The advent of faculty development centers that focus on the improvement of teaching skills and better understanding of student learning concepts dates back to the 1960s. These centers were initiated from a realization that the effectiveness of a faculty member resulted from growth and maturity over time and that certain support systems were…

In this article, we use the findings of a study conducted in a university in the southeast of Mexico to examine strengths and limitations of portfolios to assess formatively the quality of teaching. The research is part of the study: Model for the Development and Evaluation of Academic Competencies, involving researchers from six Mexican…

The article contains analysis software products used in the preparation of professionals through which they can realize themselves in this industry. The aim of the study is the analysis of personnel petroleum education in specialized university. The result is a sociological study on the question of the need and importance of personnel support…

This paper analyzes a higher education policy issued in China in 2002: "the Quality Assessment of Undergraduate Education Policy." It examines students' perceptions of the policy impacts and students' roles in the evaluation process by semi-structured interviews and questionnaire surveys. It reveals that the quality assessment in China…

Faculty members traditionally develop a teaching philosophy statement (TPS) as part of the job application process, for tenure reviews, or to encourage reflection. In this paper, we propose an alternative approach--to develop the TPS with students as the primary target audience, distribute it to students at the beginning of a course, and collect…

The main purpose of this study is to understand the opinion of student trainee teachers towards Microteaching skills. In this study, survey method was adopted. The participants of this study were 130 trainee students from four Teacher Training Colleges of West Bengal, India in 2013-14 sessions. The tools used in the study for data collection was a…

Khatuna Kharkheli is an English language teacher in the Faculty of Education, Exact, and Natural Sciences at Gori State Teaching University (GSTU) in Gori, Georgia. With her passion for developing innovative and creative lessons and with her commitment to professional development, Ms. Kharkheli works to inspire her students to achieve success both…

This paper outlines a set of ideas for improving teacher quality in America's schools. In it, the author proposes a combination of incremental steps and ambitious ones, designed to stimulate policymakers, practitioners, and the public to accelerate efforts to develop high-quality teachers. The paper has four main sections. First, the author…

The poor classroom practices of English teachers at elementary level in Indonesia have been attributed to the inadequacy of pre-service education. Yet, whether in-service professional development (PD) also plays a role is unknown. This study investigated the perspectives of 23 teachers, 14 teacher educators and 3 school principals regarding the…

The London Geography Alliance was established to provide a network of subject-based support to primary and secondary schools, by linking teachers and university lecturers. Workshops and fieldwork were conducted over a 17-month period to address different aspects of the geography curriculum. The effects of the project were evaluated using…

Research related to professional development opportunities available to physical education teachers is scarce; what is known shows that career-long professional development opportunities are often limited in scope and are sometimes ineffective or inappropriate (Armour, 2010). Meaningful professional development is critical for teachers if they are…

This study investigated the faculty perception of the use of a student evaluation of faculty instrument. The areas considered were use of the current Student Evaluation of Faculty (SEF) instrument to measure teaching effectiveness; use of the current instrument for annual faculty review; faculty involvement in developing the instrument; utilizing…

Over the last decades, teachers have often been identified as 'key' players for the improvement of education systems. The successive waves of reform taking place in Latin America since the 1990s have aimed at initial and continuous teacher training. The main changes intended to improve the quality and lengthen the duration of initial teacher…

Sabbaticals have been identified as an important tool to help faculty remain current in their responsibilities. By having a dedicated break from traditional responsibilities, faculty members have self-reported rejuvenation and recommitment to their professional work. Institutional policies, however, are largely vague and lack measures to help…

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a scientifically-based framework for developing curricula that acknowledges learner diversity as a function of human variability. While it is possible to implement UDL without advanced technologies, it is easier and more efficient to provide multiple means of engagement, representation, and action/expression…