Teacher Professional Growth in an Authentic Learning Environment
Howard Slepkov
Brock University, St. Catharines and Niagara University
Abstract
Increments in educational budgets have been devoted to professional development for teachers to
help them accommodate their practices to the realities of their classrooms. Previous research has
suggested that despite this significant investment, there has been little, if any, positive change.
This begs the question of what else might be done to reverse this outcome and contribute to
transformational change of the profession. This article reports on a study that closely followed
and documented the journeys of professional growth for a group of teachers from their points
of view, over a period of six months. Action research was conducted in conjunction with participation
in a project centred on the creation of Web sites as culminating performance tasks.
Analysis of the data collected led to the conclusion that one possibility could be to facilitate
professional development in such a way that it is authentic, based in the classroom and focused
on tasks meaningful to and specifically chosen by the teacher.
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Contributors
Dr. Slepkov is a former elementary school teacher and curriculum consultant
who completed his doctorate upon retirement. As a consultant, he was involved
for seven years as the primary convenor of staff development opportunities for
all elementary and secondary teachers on technology and its use in classroom
teaching practices in a medium-sized board in southern Ontario. Since retirement
he has been involved in the delivery of sessional courses on technology
and methodology to preservice candidates.
Copyright 2008, (International Society for Technology in Education). All rights reserved.
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