Investigating The Practice Of Problem-based Learning In Teacher Learning

Since the 1960 s,the professionalization of teaching has been valued by all countries in the world.How to improve school effectiveness and students' academic achievement through teacher professional learning is an important issue for education administrators.The development of action science theory and situational learning theory has promote the degree of understanding of teachers' professional learning.The characteristics of teacher professional learning are problem-oriented,subjectivity,complexity,situational,systematic and sociality.The complex and diverse problems in professional practice are the basis for teachers' adjustment of knowledge,choice of knowledge,and practical strategies.This study obey qualitative research orientations and case study strategies,explore the process and effectiveness of problem-based learning in teacher learning.At the same time,the factors that affect the effectiveness of teacher professional learning have been explored.Specifically,this study focuses on an integrated education reform project in District B of Shanghai and taking the “mother school” S school as a case.This study collected data in three ways: interview,field observation and text collection,and a total of 12 teachers,2 teaching experts,and 2 principals were interviewed.A three-level coding strategy of grounded theory was used to encode the collected data,and the qualitative research analysis software NVivo11.0 was used to store and analyze the data.The change in students' learning style has led to systematic reform of teaching,curriculum structure and school management.The problems in teacher's practice are related to the situation of education reform.They are universal,diversified,staged and unpredictable.They permeate the entire process of teacher professional learning and the solution of problems is of great significance to teachers.Based on the problems in teacher's practice,teachers in S school participate in professional learning activities at the individual level,at the discipline-level,at the grade level,at the school level and at the regional level.The research shows that problem-based teacher professional learning has achieved good results and has had a positive impact on teacher development,student development and organizational development,and has achieved the coordinated development of students,teachers and schools.The sharing of values,the development of problem-solving capability,emotional support and sharing,and achievement expectation and experience are the main factors affecting the effectiveness of teachers' professional learning.In order to promote the effectiveness of teacher professional learning,education administrators and policy makers should recognize the complexity of teacher professional learning.Based on the problems existing in the teacher's practice,multi-level teacher professional learning activities should be organized.At the same time,it is necessary to promote the construction and development of teachers' professional learning community.