Professional Development for Teachers: Skills and Growth
This paper examines the implications of Joyce and Showers' (1995) framework for professional development in teaching. Drawing on Figure 2 from that work, the author analyzes how awareness and conceptual understanding differ in significance from skill attainment and problem-solving across various teaching components, including theory presentation, modeling, feedback, and peer coaching. The paper argues that effective professional development must address all facets of teaching — particularly communication, coaching, and peer interaction — rather than focusing narrowly on curriculum theory or models. It concludes with recommendations for designing forward-thinking, individualized professional development programs that acknowledge both teacher strengths and areas for improvement.
- Introduction: Interpreting Joyce and Showers' Framework: Awareness and concept understanding outweigh skill attainment
- Skill Attainment, Feedback, and Coaching: Coaching and feedback require stronger skill and awareness
- Applying the Research to the Work Setting: Teachers must balance subject skills with coaching abilities
- Professional Development in Practice: Work setting incorporates communication into development programs
- Designing Effective Professional Development Opportunities: Development should be forward-thinking and multi-faceted
- The Teacher as a Whole: Communication and Peer Interaction: Individualized plans address strengths and weaknesses holistically
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper grounds its analysis in a specific research figure (Joyce and Showers, 1995), giving the argument a clear and traceable empirical anchor throughout.
- It moves logically from theoretical interpretation to practical application in the author's own work setting, demonstrating reflective professional thinking.
- The writing consistently distinguishes between different teaching components — theory, modeling, feedback, coaching, and peer interaction — rather than treating professional development as a monolithic concept.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates applied synthesis: the author takes an existing research framework and maps it onto a real professional context, drawing actionable conclusions. Rather than simply summarizing Joyce and Showers, the writer interprets which components carry the most weight in different instructional scenarios and uses that interpretation to critique and improve professional development design.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with an interpretation of a specific research figure, then narrows progressively from general teaching theory to the author's specific work environment. The middle sections evaluate current professional development practices against the research findings. The final sections shift into prescriptive territory, arguing for individualized, communication-focused, forward-looking professional development programs. References are formatted in APA style.
Introduction: Interpreting Joyce and Showers' Framework
Figure 2 in Joyce and Showers (1995) suggests that awareness and conceptual understanding are far more significant in specific parts of teaching — and in other helping or communication professions — than skill attainment or problem-solving, at least where the presentation of theory and modeling are concerned. That is not to say that these other areas are unimportant, but only that they are not as vital as the ability to recognize and understand the concepts with which a person is working (Jasper, 2006).
In other words, a teacher must first develop a strong conceptual foundation before skill-based performance can be meaningfully evaluated or improved. The framework presented by Joyce and Showers provides a useful lens through which to examine how different dimensions of professional practice interact and vary in importance depending on the instructional context.
Skill Attainment, Feedback, and Coaching
When it comes to skill attainment in feedback and coaching, however, there is a strong correlation between awareness and proficiency. It is more important to be both aware and skilled in those two areas. By contrast, the presentation of theory and modeling is more focused on awareness and conceptual understanding than on attaining a specific level of skill. In the areas of coaching and peer interaction, application and problem-solving are highly significant, because they involve working closely with people and require collaboration to provide the best possible learning environment. In most other areas of teaching, application and problem-solving abilities are not as central as the remaining dimensions of practice.
Applying the Research to the Work Setting
This research is directly applicable to a professional teaching setting because all teachers should be aware of the concepts they are teaching, but they must not allow their skill attainment in subject matter to overshadow more critical skill-development areas, such as coaching study teams and conducting peer visits. In other words, a teacher's primary problem-solving abilities should be focused on coaching and on relationships with peers. At the same time, those teachers must also have well-developed ideas about how to present theories and model appropriate ideas and behaviors for their students.
Even though all areas of teaching are significant and should be employed as effectively as possible, some must be emphasized more than others. That is true of any helping profession where communication is central (Golding & Gray, 2006). Not all teachers recognize the importance of professional development, or the need to distinguish between areas requiring improvement and areas of existing strength. Figure 2 demonstrates that there are, indeed, several distinct components of teaching, each differing in its significance and in how it contributes to creating a cohesive learning environment where maximum student growth can occur.
References
Golding, L., & Gray, I. (2006). Continuing professional development for clinical psychologists: A practical handbook. The British Psychological Society. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
Jasper, M. (2006). Professional development, reflection, and decision-making. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing.
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