Job-Embedded Professional Development: Support, Collaboration, and Learning in Schools

by Sally J Zepeda

Overview

In today’s schools, teachers are frequently called on to adapt new curricula and instructional practices in their classrooms. Making sense of the complexities of teaching occurs primarily during the work day, and instead of relying on before or after school one-size-fits-all professional development activities, schools must support teachers in learning on the job. The latest book from renowned author Sally J. Zepeda is written for teachers, teacher leaders, and school and district leaders who want to support job-embedded learning, a powerful form of professional development characterized by active learning and reflection grounded in the context of a teachers’ work environment.

Job-Embedded Professional Development provides a framework for helping teachers stop, take a deep breath, and learn along the way as they engage in their daily work. Through the engaging job-embedded learning activities, processes, and cases from the field explored in this book, teachers will immediately be able to:

• Implement what they are learning in the context of their own classrooms;
• Work with supportive peers who can coach them along the way;
• Get feedback on what’s working and what needs to be tweaked;
• Learn as adult learners fully capable of making sound professional judgments;
• Engage in conversations that allow teachers to dig deeper into their practices;
• Focus intently on content knowledge and the linkages to instruction and assessment;
• Capitalize on learning in digital learning environments before, during, and after school;
• Gain confidence in themselves and others through learning together.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780415734844
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	09/12/2014
Pages:	200
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Sally J. Zepeda is a Professor in the Department of Lifelong Education, Administration, and Policy in the Program of Educational Administration and Policy, and she is a Fellow in the Institute for Interdisciplinary Research in Education and Human Development at the University of Georgia, where she teaches courses in instructional supervision, professional development, teacher evaluation, and school improvement.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Job-Embedded Professional Development: An Overview

Chapter 2: Adults Learning: What the Research Says

Chapter 3: Job-embedded Professional Development in Action

Chapter 4: The Power of Peer Observations

Chapter 5: Best Practices in Peer Coaching

Chapter 6: Learning from Collaborative and Reflective Professional Development

Chapter 7: Authentic Action Research

Chapter 8: Studying Student Work and Assessments—Teachers as Change Agents

Chapter 9: Innovative Digital Learning Opportunities Support Professional Development

Chapter 10: Taking the Fast Track at Your Own Speed

Editorial Reviews

"Professor Zepeda is the professional development guru. Her new book reflects a farsighted vision for the advancement of the professional practice of teachers. The writing is extraordinarily strong throughout and presents relevant cases for the reader – her work is succinct, stimulating, and understandable. Zepeda stresses the importance of collaboration in professional development; the Job-Embedded Professional Development framework demonstrates how this is accomplished."

—Raymond Calabrese, Professor of Educational Administration, The Ohio State University, USA

"Readers of Sally Zepeda’s new book will encounter many cutting edge concepts—job-embedded learning, reflective professional development, self-directed learning, and communities of practice, to name a few. Not only does Zepeda do an outstanding job of explaining these concepts in her reader-friendly writing style, she also shows us how the concepts are all intimately related to the improvement of student learning."

—Stephen P. Gordon, Professor of Education and Community Leadership, Texas State University, USA

"The author also demonstrates how mutual dialog could be achieved via rational and constructive statements. Section 5 outlines the main characteristics of peer coaching, which is a part of professional development. The author enriches the book through examples that promote collaboration among teachers."

—Çiğdem Apaydın, Akdeniz University, Turkey

From the Publisher