9. Research Informed Teacher Professional Development (Dr Nina Hood)

When you think about a school, you most likely think of it as a place where students learn. However, for students to have the best learning experience, teachers also need to continuously improve their skills. Like other professionals, teachers need to be given quality resources, support, and time to continuously update their skills. There is a wealth of knowledge that can be gained from the practice of other teachers as well as from research. Unfortunately, often research and practice in education are not linked. In this episode we will discuss the importance of having research informed professional development for teachers and how an organization in New Zealand is bridging the gap between research and practice in education. Dr Nina Hood is a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Education at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. Her research is focused on the role that digital technologies can play in supporting and enhancing education. Nina is also the founder of The Education Hub, an organization based in New Zealand and dedicated to bridging the gap between research and practice in education. Nina started her career as a secondary teacher in New Zealand, before she moved to the UK to undertook an MSc (with distinction) in learning and technology, and a PhD in Education at the University of Oxford. After returning to New Zealand, and while being a lecturer at University of Auckland, Nina founded The Education Hub in 2007. The mission of The Education Hub is to empower educators to find, use and share research to improve their teaching practice, and then share their innovations.   Links: Dr Nina Hood https://unidirectory.auckland.ac.nz/profile/n-hood The Education Hub https://theeducationhub.org.nz/ Twitter @Hood_Nina @educationhubnz