Teacher learning in collaborative professional development: Changes in teacher and student practices

This chapter documents teacher learning from a 12-week collaborative professional development program (CPDP) at an Ethiopian university. Four teachers, supported by two facilitators, learned about and implemented communicative language teaching (CLT) in their teaching of English. A case study using individual teachers as units of analysis and a cross-case design was applied. Both qualitative and quantitative research techniques were used. The study showed that a seminar where a CLT handout and a teachers’ guide were presented and explained, and micro-lessons were used to practice, resulted in increased CLT knowledge and positive changes in beliefs. Consequently, the teachers improved their CLT classroom practices. These practices also seemed to favorably influence student learning experiences. We recommend further investigating the potential of the CPDP to assist larger numbers of English language teachers to learn about CLT at their workplace and successfully implement it in their teaching practice.