Elizabeth Hodge

Classroom-based professional development training program

In this paper the research team proposes that classroom-based teacher training is more effective when embedded in the instructional context of the classroom. Instructional context can be defined as the relation between academic instruction and motivation to learn. Hence, we were interested in understanding how the classroom-based professional development training provided to teachers who integrated Crystal Island, a game-based learning environment, influenced teaching, learning and motivation.

Developing Expertise: Using Video to Hone Teacher Candidates' Classroom Observation Skills.

ABSTRACT This article explores the impact of a video observation model developed for teacher candidates in an early experiences course. Video Grand Rounds (VGR) combines a structured observation protocol, videos, and directed debriefing to enhance teacher candidates’ observations skills within nonstructured and field-based observations. A comparative research design was employed for this VGR study, and both quantitative and qualitative data inform the results. Findings indicate that VGR teacher candidates demonstrated significantly greater growth than non-VGR teacher candidates in their abilities to focus on salient features of classroom interactions to identify the complexity of classroom interactions and to readily transfer observation skills from a video platform to an in-school platform.