Building teacher capacity: a job embedded approach

The rapidly evolving nature of technology and the ease of access to all students to internet driven programs has seen a major shift in the ways schools engage students in learning. This has seen a movement towards the creation of flexible learning spaces to accommodate new pedagogies (Oblinger, 2006). Consequently, the new learning environments that students find themselves in today are also the same new environments that teachers are working in. The paper offers insight into one school’s alignment of innovation in teaching and learning in the creation of a flexible learning environment for both students and teachers. It illustrates how a job embedded PD program (Kelleher, 2003) or “learning in context” (Fullan, 2002) was orchestrated to foster ‘whole of school’ teacher professional learning on improving teacher practice. Although only in its early stages, anecdotal data suggests the crafting of professional development within the workplace, promotes an authentic, meaningful and relevant approach to teacher learning yielding beneficial results for both student and teacher.