A Study On "the Heterogeneous Classes" Aimed At Teachers' Professional Development

As a comparative educational research method, "the heterogeneous classes" is based on the classroom teaching, taking the daily teaching problems as its breakthrough points, the concrete teaching materials its carriers. It aims at improving the teaching efficiency, promoting the teacher professional development, and increasing the effectiveness of the research activities by stimulating teachers' enthusiasm for it. It encourages teachers to form a learning community to push through the idea "teachers as researchers", thus to achieve their own professional development. In "the heterogeneous classes", classroom observation plays an important role; expert-leading, peers' mutual help, and self-reflection are its cores. Furthermore, the identical teaching materials help create opportunities and space for teachers' self-interpretation.On the basis of the classroom observation in the school-based research practice by the English group of High School Affiliated to Lishui College in Zhejiang Province, through case studies, the thesis inquires into the effects and the enlightenment "the heterogeneous class" research model brings to the teachers'professional development in senior English teaching.The thesis is divided into six parts:Chapter I deals with the causes and significance of the research, gives the definition of "teacher professional development" and "the heterogeneous classes", and introduces the research methods applied and the organization of the thesis.Chapter II analyses the current situation of the teacher professional development and "the heterogeneous classes" at home and abroad, and elaborates the theoretical basis of this thesis.Chapter III classifies and summarized the types of the heterogeneous classes and their characteristics. According to the different organizers and participants, they can be divided into different types, namely "the expert-leading heterogeneous class", "subject-based competitive heterogeneous classes", "everyday heterogeneous class", "school-based heterogeneous class" and "teacher-apprentices' heterogeneous class". According to different teachers, three types are included here:single teacher's class, multi-teachers' cycling class, multi-teachers' heterogeneous classes.ChapterIV demonstrates the concrete implementation process of the heterogeneous classes and displays an illustrative case.Chapte V illustrates the implementation effect of "the heterogeneous classes" through analysing the data from the questionaire and the interviews.ChapterVI emphasizes the promoting effect "the heterogeneous classes" has on the teacher professional development. With eleven detailed cases, the thesis analyses the functions "the heterogeneous classes" perform on optimizing the teacher's knowledge structure, creating a good atmosphere for their professional development to enhance the teachers'capability and deepening the role of teaching philosophy, thereafter, propose the idea that the organizers should ensure the smooth operation of "the heterogeneous classes" and its promoting functions from the following points:help create an open and cooperative research culture in teaching; seek the support and the guarantee system of the school administration; improve the effectiveness of expert-leading activities; better the evaluation mechanisms; ensure the thematic teaching and research project; increase the means of communication and strengthen the follow-up conduct.