Summary Of Vygotsky's Sociocultural Theory

Eun (2008) argued that Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory is a suitable framework of teacher professional development because of the real-world setting where the learning takes place during the learning session itself or in the application of the learning in the classroom.

Professional development has evolved over the years as new research and technology emerge. The educational landscape that emphasizes continual professional learning of teachers has led to a redefinition of professional development. Wei, Darling-Hammond, and Adamson (2010) redefine professional development as "a comprehensive, sustained, and intensive approach to improving teachers ' and principals ' effectiveness in raising student achievement". Professional development is considered

And, of course, the list of possible formats could go on (http://edglossary.org/professional-development/).

The Glossary of Education Reform, (2014) has enumerated representative selection of common professional development topics and objectives for educators as follows: (1) Furthering education and knowledge in a teacher’s subject area—e.g., learning new scientific theories, expanding knowledge of different historical periods, or learning how to teach subject-area content and concepts more effectively; (2) Training or mentoring in specialized teaching techniques that can be used in many different subject areas, such as differentiation (varying teaching techniques based on student learning needs and interests) or literacy strategies (techniques for improving reading and writing skills), for example; (3) Earning certification in a particular educational approach or program, usually from a university or other credentialing organization, such as

And in recent decades, the topic has been extensively researched and many strategies and initiatives have been developed to improve the quality and effectiveness of professional development for educators. While theories about professional development abound, a degree of consensus has emerged on some of the major features of effective professional development. For example, one-day workshops or conferences that are not directly connected to a school’s academic program, or to what teachers are teaching, are generally considered to be less effective than training and learning opportunities that are sustained over longer periods of time and directly connected to what schools and teachers are actually doing on a daily basis. Terms such as sustained, intensive, ongoing, aligned, collaborative, continuous, systemic, or capacity-building, as well as relevant to teacher work and connected to student learning, are often used in reference to professional development that is considered to be of higher quality. That said, there are a wide variety of theories about what kinds of professional development are most effective, as well as divergent research