Dissertation writing help - approach to professional development in education
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The purpose of this study was to test Training Function Development (TFD), an approach to educational professional development. Particularly, the study examined the ability of TFD to (a) identify teacher issues, (b) identify and rank important job responsibilities, (c) identify knowledge and skills important to performing key job responsibilities, and (d) design and implement individualized professional development plans.
Seventeen study participants from the educational field attended a 16-hour, one-graduate-credit class illustrating TFD. Seven randomly selected participants constituted the control group and filled out a questionnaire before the seminar, while 10 others in the treatment group filled out the same questionnaire after the class. A pre- and post-measure research design resulted in statistically significant differences between the control and treatment groups on each of the three parts of the survey. The results showed that the members of the treatment group were more prepared to determine which position responsibilities were needed most to improve in a job, and the treatment group's responses indicated that they were better prepared to develop a professional development plan, to assess the professional development plan, and to document how performance had changed over time.
Three months after the class, follow-up interviews were conducted with 5 participants. The purpose of these interviews was to assess what was learned in the class, what behavior changes occurred because of the class, and what aspects of TFD were strengths and weaknesses.
In general, the participants found that the TFD process was valuable in that it provided a useful framework for understanding important aspects of their teaching positions. The process also informed them of new knowledge and skills that could increase their ability to teach and enabled them to identify where and how the knowledge and skills could be gained.