The purpose of this study is to analyze the development of teachers' knowledge and skills, self-understanding, and ecological aspects through the designed developmental supervision process. The study question raised to meet the purpose of this resear...
The purpose of this study is to analyze the development of teachers' knowledge and skills, self-understanding, and ecological aspects through the designed developmental supervision process. The study question raised to meet the purpose of this research is as follows: 1. How do teachers knowledge and skill, self-understanding, and ecological aspects develop through the developmental supervision? Two kindergarten teachers were selected from the Seoul Special City. One teacher, Ms. Chang, has two years of teaching experience with a moderate development level, while the other teacher, Ms. Lee, has 14 years of experience with a high development level. The process of this developmental supervision was carried out through the modification based on the Developmental Supervision Model by Glickman (1990), the Differentiated Supervision Model by Glatthorn (1997), the Clinical Cycle Model by Cogan (1973), and the Elements for Effective Supervision by Joyce & Showers (1988). The developmental process consists of formulation of the relationship, examination of the developmental level and its requirement, selection of the supervision method, application of the selected method, and the evaluation. The partial steps were repeated as necessary. For validity and reliability of the qualitative study, the data including non-participated observation, teacher interviews, journals, and teachers recordings, were collected according to the Triangulation Measurement (Merrian, 1988). The interpretation of the data was accomplished by transcription and integration, content analysis, classification and interpretation, and translation of the classified data. The result of the data is as follows: 1. While undergoing the developmental supervision process, great time and effort were spent in order to create more comfortable atmosphere so that both teachers can willingly participate the research. The efforts of the author trying to create more supportive atmosphere was noticed by the teachers lead to their ecological aspect of development. Moreover, while selecting the supervision method, both teachers mutually had positive attitudes towards each other and worked towards build a good relationship allowing the development of self-understanding and ecological aspect to occur. While examining the development level and the developmental supervision requirement survey, the two teachers have developed self-understanding by verifying their own specific interest area. 2. The process of both teachers' development in knowledge and skills, self-understanding, and ecological aspect consists 10 total rounds of the developmental supervision method and application, continuously growing especially at the 4 major focal points. Firstly, during the 5th rounds of the developmental supervision method and application, Ms. Lee developed the knowledge and skill through writing personal journals. At this point. Ms. Lee was troubled when she did not receive the expected results from Ms. Chang. Ms. Lee was frustrated and started to doubt her own teaching ability as one of the supervisor, and eventually, Ms. Lee ended up having unhelpful self-understanding that brought out negative development. However, Ms. Lee took the negative self-understanding and made an opportunity to change by re-evaluating Ms. Chang's level of development through journal writing, and adjusted for more appropriate with directive supervision method. Such problem solving method brought out Ms. Lee's knowledge and skills of the developmental supervision.. Secondly, during the 8th round of the developmental supervision method and application, Ms. Chang was motivated in the literature through personal encounter with Ms. Lee, and was able to develop self-understanding. Up to this point, both teachers studied literature, made student observation, and discussed the developmental supervision. In this process, Ms Lee made more frequent personal encounters, and Ms. Chang became aware of the importance of student observations in understanding students, and increased the knowledge and skills while making such an observation. Ms Chang's knowledge and skill development highly motivated the related literature studies allowing the development of self-understanding knowledge. Thirdly, during the 9th round of the developmental supervision method and application, through their growth of self-understanding development, Ms. Chang and Ms. Lee started building their interactive relationship so that an ecological aspects of development can occur between the two teachers. The difference in the developmental aspects between the current rounds and the previous is that the development did not occur directly through just one developmental method; that is, due to the developmental supervision method and application, one primary development further led to a secondary development. Studying the method of related literature, Ms. Chang increased the knowledge and skills by realizing the importance of student observation in understanding a student and an objective basis for educational information. This development of knowledge and skills led Ms. Chang to have a confidence in sharing the self learned knowledge with other teachers bringing out the self-understanding. Ms. Lee realized her dominated and directed teaching style through self-reflected journal writings that was a developmental supervision factor leading the development of knowledge and skills. This development of knowledge and skills allowed Ms. Lee to have positive attitude towards accepting Ms. Chang's thoughts, that led to the development of self-understanding. The development of both teachers knowledge and skills brought out the development of self-understanding, and started building their interdependent relationship showing an opportunity for the ecological development. Fourthly, during the 10th round of the developmental supervision method and application, a true interdependent developmental supervision between Ms. Chang and Ms. Lee was activated, allowing both teachers to develop the ecological aspect of development. This development is identical to the 9th round that the primary aspect of development induced another new aspect of development. In the student observation report, Ms. Chang was able to analyze and compare all the theories and concepts with her actual findings at the student observation. In this process, Ms. Chang has learned and became aware of many new concepts as well as gained confidence leading to self-understanding development. Ms. Lee was also able to re-evaluate Ms. Chang's knowledge and skills, and self-understanding aspect through journal writing. Therefore, Ms. Lee was able to direct a teacher to a higher developmental level with an appropriate developmental supervision method of interdependency. Consequently, from the results of Ms. Chang's development of knowledge and skill, self-understanding, and the Ms. Lee's result of re-evaluation of Ms. Chang's developmental level, both teachers gained the ecological development with collaborative relationship with active exchange of communication.