-conveners of the International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement’s network Professional Learning Networks<\/a>. They edited together the book \u201cNetworks for Learning: Effective Collaboration for Teacher, School and System Improvement<\/a>\u201d (Routledge, London 2018).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Professor Brown, the recent International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement was held online due to the Covid emergency period. You have been appointed as an <\/em><\/strong>ICSEI Board<\/em><\/strong><\/a> Member last year, what do you think about the first online Congress\u2019 organization after 34 years of ICSEI history?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00abThe pandemic has shown us that new ways of working are possible, and ICSEI is no exception. Although what I find most inspiring about ICSEI is the sense of family and community, I think we showed that an online Congress is possible, and that we were able to replicate much of what is great about this annual event. In particular, I am proud that we still managed to bring together a fantastic range of keynotes<\/a> and speakers, and provide a wonderfully insightful and knowledge-rich event. Of course, while there are some good reasons to now move a lot of activity to online, I hope to meeting my ICSEI family in person as soon as possible!\u00bb<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Professor Poortman, do you think\nthat ICSEI\u2019s main aims have been confirmed, even in the context of a distance Congress\nheld entirely online?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00abThe ICSEI Congress has always\nbeen a great opportunity to connect in person to discuss our work and plan\nfurther collaborations. Nevertheless, from submitting proposals to putting\ntogether the program all involved worked hard to make ICSEI 2021 the best\npossible online experience. Much effort was put into opportunities for\ninteraction even in keynote sessions, showing that the ICSEI community itself\nis a Professional Learning Network (PNL) and everyone is committed to keep inspiring\neach other and learning together. Still we cannot overstate the importance of\nconnecting socially, and we cannot wait to meet in person again as soon as this\nis possible.\u00bb<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Professor Brown, what relationship\ndo you think can be traced between school evaluation and educational\neffectiveness?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00abI think that we can only\nunderstand how effectiveness does or doesn\u2019t occur as a result of intelligent\nevaluation. The world is replete with interventions that have failed to make\nany impact; likewise of interventions that appear to be successful in some\nsettings but not in others. What we need is a process of evaluation that\nenables us to understand how a theory of change has played out in a given\ncontext: e.g. to have knowledge of the activities and interactions that\noccurred, barriers and enablers to engagement, expected change versus actual\nchange (and so on). It is only once we have this that we can help educators\nunderstand how to translate interventions so that they work in a variety of\nsettings to achieve the change desired.\u00bb<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Professor Poortman, how do you\nthink that taking part in professional development programs for school\npersonnel can help improve schools?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00abIn a research contribution on\nwhich we are working on with colleagues Kim Schildkamp and Chris Brown, we go\ninto the challenge of linking student outcomes with professional development\ninterventions, and PLNs in particular. Several systematic reviews show effects\nof educator participation in networks on student outcomes, but point to both\nconceptual and methodological issues at the same time. To evaluate\neffectiveness, we need to address the theory of action for interventions and\nuse an appropriate research design. In terms of measurement, for example, we\nneed to define PLN elements well (e.g. \u2018reflective professional inquiry\u2019).\nDigital education, both for teachers and students, provides more opportunities\nto make more use of other data than only self-report data.\u00bb<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But how can we combine the\naspiration to improve schools with the work that teachers do in their classrooms\nin everyday life?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00abTwo of my PhD students, are looking into this from the perspective of professional development (in PLNs) for sustainable school improvement. They are using a \u2018core components\u2019 lens for sustainability, rather than a \u2018fidelity\u2019 approach. In his paper \u201cThe conundrum research-practice partnerships face with system variability<\/a>\u201d, McNaughtonv states: \u2018taking innovation to scale faces context-specific conditions\u2019. Moreover, in PLNs in general and research-practice partnerships in particular, practitioners, researchers (and policy-makers) work together on evidence-informed innovation, aiming to combine general guidelines from research with context-specific knowledge and experience to improve student outcomes.\u00bb<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Professor Brown, what can we\nlearn from decentralized interventions for the development of professional\nskills for schools? How can the experience of those who have participated in\nthese kinds of programs before us help us?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00abFor me the answer comes from\nholding research conversations with those involved. From the innovators\nthemselves, such conversations need to help us understand how a given\nintervention was designed to be implemented and how it was intended that\npractitioners should engage with it (as well as what should happen as a\nresult). But we also need to engage with practitioners to understand their\nlived experience of the intervention and whether this reveals flaws in programme\ndesign or implementation. We can then play these lived experiences back to the\ninnovators who can then amend their programme as appropriate.\u00bb<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this context, an element such\nas the individual will to “get involved” in programs aimed at the\nimprovement of the ability to read educational data and school processes seems\nto be essential. Is that so?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think the role of emotion is super important here. For instance the work of Schildkamp and Datnow \u201cWhen Data Teams Struggle: Learning from Less Successful Data Use Efforts<\/a>\u201d shows us that how practitioners view the purpose of (for example) data teams is vital: with data use efforts focused on accountability being far less fruitful than those focused on continuous improvement, or an explicit focus on equity, which are \u2018more likely to lead to school policies and practices that expand students\u2019 opportunities to learn\u2019. Likewise, when teachers experience negative experiences with data use, such as shaming and blaming or feel that their time is being wasted, they are far less likely to be engaged. Positive experiences, on the other hand, (for example, working with a productive team that is delving deeply into learning) are likely to encourage teachers to become more engaged, motivated, and in turn, more reflective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Professor Poortman, the\npossibility that teachers have to go round with other colleagues involved in\nthese kind of projects who work in similar realities, but at the same time\ndifferent and not very comparable to each other, does not represent a possible\nlimit to the success of programs like these?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the basic guidelines for\nworking in PLNs is that participants have a shared sense of purpose focused on\nstudent learning. PLN participation should be in line with what educators want\nto work on because of issues in their daily practice, rather than something on\ntop of everything else. Of course this is easier said than done, and lack of\nfacilitation in time and alignment with school vision keep being some of the\nmain factors impeding effectiveness. On the other hand, here are just a couple\nof quotes of some of the PLN teachers in our projects: \u2018I keep learning new and\ndifferent things and can apply them directly\u2019; \u2018Dynamic and inspiring\u2019; Fun \u00e1nd\nbetter learning results\u2019; \u2018I learned so many new things!\u2019vi. Although improved\nstudent outcomes are the ultimate goal, teachers also value PLN participation\nin itself as a pleasant and useful process of professional development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further reading:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Binkhorst, F. (2017). Connecting the dots: Supporting the implementation of teacher design teams<\/a>. Enschede: University of Twente. Prenger, R., Poortman, C. L., & Handelzalts, A. (2019). The effects of networked professional learning communities. Journal of teacher education, 70(5), 441-452.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brown, C., Poortman, C., Gray, H., Ophoff, J. G., & Wharf, M. M. (2021). Facilitating collaborative reflective inquiry amongst teachers: What do we currently know?<\/a>. International Journal of Educational Research, 105, 101695. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do\u011fan, S., & Adams, A. (2018). Effect of professional learning communities on teachers and students: Reporting updated results and raising questions about research design<\/a>. School effectiveness and school improvement, 29(4), 634-659. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Prenger, R., Poortman, C. L., & Handelzalts, A. (2019). The effects of networked professional learning communities<\/a>. Journal of teacher education, 70(5), 441-452. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Schildkamp, K and Datnow, A. (2020) When Data Teams Struggle: Learning from Less Successful Data Use Efforts<\/a>, Leadership and Policy in Schools, DOI: 10.1080\/15700763.2020.1734630. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tappel, A., Poortman, C.L., Schildkamp, K. & Visscher, A.J. (2020). Factors influencing the sustainability of a data use intervention<\/a>. Paper presented at the 33rd International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement, Marrakech, Morocco.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1873,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[554],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"yoast_head":"\nMotivation and exchange of best practice: key issues for the development of educationists\u2019 professional skills - Valu.E Gate<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/value.invalsi.it\/portale\/en\/magazine\/motivation-and-exchange-of-best-practice-key-issues-for-the-development-of-educationists-professional-skills\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"it_IT\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Motivation and exchange of best practice: key issues for the development of educationists\u2019 professional skills - 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