Browsing by Author "Koh, Kim H."

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    Building, Supporting & Assuring Quality Professional Practice: A Research Study of Teacher Growth, Supervision, & Evaluation in Alberta
    (2018-03-04) Brandon, Jim; Adams, Pamela; Friesen, Sharon .; Hunter, Darryl M.; Koh, Kim H.; Mombourquette, Carmen P.; Parsons, Dennis; Stelmach, Bonnie L.
    Alberta is considered among the world’s top performing education systems. Over the past two decades, the provincial education system has invested heavily in building teachers’ professional capital to ensure that the quality of teaching in Alberta is among the best in the world. A wealth of the educational reform research literature, at both international and provincial levels, suggests that continuous professional learning is key to building teachers’ professional capital. Within Alberta, the Teacher Growth, Supervision, and Evaluation Policy (TGSE) (Government of Alberta, 1998) guides that learning. In 2017, Alberta Education requested a comprehensive research study to inform an update to the existing policy, and to identify associated requirements for the growth, supervision, and evaluation of principals and superintendents. This research study provides an independent, objective examination of TGSE in Alberta school authorities and related policies at the school authority level. The purposes of the study were to provide education stakeholders and the Ministry with • an independent, objective review of the provincial TGSE Policy in Alberta and of related policies at the school authority level; • recommendations on how best to support implementation of any proposed changes to the TGSE policy; • recommendations on how the TGSE model should inform related policy on growth, supervision, and evaluation of principals; and • recommendations on how the TGSE model should inform related policy on growth, supervision, and evaluation of superintendents and school authority leaders. Research Design: The eight-member research team from the universities of Calgary, Lethbridge, and Alberta adopted a concurrent mixed methods research design to generate insights into educator experiences with and perspectives on teacher growth, supervision, and evaluation within the TGSE policy context. Our comprehensive analysis and merging of the study’s quantitative and qualitative data generated 14 merged findings and 10 recommendations. Quantitative data were generated from online surveys of 710 teachers, 131 principals, and 33 superintendents. Analysis of the survey data provided province-wide insights from a large population of educators in June and July of 2017. Qualitative data were gathered through multiple case study research during March to June of 2017. Members of the research team conducted individual and/or focus group interviews of teachers (n=64), principals (n=53), superintendents, and other system leaders (n=33) in seven randomly-selected school jurisdictions and selected charter and independent schools. Nine individual cases illustrated and illuminated practices through which teachers and leaders at the school and administrative levels engaged in teacher growth, supervision, and evaluation in their unique contexts. Our cross-case analysis identified 13 larger themes. Evidence was gathered in two additional ways: (a) through analysis of 30 randomly-selected school authority policies, and (b) through interviews of education partner organization leaders. The team also gathered evidence from documentary sources, artifacts, and field notes.
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    A Case Study of University Instructors’ Perceptions and Teaching Practices of Critical Thinking in China
    (2019-12-18) Liu, Xiaoli; Guo, Yan; Koh, Kim H.; Roy, Sylvie
    Cultivating students’ critical thinking abilities has become a national and an institutional priority in higher education in China. Although China has emphasized critical thinking in its educational policy and implementation for many years, Chines students were still often reported as lacking critical thinking competences. Research is needed to explore how that may transpire in the teaching and learning context in China. However, there is a scarcity of studies about instructors’ perceptions of critical thinking. Particularly, the voice of Chinese instructors is missing. To address this gap, this study explored instructors’ perceptions and teaching practices of critical thinking at one university in China. It drew from Thomas’ (1997, 2002) culturally appropriate pedagogy framework and adopted a qualitative case study methodology. 24 instructors and eight students from NU (WH), China, participated in the study. Data for the study were collected from multiple sources: semi-structured interviews with twenty-four instructors, one focus group with four instructors, and four class observations. Eight students were also interviewed to supplement the instructor interviews. Data were analyzed through open and thematical coding, within the framework of culturally appropriate pedagogy, from contextual, epistemological, personalistic, and process components. Findings revealed that instructors’ disciplinary affiliations were more likely to influence their perceptions of critical thinking. Findings showed that instructors’ interpretations of critical thinking demonstrated Chinese characteristics such as holistic, community-centered, and knowledge accumulation as a foundation for critical thinking. Findings also indicated that Chinese instructors adopted a combination of lecture-based teaching with student-centered pedagogies to foster students’ critical thinking. This study suggests that there is a need to consider sociocultural contexts in teaching critical thinking. Other implications for policies, curricula, and pedagogies for critical thinking are also discussed.
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    Designing a Protocol for Developmental Observation of Online Teaching
    (2020-07-06) Mahdavi, Flora; Lock, Jennifer V.; Brown, Barbara; Koh, Kim H.
    Many higher education institutions in Canada have identified a lack of professional development and pedagogical support for faculty and their resistance as significant barriers to implementation and growth of online education. This study focused on the observation of online teaching as a way of providing ongoing pedagogical support to online instructors to enhance their professional development. Though teaching observation in face-to-face classrooms for purposes of evaluation or development has received extensive attention from scholars, this method of support in the online learning environments is novel and understudied. Using an iterative design-based research methodology, a protocol for developmental observation of online teaching (DOOT) was designed, refined and evaluated. This process aimed to respond to the question of how such a protocol supports the professional growth of online instructors at a community college setting. The study was conducted at a community college in Western Canada involving the participation of online instructors from the School of Business of the college, as observed instructors, and educational developers from the Teaching and Learning unit of the college, as observers. During different stages of the study, participants provided feedback on the feasibility of the DOOT Protocol, identified their contextual needs, and took part in piloting the initial Protocol and evaluating the Protocol at the last phase of the study. The six key elements of the DOOT Protocol were identified as 1) a clear developmental purpose, 2) clarity of process design and scope, 3) a definition of observable online teaching, 4) observer skills and orientation, 5) engaging in critical reflection, and 6) planning follow-up steps. To effectively facilitate the DOOT process, educational developers need to have skills and knowledge in theory and practice of online teaching, navigating technology that is the medium of the online education, and facilitation. Though all participants reported benefits from taking part in the DOOT observations during the pilot and evaluation of the Protocol, critical reflection and successful follow-up planning was evident when online instructors recognized reflection as a means for incremental improvements and educational developers demonstrated strong facilitation skills. The main contribution of the study is an evidence-based protocol that could be used for developmental observation of online teaching within a relatively short time frame that leads to incremental developmental plans. This study has responded to the challenge of elasticity of time in observation of online teaching, which is not limited to the traditional classroom time frames. Further, observable online teaching for the context of the study was defined based on the Community of Inquiry (CoI) theoretical framework for online education (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2000). More research in other contexts can increase transferability of the findings of this study to other types of higher education institutions to adopt the DOOT Protocol as a means for providing ongoing pedagogical support to online instructors.
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    Exploring a Banking Training Program from an Adult Learning Perspective
    (2020-01-31) Zhu, Hui; Chapman, Olive; Koh, Kim H.; Winchester, Ian
    This qualitative case study investigated a bank training program from the perspective of employees who have taken the program. The focus is on how, as adult learners, they experienced the program and viewed the learning process involved and whether the learning process was oriented towards specific aspects of adult learning theory. Three employees who volunteered to be participants were interviewed. A theme-based approach was used to analyze the data. Findings indicated that while the participants found the program to be useful, they also identified limitations regarding the content and pedagogical approaches. They developed new knowledge and had shifts in attitude regarding their confidence in taking on their new roles. The program supported few of the components of the adult learning theory. The findings have implication regarding what could make the program more meaningful and effective for some employees.
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    From Intellectual Mobility to Transnational Professional Space: Experiences of Internationally Educated Chinese Academic Returnees
    (2018-07-05) Lei, Ling; Guo, Shibao; Roessingh, Hetty; Jubas, Kaela; Koh, Kim H.
    Transnational migration brings to the fore the various connections migrants maintain with their home and sojourn countries. This study explores, within the transnational professional space, how internationally educated Chinese academic returnees maintain transnational professional ties and networks with their host countries of doctoral studies for their academic growth, and the impacts of such networks. This study employs the methodology of a qualitative case study of 12 internationally educated Chinese academics from the social sciences and humanities within three higher education institutions in Beijing, China. It confirms the significance of meso-level institutions, communities and networks in shaping returnee teachers’ academic growth, highlighting issues of access to multiple transnational communities of practice, the quality of the institutional platform and the availability of occupational space. It concludes that Chinese academic returnees have formed a virtual transnational diaspora, and contributed to strengthening the inter-dependence of academics across borders in academic and research collaboration.
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    Understanding High School Teacher Perceptions of Professional Learning Experiences: A Case Study of School-Based Professional Learning Communities
    (2019-08-03) Kessy, Elaine; Lock, Jennifer V.; Eaton, Sarah Elaine; Koh, Kim H.; Takeuchi, Miwa A.
    In K-12 education, there is an expectation that teachers will participate in professional learning throughout their careers and one model for its delivery is the Professional Learning Community (PLC). The potential advantages of participation in PLCs have been well-documented and many schools around the world have implemented them with mixed results to date. This dissertation study focused on teacher perceptions of professional learning experiences in school-based PLCs. A qualitative case study was designed and implemented through a constructivist theoretical lens. Participants in the study included ten high school teachers who were members of school-based PLCs in one private, Catholic high school in the United States. Data collection methods included PLC documentation, a participant background questionnaire and one-on-one interviews. Through analysis of the data, four key findings emerged: 1) impact of collaboration and support on teacher professional learning, 2) the need for subject-area group formation and teacher agency in PLC implementation, 3) allotment and management of time, and 4) a clear definition of the purpose of the school-based PLC that is teacher generated and directly tied to student learning. These findings convey the need for an intentional design of school-based PLCs that focuses on the conditions that offer the most potential to create impactful active professional learning experiences for teachers.
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    The Use of Story-Based Tasks in Post-Secondary Students’ Learning of Statistics
    (2020-01-23) Lemieux, Collette; Chapman, Olive; Koh, Kim H.; Preciado-Babb, Armando Paulino; Laflamme, Claude; Nicol, Cynthia C.
    The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of an intervention, which uses stories to explore statistics, on post-secondary students’ understanding of statistics and their beliefs about the usefulness of statistics, and what features of the stories support meaningful learning. A qualitative case study approach is used. In line with the case study approach, multiple data sources are used, which consist of student and instructor class artefacts, pre- and post-intervention written response items, and post-intervention interviews. The participants in the study are 20 students from a single first-year post-secondary business statistics course in which the intervention is implemented. Data analysis entails a thematic approach based primarily on open-coding to identify participants’ understanding of statistics, their beliefs about the usefulness of statistics, and what features of the intervention supported meaningful learning. The findings suggest that the intervention supported participants development of various types of understanding of selected topics in statistics, development of understanding of the usefulness of statistics, and personalization knowledge as part of the process of developing understanding. Further, the findings indicate that the intervention served to support positive beliefs about the usefulness of statistics. Finally, the findings suggest that the features of the intervention and, in particular, the stories that impact meaningful learning include the prompts embedded within the stories, the authentic real-world context presented in the stories, and the nature of the characters introduced in the stories. The study contributes to the field by providing an example of an innovative intervention that supports students’ learning of statistics and positive beliefs about the usefulness of statistics.