• Communications of Mathematical Education
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.1-26
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• 2024

As the limitations of professional development programs and individual attempts to improve teaching expertise have been reported, mathematics teachers have operated various types of teacher learning communities as alternative teacher professional programs. A teacher learning community can be considered a Community of Practice(CoP) in that it satisfies three factors of Cop, which are common purpose, mutual participation, and shared repertoire, so the 'learning' of a teacher community can be interpreted based on the theory of CoP. The purpose of this study is to investigate the process of identity development of five mathematics teachers who have been continuously involved in teacher communities. For this, the researcher collected data on the entire process of community activities through participant observation and conducted individual follow-up interviews to explore mathematics teachers' narratives and personal experiences. Results indicated that mathematics teachers experienced the development of practical knowledge related to mathematics teaching and learning, improvement of teaching practice through continuous reflection and introspection, and recognization the shared value of togethering through community immersion. Based on these experiences, implications for the effective operation of learning communities such as national support of teacher learning communities and horizontal and cooperative teacher norms were discussed, and follow-up research was proposed.

• Journal of The Korean Association For Science Education
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.29-40
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• 2020

The purpose of this study is to explore how a high school science teacher (Teacher E) shifted her understanding and facilitation of scientific modeling through participation in a professional learning community (PLC) for over a year. Based on socially situated theory of learning, I focused on examining Teacher E's frames about scientific modeling from her social interactions. Teacher E participated in her school-based PLC over a year and collaborated with other science teachers, coaches, and researchers to improve science instruction. I qualitatively explored her participation in 6 full-day professional learning opportunities-studios-where the PLC members collectively planned, implemented, and debriefed modeling-based lessons. Especially, I focused on two Studios (Studio 2, 6) where Teacher E became the host teacher and implemented the lessons. I also examined her classroom teaching in those Studios. To understand how the PLC inquiry affected the shifts observed in Teacher E's understanding and practice, I explored how the inquiry evolved over the 6 Studios. Findings suggest that in Studio 2, Teacher E viewed students' role in scientific modeling as to fill out the worksheet with "correct" answers. Meanwhile, in Studio 6, she focused on helping students collaborate to construct explanatory models of phenomena using evidence. The PLC inquiry, focused on supporting students' construction of evidence-based explanations and collaboration in scientific modeling, seemed to promote the shifts observed in Teacher E's understanding and facilitation of scientific modeling. These findings can inform educational researchers and practitioners who aim to promote teachers' professional learning to support students' epistemic practices.

• Education of Primary School Mathematics
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.13-22
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• 2004

There were a lot of challenges to reform mathematics education. These challenges may include reforms of teaching and learning methods, development of mathematics curriculum and textbooks, innovative resources for teaching mathematics. Although there is considerable consensus that meeting these challenges will require that mathematics teachers have deep insights about mathematics, about students as learners of mathematics, and about teaching method, the teachers themselves may have little knowledge of them. The most of the professional development includes elective participation in reeducation course, workshop, and special lectures which designed to transmit a specific set of ideas, techniques, or materials to teachers. But such approaches treat mathematics teaching as routine and technical, and also provide limited opportunities for meaningful interactions within the teaching community. So, this paper suggests that what is needed to develop professional teachers of mathematics is community where teachers work with colleagues rather than working alone.

• Journal of Fisheries and Marine Sciences Education
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.79-90
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• 2010

This study referred to relevant literatures, collected professional advice, created the sphere of duty with considering the characteristics of marine products-marine transportation education and teachers' specialty, and researched the feasibility of duty sphere classified from 2nd of September in 2008 to 20th of October in 2008 by selecting 80 professional teachers at random teachers who were working in 4 schools that had local 1. As the result of this study, it is proper to classify the sphere of marine products-marine transportation professional teachers into teaching-learning sphere, actual training guidance sphere, life guidance sphere, class management sphere, administrative performance sphere, specialty extension sphere, academic-industrial cooperation and community connection sphere. 2. For the contents of each sphere of marine products-marine transportation teachers' duty, it is proper to systematize teaching-learning field with 32 contents of duty, actual training guidance field with 21 contents of duty, life guidance sphere with 18 contents of duty, class management sphere with 12 contents of duty, administrative performance sphere with 18 contents of duty, specialty extension sphere with 15 contents of duty, academic-industrial cooperation and community connection sphere with 9 contents of duty respectively.

• Human Ecology Research
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• v.54 no.4
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• pp.365-384
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• 2016

The purpose of this research is to apprehend what the power of professional learning community (PLC) to make home economics teachers participate is and how PLC activity contributes to reflective practice and change of participating home economics teachers by experiencing reflective practices. For this, self-reflective action research of Kemmis and McTaggart was conducted. Six home economics teachers participated voluntarily and totally 18 PLC sessions from May 31, 2013 to May 19, 2014 were held. Two themes of 'looking in classes' as a main practice theme and 'designing classes together' as a supporting theme were carried. Findings and conclusions of this study are as following. First, participants of PLC to get data and information on teaching and to solve problems with fellow teachers for better classes at first. However, they have become to comfort and sympathize each other about difficulties in school as home economics teachers. Second, through the PLC activity, they found they had uncomfortable belief about teaching and tried to practice solutions by critical and reflective thinking. Third, they put efforts in finding alternative framework of looking inside their classes for the fundamental improvement in teaching. For this, they formulated questionnaire to describe their own reflective practice through the alternative framework from a critical perspective in teaching, a view of student's learning, and a teacher's inner view for improvement of practice. Fourth, PLC activity for a year allowed them to combine theory and reality though reflective process by designing classes together and reflectively practicing them in classes.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Educational Facilities
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.59-66
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• 2012

Community design education has covered the worldview dimension of the collaborative courses for sustainability draws on the architectural expertise developed in a network of community projects and therefore case studies of design education by the collaborative project-based learning in terms of participants, students, teachers and architects, such as 'Learning By Design' for the K-12 comprehensive program in Massachusetts addresses how a local society can make its community sustainable by both design and education. To understand that community design and education can provide professional development in all levels of skills and knowledge across disciplines and opportunities for collaborative learning and problem-solving, this research consists of case studies of the community design education including social systems that assist in organizing the local educational program as well as promoting the programs with public awareness of the community. It covers the UNESCO-UIA agenda of the community design and education that is to enhance the physical environment relating to human interaction by developing innovative alternatives of existing community and contributing voluntarily to neighborhoods through design. As the community design collaborative of design professionals and users is a structural approach to assess design quality, the cases address how to set up the architectural program in order to share pro bono design service and provide high-quality design resources available for sustainable environment.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.14 no.11
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• pp.5616-5626
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• 2013

This study explored faculty professional learning community in A university. Employing a case study method, the present research conducted a survey and semi-structured interview on FLC. The FLC were designed to enhance the teaching ability by reciprocal peer coaching and developing Teaching Tips, during the semester with 5~6 faculty members of each FLC. They reported personal CQI and community paper and presented their learning process and outcomes. The present study shows that observation of their own and peer's lecture was meaningful experience led to reflective practice. Morever, peer coaches provided useful advice and good insight of education based on their practice, though the service was not professional enough. Based on the results, how to effectively foster peer coaching in FLC was discussed.

• Journal of Korean Elementary Science Education
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.784-794
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• 2014

In this study, we operated science teacher learning community to enhance professionality of elementary science teachers. 8 participants with various background, which include their science content knowledge, teaching experience and beliefs about teaching, were involved in this study. Bales(1950)'s social interaction process framework was mainly used to understand the members' interaction, focusing particularly on process aspects not on contents aspects. The data analysis shows that the members in the science teacher learning community tried their best to maintain the positive reaction to other members in most occasions in the community meetings. On the other hand, there were also negative reaction process due to their different ideas and views, causing their emotional conflicts in some social relations and dialogical situations. Nevertheless, the results also imply that the dual reaction processes, which are positive and negative processes, are equally important to facilitate science teachers' professional knowledge and experience. The educational meanings are discussed in the aspects of science teacher education.

• School Mathematics
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• v.10 no.4
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• pp.515-535
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• 2008

As part of developmental research of a student-teaching practicum program, this research analyzed a mathematics preservice teacher's questioning. The practicum program is based on the model of reflective practice in a collaborative inquiry community for learning-to-teach. This paper describes how a preservice teacher's questioning pattern had changed on the program participation and explain how the change in discourse can be considered as an indicator for the pre service teacher's professional development. Suggestions for the future program development are discussed.

• Journal of Educational Research in Mathematics
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.251-272
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• 2006

The purpose of the present study is to explore the process of teacher change as elementary school teachers participated in a community focused on improving mathematics teaching. To do so, a professional community lot improving instructional practice consisted of a group of voluntary elementary school teachers. The professional community provides participating teachers with great opportunities to share their understanding of practical knowledge related to mathematics teaching and learning and change mathematical beliefs as well as to learn pedagogical content knowledge. This study approached to teacher professionality in terms of mathematical beliefs and teaching practice. The change of teaching practice was measured coherently both with a questionnaire and with a mathematics teaching standard developed for this study. The findings of this study point out that techers' beliefs about how students learn mathematics have chantged. This study also indicated that after participating in the professional community focused on improving mathematics teaching, teachers' mathematical teaching is changed toward the more students' oriented way. Especially, it is observed that the meaningful change in participating teachers' teaching practice took place with respect to the role of teachers, students' interaction, mathematical tasks, and problem solving. Finally, this study implies that teachers can have an opportunity to change their beliefs and deepen their professionality about elementary mathematics teaching and learning through participating in the community of practice, through which participating teachers can share their practical knowledge and their understandings about teaching and learning of elementary mathematics.