This paper starts with discussions about factors that initiate teacher learning in

modern times, which offer some background information about the changes schools

and teachers have to deal with. Then, an exploration into teacher isolation and

collaboration helps understand the nature of teaching profession. Furthermore, the

paper examines issues relevant to teacher professional development, which include

changes in the concept of professionalism, the locus of control of professionalism,

quality professional development and professional development for English

teachers.

The Factors Initiating Teacher Learning in Modern Times

Several major factors have a direct influence on teacher learning and

professional development. One of the factors is associated with social and

technological development. Another comes from the demand of the educational

reform. The third one derives directly from the shift from a teaching to learning

paradigm and the fourth one arises from the changing role of teachers. The

individual teacher is in the center, surrounded and influenced by different layers of

factors. Figure 2 shows the relationship of the factors with individual teachers.

Figure 1 Factors Initiating Teacher Learning

First of all, multiple and complex social changes have placed multiple

demands on teachers (Dadds, 2001). Modern teachers are required to cope with

these changes and to foster practices which are responsive to educational needs of all

children. As to technological development, the way in which Information

Communication Technology (ICT) transforms teaching and learning has proved to

be an influential aspect for teacher learners. It highlights the importance and

necessity of teachers acquainting themselves with innovative teaching approaches

Social changes and technological development

Society

Schools

Teaching paradigm

The changing roleof teachers

Educational reform

A shift of teaching and learning paradigms

Individual teachers

that are associated with emerging technologies.

Secondly, school systems have been considered predictable, systematic, and

bureaucratic for centuries. However, along with social changes and technological

development came a revolutionary assertion of educational reforms taking place

globally three decades ago. Diversity, mobility, and technology have emerged as

prime forces underlying our lives, which in turn significantly influence school

systems. As a result, there is a tremendous need for reforms in school systems to

change teaching and learning. These initiatives are overwhelming virtually to all the

involved parties: administrators, students, teachers, parents, and even the

community.

Thirdly, also influenced by the factors mentioned above, traditional, teacher-

centered, and text-based teaching is gradually shifting to learner-centered, activity-

based and outcome-based learning. This is in line with Jaffee (2003) when he says,

“…learning requires not just the passive reception of content but also an active

process of engagement, application, syntheses and authentic understanding” (p. 8).

The changing paradigm poses a great challenge for teachers, most of whom learned

to teach by using the lecture method. However, many findings indicate that the

lecture method is clearly less effective than other methods in changing thoughts and

attitudes (Bligh, 1972; Eison & Bonwell, 1988; Kellogg Commission on the Future

of State and Land Grant University, 1997, 1999; Terenzini & Pascarella, 1994). How

to deal with the changing paradigm is an emerging lesson teachers need to learn.

Lastly, closely related to the shift in teaching paradigm is the changing role of

teachers. The new paradigm demands that teachers see themselves as co-learners

with their students. Teachers, like their students, are required to advance their

knowledge and enrich their vision so as to become competent and confident in the

ever-changing time. A comparison of teacher-centered and learner-centered

paradigms is offered by Huba and Freed (2000):

Table 1 Comparison of Teacher-centered and Learner-centered Paradigms

Teacher-centered Paradigm Learner-centered Paradigm

Knowledge is transmitted from professor to

students.

Students construct knowledge through gathering

and synthesizing information and integrating it

with the general skills of inquiry, communication,

critical thinking, problem solving, and so on.

Students passively receive information. Students are actively involved.

Emphasis is on acquisition of knowledge outside

the context in which it will be used.

Emphasis is on using and communicating

knowledge effectively to address enduring and

emerging issues and problems in real-life

contexts.

Professor’s role is to be primary information giver

and primary evaluator.

Teacher’s role is to coach and facilitate. Teacher

and students evaluate learning together.

Teaching and assessing are separate. Teaching and assessing are intertwined.

Assessment is used to monitor learning. Assessment is used to promote and diagnose

learning.

Emphasis is on right answers. Emphasis is on generating better questions and

learning from errors.

Desired learning is assessed indirectly through the

use of objectively scored tests.

Desired learning is assessed directly through

papers, projects, performances, portfolios, and the

like.

Focus is on a single discipline. Approach is compatible with interdisciplinary

investigation.

Culture is competitive and individualistic. Cultural is cooperative, collaborative, and

supportive.

Only students are viewed as learners. Teacher and students learn together.

Note. From Learner-center assessment on college campuses (p. 5), by M. E.

Huba & J. E. Freed, 2000, Needham Heights: Allyn & Bacon.

The factors above contribute to the needs for teachers to change. And the facts

prove that educational reforms cannot attain its goals without the fundamental

changes from teachers. That is why scholars such as Fullan and Stiegelbauer (1991)

and Fullan (2001) have urged teachers to play the roles of change agents within the

educational context. However, why teaches choose to engage in professional

development programs and why they are willing to be change agents are closely

related to such internal forces of teachers as motivation or personal belief and the

external attributes like social changes or school reforms. While most researches

promote either the ideas of the importance of teacher professional growth or the

design of professional programs, there is a need to explore and analyze those inner

needs or motives. This research expects to explore teachers’ internal needs or

motives for professional development. To do this, it is necessary to examine what

makes teaching an isolated job and how to encourage teacher collaboration.

Teacher Isolation vs. Teacher Collaboration

Teacher isolation, a common theme addressed by those who study the collegial

relationships of teacher (Johnson, 1990; Little, 1993), is defined as the extent to

which teachers are restricted from or restrict themselves from interactions with other

individuals or groups in the school (Bakkenes, Brabander, & Imants, April, 1999;

Johnson, 1990). Generally speaking, this isolation is built into the structure of the

working day, in the scheduling, in the description of roles, duties, and

responsibilities, in the division of programs, content, and students, and in the

physical design of the school (Savvedra, 2000). It also results from personal

characteristics. For example, Johnson (1990) suggests that some teachers remain

distant from their colleagues either out of disregard for others, reluctance to share, or

fear of exposing their weaknesses. A research conducted by Bakkenes, Brabander

and Imants (1999) explains teacher isolation from a defensive perspective—the

protection of scarce time and resources to work with students, rather than from an

offensive perspective—the opportunities to influence other adults in the school. The

finding suggests that to develop collegial relationships within a school,

communication should be stimulated on topics that are closely linked to the

instructional process.

There is no denying that the protection of opportunities and time to work with

students is a strong motive in teacher behavior. Nias (1989) holds that teacher’s self

or professional identity is built on the work with students. Nevertheless, research

also indicates that teachers recognize that informal or formal interactions with fellow

teachers could satisfy their needs for adult company and personal support, invigorate

their teaching from instructional assistance as well as promote institutional

coordination (Johnson, 1990). Collegiality would allow teachers to share the

common goals, and most of all, the moral purpose emphasized by Fullan (2001) in

his book Leading in a Culture of Change. Therefore, collegial programs should not

be limited to the instructional aspect only. Rather, inquiry about instructional

practice is only one of the collegial seeds, which is joined by collaboration, self-

direction, trust, and commitment (Dantonio, 2001).

There are two types to collaboration: inside and outside collaboration (Fullan,

1999). Inside collaboration provides teachers with a means for professional learning

and development with the context of self and community. Outside collaboration

involves working with other interested parties outside the school, which provides

opportunities for new kinds of expertise through teamwork and conversations. In

this research, collaboration started inside the community initially but spread out

when those participants started to work in different schools. Outside collaboration is

expected when the members work on collaborative projects that require them to seek

expertise from different resources. Both inside and outside collaboration requires

teachers who enjoy pursuing professional development and seeking opportunity to

working with others in order to achieve certain professional goals in their career

path. Therefore, a broader picture of teacher professional development, which is

going to be discussed in the following section, could provide clearer ideas how to

promote teacher learning.

The Professional Development of Teachers

Changes in the Concept of Professionalism

In general, “professionalism” refers to a certain type of professional ethos,

skills and behavior in congruent with a specific, prevailing professional ideology

(Hargreaves &Good, 1996). In the case of teaching, two major ideologies give

distinctive definition of teaching, its knowledge base, and its ethical implication

(Zuzovsky, 2001). One ideology views teaching as an applied science or “technical

rationality” (Schon, 1983), of which the knowledge is codified, generic, and

disciplinary. It is suggested that there are general solutions to practical problems.

These solutions can be developed outside practice situations and can be transformed

into practitioners’ actions by high-level training, publications, regulations, etc.

Accordingly, teachers’ professional development is defined as the acquisition of

scientific knowledge and skills relevant to teaching.

However, the traditional view of professional development has proved

inadequate since it generalizes the complex dynamics and unique qualities of

professionalism. In an attempt to match this complexity and uniqueness of teachers’

professional work, the paradigm of “reflective rationality” has been proposed. This

ideology is based on the assumption that complex practical situations need specific

solutions. Problems are defined and strategies are selected when the practitioners are

in cooperation with those involved. The reflective view of professional development

puts a premium on making choices and judgments among dilemmas related to

teaching work. Professional development of teachers involves growth in reflective

skills and awareness of the essential values underlying and affecting their actions.

Hargreaves and Goodson (1996) introduce five different models of

professionalism based on the two ideologies (the technical rationality and the

reflective rationality): classical professionalism, flexible professionalism, practical

professionalism, extended professionalism, and complex professionalism.

Classical professionalism asserts that teachers, like lawyers or doctors, have a

specialized knowledge base and technical culture. Teaching is characterized by a

strong ethics of service and standards of practice.

Flexible professionalism centers on building local professional communities,

promoting cultures of collaboration and replacing an ideal of scientific certainty with

the aim of situated, context-related certainty.

Practical professionalism views professionalism as private, experiential and

striving towards the personal construction of practical knowledge. Teacher

development is about interpretative reflection on and in action, as well as more

critical reflection about action and about the social conditions and consequence of

one’s actions as a teacher.

Extended professionalism breaks through a rather intuitive practical

professionalism embedded in personal practice. It includes the broader perspective

of the school and the theoretical dimension that underlies the practical experiences.

Complex professionalism considers teaching not only extended but also very

complex in terms of knowledge, reasoning and tasks. This increased complexity

leads to a rise in professional prestige and occupation status in one end and stress or

“burn out” on the other.

Hargreaves and Goodson (1996) conclude that elements from all the five

models should be incorporated into professionalism in a post-modern era where

teachers are faced with increasing complexity, economic flexibility and scientific

and moral uncertainty. Table 2 summarizes the relationship between two ideologies

and five different professional development models.

Table 2 A brief comparison of the technical rationality and the reflective rationality and the

correspondent professional development models

Teaching Professional ideologies

The Technical Rationality The Reflective Rationality

Knowledge is codified, generic and disciplinary. Knowledge is complex, unique, and flexible.

Professional development means to acquire

scientific knowledge and skills

Professional development is about making

decision and judgment, improving reflective skills

and raising awareness.

Models of Professional development

Classical professionalism Flexible professionalism

Practical professionalism

Extended professionalism

Complex professionalism

As is shown in this table, ideal professional development programs should

integrate different types of professionalism with a view to cultivating the reflective

teaching and enhancing self-awareness. The changes in the concept of

professionalism definitely have a direct impact on the areas of professional

development. The following section provides more information related to these

changes.

Changes in the Areas of Professional Development

What constitutes professional development? In other words, what changes are

teachers seeking when pursuing professional improvement? Borko and Putman

(1995) divide professional knowledge into general pedagogical knowledge, subject-

matter knowledge and pedagogical knowledge:

General pedagogical knowledge includes 1) learning environments and

instructional strategies, 2) classroom management and 3) knowledge of learners and

learning. Subject-matter knowledge consists of two areas: 1) knowledge of content

and substantive structure and 2) syntactic structures, while pedagogical content

knowledge involves four areas: 1) overarching conception of teaching a subject, 2)

knowledge of instructional strategies and representations, 3) knowledge of students’

understandings and potential misunderstanding, and 4) knowledge of curriculum and

curricular materials

Borko and Putman’s ideas about teachers’ knowledge remain at a very

traditional level, which mainly focus on knowledge limited to individual teachers’

teaching contexts. Eraut (1995) offers a broader vision of teachers’ professional

knowledge. He divides the domain of teachers’ knowledge into two dimensions. The

first dimension comprises three areas of knowledge: 1) subject-matter knowledge, 2)

education knowledge, and 3) societal knowledge. The second dimension indicates

the range of contexts where teachers can apply this knowledge: 1) classroom

knowledge. 2) classroom-related knowledge. 3) management knowledge, 4) other

professional knowledge: curriculum development, pupil counseling, communication

with parents, etc.

Higgins and Leat (2001) state that professional development consists of five

aspects: 1) subject knowledge, 2) pedagogical knowledge, 3) craft knowledge, 4)

image and self-concept, and 5) understanding goals of education. Compared with

other scholars, Higgins and Leat’s propositions sound simpler. However, examined

closely, they probably provide a more complete list which best meets the needs of

modern teachers not only because they remind to include technology learning in

teacher professional development but also take into account teachers’ image and

self-concept, an area which gains little attention in the academy.

With so many areas to cover, professional development is complex per se, let

alone when it involves individual teachers who are tremendously different in their

teaching philosophy and beliefs, their teaching styles, their views of teaching and

learning, as well as their relationship with students. Research has contributed by

offering a spectrum of professional knowledge for teachers; nevertheless, in reality,

most of the mandated training programs for professional development deliver

subject or pedagogical knowledge while leaving little space for teacher

collaboration. Teachers’ personal well-being is seldom included in the formal

professional development activities, nor is teacher self-direction. Without taking

these aspects into account, teachers are not inspired to take charge of their own

personal and professional journey of growth.

Delivery Approaches and the Locus of Control of Professionalism

Lack in clarification of questions such as “How professionalism is delivered?”

and “What is the development subject of professionalism?” incompletes the

discussion of professional development. Therefore, such essential issues as “delivery

approaches” and “locus of control” cannot be ignored.

Regarding delivery approaches, Guskey (2000) proposes the following models:

1) training, 2) observation/assessment, 3) involvement in a

development/improvement process, 4) study groups, 5) inquiry/action research, 6)

individually guided activities, and 7) mentoring. Higgins and Leat’s (2001)

approaches are in line with Guskey’s recommendation: 1) instruction, 2) modeling,

3) induction, 4) coaching, 5) peer collaboration, 6) action research, and 7) critical

enquiry. Both of their propositions cover individual endeavors, peer collaboration

and inquiry/action research.

When it comes to the locus of control, Higgins and Leat (2001) present their

analysis in three different perspectives: managerial, situational and individual. The

relationships between knowledge areas, delivery approaches and locus of control are

well illustrated by Higgins and Leat (2001) in figure 3, which is followed by more

elaboration on the three dimensions.

Figure 2 What, How and the Locus of Control

What Changes Locus of Control

Subject knowledge

Pedagogical knowledge

Craft knowledge

Image and self concept

Understanding goals of education

Note. From Horses for courses or courses for horses: What is effective teacher

development (p.66), by S. Higgins & D. Leat, in Teacher development: Exploring

our own practice, J. Soler, A. Craft & H. Burgess (eds.), 2001. London: Paul

Chapman Publishing Ltd.

The managerial grouping mainly regards teaching as an identifiable and

deliverable profession which follows an institutional planning and implementation

framework. Viewed from this angle, teacher professional development is arranged in

a competence-based framework. It seems that getting enough lectures and

instructions about subject knowledge, subject application, effective teaching

methods and technical skills can meet all the needs of professional learning. Most

professional development programs often reflect this conception, mainly focusing on

practical issues of classroom management or instruction.

When seen in a situational perspective, professional development is affected

by the particular and complex context of the organization. In this level, delivery

approaches such as instructions, modeling, induction, and coaching are commonly

used. When schools are trying to meet demands for accountability, various factors

are taken into account. Some of the factors might clash with teachers’ professional

commitment to developing practice. As a result, potential tension between the

interest of schools and the improvement of professional development is created

accordingly, especially in a culture of centralization and bureaucracy. The danger in

Ind

uctio

n Coach

ing

Action

Research

Critical

inq

uiry

How

it can b

e chan

ged

Instru

ction M

odelin

g

Peer C

ollaboration

Managerial

Situational

Individual

getting this balance wrong is “in one direction low morale and feelings of

deprofessionalization and in the other direction lack of public or political confidence

in the teaching of profession” (Higgins & Leat, 2001, p.57).

Ideally, professionalism usually refers to the individual teacher alone and

relates to this teacher’s private growth, his or her personal improvement in quality of

work, professional commitment and relations to clients as well as colleagues.

Teachers engage in individual professional development might find themselves

collaborating with their peers, doing action research, and involving critical inquiry.

These learning opportunities activate reflective teaching, shaping self-images and

autobiographies of individual teachers. Achieving efficient professional

development requires considering all these aspects in a holistic manner.

Career Cycle and Professional Development

Teacher career cycle is examined here because an exploration into the

participants’ teaching history is a part of the research. Literature reviews on

teachers’ career development could not only provide theoretical background

knowledge but also enable the researcher to compare the participants’ career path

with what is presented in the literature.

According to Fessler (1995), most of the models of teacher career development

introduced before 1990 appeared to be linear, static and fixed. Fessler also mentions

that two models presented by Vonk (1989) and Huberman (1993) changed the views

of teacher career development because they provided schemata that introduce the

notion of alternative career options experienced by teachers at various stages (1995).

Vonk’s framework (1989) provides seven phases in teacher career life: 1) pre-

professional phase: pre-service training and preparation; 2) threshold phase (first

year): new teachers get a handle on the job; 3) the phase of growing into the

profession (2 to 7 years): attention is focused on improving teaching skills and

competencies; 4) the first professional phase: the teacher demonstrates the

accomplishments, skills and mastery in the profession; 5) phase of reorientation to

oneself and the profession: the teacher may question and doubt his or her

commitment to teaching; 6) the second professional phase: the teacher reenergizes

themselves and pursues further job satisfaction; and 7) the phase of running down:

the period before retirement.

Hurberman’s model divides the career cycle into five major stages. The first

three years is a stage for survival and discovery, which is followed by another three-

year period during which teachers try to find stabilization in their teaching job. Next,

teachers who have taught seven to eighteen years might find themselves in either of

the following situations: experimentation/diversification and

stock-taking/interrogation. In each case, those who find job satisfaction feel serene

in the following stage (Year 19-30) while those who take stock of their job become

conserved. In the last leg of the career cycle, the disengagement stage, teachers

expect to leave the job either feeling fulfilled or bitter. Hubermans’ model is better

understood by the following illustration (Figure 4):

Figure 3 Modal Sequences of the Teacher Career Cycle: A Schematic Model

Years of Teaching Themes/phases

1-3 Career entry: survival and discovery

4-6 Stabilization

7-18 Experimentation/

Diversification

Stock-taking/

Interrogations

19-30 Serenity Conservatism

31-40 Disengagement

(“serene” or “bitter”)

Note: From Professional career and professional development: Some

intersections (p.204), by Michael Huberman, in Professional development in

education: New paradigms and practices, Thomas Guskey & Michael Huberman

(eds.), 1995. New York: Teachers College Press, Columbia University.

An account of the teacher career cycle is incomplete without mention of

Fessler and Christensen’s model (1992), which synthesizes literature and

incorporates data from interviews. Fessler and Christensen offer a comprehensive

and expanded picture of the career cycle by taking into account not only the

organizational environment but also the personal environment (see Figure 5). It

genuinely reflects the complexity of teacher development, in which several different

dimensions and factors interweave continuously.

Figure 4 Dynamics of the Teacher Career Cycle

Note. From The teacher career cycle: Understanding and guiding the professional

development of teachers, (p. 36), by R. Fessler & J. Christensen, 1992. Boston:

Allyn & Bacon.

The components of the career cycle are briefly described below.

1. Pre-service. At this stage, teachers receive trainings and preparation for the

teaching profession.

2. Induction. It is defined as the first few years when a new teacher is

socialized into the system.

3. Competency building. This is a very pivotal period for teachers in their

early stages of their career. Ideally, teachers at this stage are receptive to

new ideas, attend workshops and conferences willingly, and enroll in

graduate programs on their own initiative. Those who succeed go on to

periods of positive growth and development, but those who flounder would

experience career frustration or instability.

4. Enthusiastic and growing. Teachers at this stage love their jobs, and look

forward to making progress as professionals. They are featured by

enthusiasm and high level of satisfaction. The ideal climate reinforces

teachers at this stage with opportunities to learn and apply new ideas.

5. Career frustration. Teacher burnout is most likely to occur at this stage.

Frustrated teachers find little job satisfaction and start to question why they

are doing this work. Those who find their school climate stifling or those

who never develop the skills to succeed feel frustrated easily.

6. Career stability. Teachers at this stage demonstrate acceptable

performances but they are not committed to the pursuit of excellence and

growth.

7. Career wind-down. It is time for teachers to leave the job. Some might find

it pleasant to reflect on many previous positive experiences and look

forward to a career change or retirement. Others might find it bitter if they

cannot wait to get out of a job they resent.

8. Career exit. This stage does not refer to retirement only. It could be a

temporary career exit for child rearing, for example. It might also be a time

of alternative career exploration or of moving to a non-teaching position in

education.

What makes Fessler and Christensen’s model different from the others is that it

reckons the impact of personal environment and organizational environment on

teacher development. The personal environment of the teacher includes several

interactive facets, such as family support structures, positive critical incidents, life

crises, individual dispositions, avocational outlets and the developmental life stages

experienced by teachers.

The variables of the organizational environment that impact the teacher

professional development include school regulations, the management style of

administrators and supervisors, the presence or absence of public trust in a

community, the expectations a community places on its educational system, the

activities of professional organizations and associations, and the union atmosphere

in the system.

When the participants’ professional development is examined, it is not possible

to pass by their teaching years and all sorts of factors the affect their decision-

making. Therefore, the three models introduced here, Fessler and Christensen’s

model in particular, are valuable references for this research.

Quality Professional Development

It cannot be denied that “teachers as learners” is not only a trend but a must in

teachers’ professional life, especially with the assertion and implementation of

educational reforms. However, teacher learning sometimes could be very isolated

and individual. What really helps teachers grow? What kind of support do teachers

need? Zemelman, Daniels and Hyde (1994) provide the following answers:

1. Teachers need regular time together.

2. Teachers need to be collaborative to build supportive bonds.

3. Teachers need support from the top which encourages teachers’ decision-

making and initiative.

4. Teachers also need support to strengthen their latent professionalism.

5. Teachers need to grow through concrete experiential and authentic

activities.

6. After experiencing new classroom strategies, teachers need to reflect, to

analyze and to compare.

Those guidelines are echoed by a two-year study of professional development

conducted by the National Foundation for the Improvement of Education (NFIE) of

the National Education Association (NEA). During that period of time, NFIE

examined high-functioning schools and studied their professional development

opportunities, interviewed nearly 1,000 teachers and teacher leaders, solicited essays

from teachers, conducted focus group of members of the public and consulted with

leading education researchers and reformers. With all these efforts, the definitions of

high-quality professional development in the final report, Teachers Take Charge of

Their Learning (NFIE, 1996), are highly convincing. It says that high-quality

professional development:

1. has the goal of improving student learning at the heart of every school

endeavor;

2. helps teachers and other school staff meet the future needs of students who

learn in different ways and who come from diverse cultural, linguistic, and

socioeconomic backgrounds;

3. provides adequate time for inquiry, reflection, and mentoring and is an

important part of the normal working day of all public school educators;

4. is rigorous, sustained, and adequate to the long-term change of practice;

5. is directed toward teachers' intellectual development and leadership;

6. fosters a deepening of subject-matter knowledge, a greater understanding of

learning, and a greater appreciation of students' needs;

7. is designed and directed by teachers, incorporates the best principles of

adult learning, and involves shared decisions designed to improve the

school;

8. balances individual priorities with school and district needs and advances

the profession as a whole;

9. makes best use of new technologies; and

10. is site-based and supportive of a clearly articulated vision for students.

To ensure good quality professional development, Bransford, Brown and

Cocking (1999) analyze the quality of teachers’ learning experiences from four

perspectives: learner-centered environments, knowledge-centered environments,

assessment-centered environments, and community-centered environments (see

figure 6).

Figure 5 Perspectives on Learning Environments

Note. From How people learn: Brain, mind, experience and school (p. 134), by J.

D. Bransford, A. L. Brown & R. R. Cocking, 1999. D. C.: Academy Press

1. Learner-centered environments: Programs for professional development

Community

Learner centered

Knowledge centered

Assessment centered

often fall short of the importance of putting learners in the center of

learning. They only consist of required lectures or workshops with mixed

participants of different level of expertise, experiences and expectations.

An ideal learner-centered program would take into account different needs

of the teachers, creating professional development opportunities that

include different stage of participation.

2. Knowledge-centered environments: Ideally, opportunities for teachers

should enable them to rethink their disciplinary knowledge and teaching

strategies in a more thoughtful way. Knowledge here does not only refer to

such areas as content and pedagogies but a broader vision of the purpose

and fundamental beliefs. Workshops that only provide teaching techniques

fail to offer deep understanding of the nature of their disciplines. As a

result, while teachers might learn new teaching strategies, they find it

difficult to apply them to teaching if they hold on to the old beliefs.

Getting teachers to rethink their subject matters means getting involved

with more learning, which might be difficult because teachers are used to

being in control and thinking of themselves as efficacious. Helping

teachers become comfortable with the role of learners becomes more

important than ever. Luckily, teachers gain wider access to expertise and

knowledge with new development in technologies.

3. Assessment-centered environments: Assessment here also means

opportunities for teachers to reflect on their practice and make

improvement accordingly. Learners are given chances to test their

understanding by trying out things and receiving feedback in learning

environments that are assessment centered. Only through trial and error

can teachers be sure whether certain idea will work. And the feedback

helps them to clarify ideas as well as correct misconceptions.

4. Community-centered environments: Collaboration and learning is highly

emphasized in a learning environment that is community centered.

Developing communities of practice is a recommended approach to

enhance teaching learning (Wenger, McDermott & Snyder, 2002).

Community-centered environments invite teachers to share successes and

failures with pedagogy and curriculum development. They are also

encouraged to collaborate with their peers and participate in educational

research and practice.

The previous three documents synthesized, it is obvious that contemporary

teachers need to take charge of their professional development, forming a

professional conversation with the colleagues and outside resources. In recent years,

the idea of forming learning communities encourages the power of “learning

together” through the form of community of practice. Wenger, McDermott, and

Snyder (2002) define communities of practice as:

…groups of people who share a concern, a set of problems, or a passion about a topic,

and who deepen their knowledge and expertise in this area by interacting on an

ongoing basis (p. 4).

Although all organizations have informal communities of people who

communicate, share information and build relationships, not every community is a

community of practice. Communities of practice emphasize domain, community,

and practice—the heart, the head and the hand; inquiry, interactions and craft

(Wenger, McDermott & Snyder, 2002). It is not just a set of relationships, nor is it

just about a shared interest. The developed individuals or teachers with strong

motivation to learn can find follow-up support for professional development within

the community of practice. They fulfill themselves by sharing tacit and explicit

knowledge and making contributions to the community and to the school. The power

of sharing can be contagious.

Communities of practice have had a position in private organizations or

enterprises, proving to be beneficial to create a sharing culture and facilitate

performances. School cultures have long been regarded as isolated, reserved and

traditional due to the school structure and the characteristics of the teaching career.

As a result, schools seem to be always late to embrace a notion which encourages

collaboration and cooperation. Not until recently do more and more teaching

institutes or organizations start to realize the effect of collaborative and sharing

culture. In particular, they try to make judicious use of new technology to sustain

learning and teaching in form of communities of practice.

Professional Development for English Teachers

Since the participants of the research are English teachers, it is necessary to

explore professional development for English teachers in the literature. Peyton

(1997) suggests skills and knowledge foreign language teachers need, some of

which are also critical for English teachers in Taiwan:

1. A high level of language proficiency in forms of speaking, listening,

reading and writing.

2. The ability to use the language in real-life contexts, for both social and

professional purpose.

3. The ability to comprehend contemporary media in the foreign language,

both oral and written, and interact successfully with native speakers.

4. Pedagogical knowledge and skills, including knowledge about human

growth and development, learning theory and second language

acquisition theory.

5. Knowledge of the various technologies and how to integrate them into

their instruction. (Peyton, 1997)

Research on teacher professional development for English teachers provides

insightful recommendations from different perspectives. Bailey, Curtis and Nunan

(2001), for example, put premium emphasis on teacher self-awareness and self-

observation, which are the cornerstones for reflective teaching. Ways to achieve

reflective teaching includes keeping teaching journals, using cases and language

learning experiences, conducting action research, engaging in peer observation, team

teaching, mentoring or coaching, and compiling teaching portfolio (Bailey, Curtis, &

Nunan, 2001). Gebhard and Oprandy (1999) propose a guide to exploring beliefs

and practices for language teachers. Exploration of teaching enables language

teachers to make assumptions about exploration, pay attention to exploratory

processes, raise awareness of teaching beliefs and practices in order to reach the core

of the inner awareness of who we are as teachers.

Apparently, Gebhard and Oprandy (1999) also build their framework on the

reflective rationality. Some of their beliefs and assumptions are summarized as

follows:

1. Taking responsibility for teaching: Individual teachers are like islands

isolated from others. Not only must they take responsibility for their own

teaching but reach out to others in the process.

2. The need for others: It is meaningless to explore alone. Joint exploration

offers opportunities to see the process through another person’s perceptual

filter. Besides, different perspectives, insights, knowledge and advice

between colleagues, either novices or experts, not only make rich

discussions but also provide choices.

3. Description over prescription: Teachers are encouraged to collect

descriptions of teaching rather than follow prescriptions. The prescriptive

approach, which implies a more correct or better way to teach, deprives

teachers of the right to experience and experiment. Descriptions, in

contrast, are like a mirror for teachers to reflect on their own teaching and

teaching possibility.

4. A nonjudgmental stance: There is a need to let go of the inclination to

judge so that teachers can focus on description. Reducing emotional

judgments also enables teachers to see teaching more clearly.

5. Attention to language and behavior: Gebhard and Oprandy (1999) notice

that when teachers talk about teaching, they tend to use vague words to or

follow a particular pattern of discourse. Teaching, like other professionals,

needs to develop a common but specific terms to promote mutual

understanding.

6. Personal connections to teaching: Teachers need to connect who they are as

teachers with who they are as persons. This connection helps teachers to

relate anything in their life experiences to teaching, which encourages

explorations well beyond the teaching act itself.

In summary, like other professionalism, professional development of English

teachers need an ongoing process to help them maintain proficiency in the target

language and keep up to date on current issues and trends. While most opportunities

for professional development are based on mandatory policies, teachers are likely to

participate in different forms of learning voluntarily. No matter what form the

learning takes, the process should be able to raise language teaching awareness.

Summary

The concept of teaching professionalism has changed from the technical

rationality to the reflective rationality. Teacher learning activities move beyond just

providing mandated training programs focused on domain or pedagogical

knowledge. Teachers are encouraged to engage in a variety of developmental

opportunities such as modeling, coaching, action research, peer collaboration and

critical thinking so that teachers can be liberated from isolation. Several factors

affect how teachers grow professionally, including individual needs, organizational

needs, personal environment and organizational environment. To attain an ideal

model of quality professional development, all those elements need to be taken into

accounted.

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