Transforming a School into a Learning Community by Integrating FIRST Framework through a Professional Development Framework

Abstract

This study recounts the cyclic process that one private school developed and implemented for the purpose of professional development PD of its staff during an academic year. The process consists of five stages that constitute the framework for PD. The content used to implement the PD framework was a learning framework that focuses on students’ active deep learning, FIRST. The implementation of the PD incorporated many tasks such as training, coaching, classroom observations and learning walks, all of which were delegated to teachers as a way to distribute leadership. Other tasks included formative assessment of teachers’ skills, reflection on practice, and planning for action. At the end of the year, the impact of the PD was investigated through questionnaires, classroom observations, lesson plans, and interviews with students. It was found that teachers preferred the newly adopted PD framework to preceding professional development programs and reported to have benefited more than they had previously. Classroom observations conducted by external and internal observers indicated that the teachers were integrating the majority of the newly introduced skills in their classroom performances. Finally, students, when interviewed, used much of the terminology that were elicited from the learning framework, FIRST, which constituted the content of the PD framework their teachers had undergone. In addition, they reported to have learned considerably from the newly adopted activities and practices by their teachers and enjoyed the new approaches used in their classrooms.