Teachers of Students with Low Incidence Disabilities Talk about Their Own Learning: An International Insight

Abstract

This article discusses an international research project that explores teachers' views of a recent learning experience they perceive to have been effective for them. Fourteen teachers attending graduate courses at the University of Washington, USA (six teachers), and the University of Northumbria, UK (eight teachers), form the sample for this research. Individual structured interviews generated data that allow an insight into the personal meaning making made by the teachers about their own learning experiences, and their thoughts on continued professional development, for them and their colleagues in schools and across their districts. Through a process of collaborative analysis themes of relating theory to practice, mediated teacher learning, learning from others, and reflection in action emerged as potentially important elements to the teachers for their own learning. These themes are presented as a frequency distribution and examples of raw data are provided. Themes are discussed in relation to implications for professional development experiences and potential innovative processes of learning.