1. Please provide the article with two compliments and two suggestions that lead to further discussion?

The topic I chose to pursue is professional development in the form of collaboration. I am obtaining my Doctorate in Education (EdD) in Educational Leadership and Management. One of the key topics to research is Experiential Learning. Professional development and collaboration fit in line with this topic.

I found two studies that are very informative regarding professional development in the form of collaboration. The purpose of the first study, Teacher informal collaboration for professional improvement: Beliefs, contexts, and experience, written by Avalos-Bevan and Bascopé (2017), was to examine teacher’s views on collaboration as a source of professional development. The authors found the study to have a positive impact on the teachers who participated (Avalos-Bevan & Bascopé, 2017). The purpose of the second study, Teacher collaboration and professional development in the workplace: a study of Portuguese teachers, written by Forte and Flores (2014), was to understand and analyze the relationship between teacher collaboration and professional development. The authors found the benefits outweighed the challenges of working collaboratively with colleagues (Forte & Flores, 2014). Both studies dug deep into the analysis of collaborating with colleagues and found ways for collaboration to be beneficial of applying it to professional development.

The two studies had many similarities. Both studies sent out surveys to be completed by teachers and professionals in the schools. The authors relied on the information from these surveys to analyze the results and conduct the study (Avalos-Bevan & Bascopé, 2017; Forte & Flores, 2014). The results of the studies were also a similarity. In both cases, the authors concluded that the teachers felt that collaboration is beneficial in the teaching practice (Avalos-Bevan & Bascopé, 2017; Forte & Flores, 2014). Being able to prepare lessons with colleagues, talking to other teachers regarding teaching problems, and appreciating individual forms of professional development based on reflection were the three important benefits that Avalos-Bevan and Bascopé (2017) concluded in their study. Forte and Flores (2014) also reached three main benefits in the study. Self-improvement regarding motivation, job satisfaction, and support; Impact on the school itself concerning a sense of identity in the community; Helping foster interpersonal relationships were the three main benefits concluded from the study (Forte & Flores, 2014). The authors from both studies found that the teachers benefited from the use of collaboration between colleagues.

There were different perspectives from the two studies as well. The main difference between these two studies was the sample size. The Avalos-Bevan and Bascopé (2017) study sampled 1023 teachers across Chile, while the Forte and Flores (2014) study only sampled a total of 101 teachers in Portugal. The authors of the two studies also conducted research for their studies in different countries, which is important to realize because different countries can view education values differently. The main perspective difference between the two studies is the analysis of the limitations or downfalls of the study. Avalos-Bevan and Bascopé (2017) did not go into the teachers concluding that there were many limitations of collaboration. Forte and Flores (2014), on the other hand, had the teachers write on the surveys what limitations they felt about collaboration. Teachers felt that time and working conditions at the school were limitations for collaborating with colleagues (Forte & Flores, 2014).

The benefits of professional development can be instrumental in the field of education, and when you add collaboration, the possibilities are endless. Every teacher has different experiences that can lead to different teaching styles. The use of collaboration allows teachers to share their experiences and learn new techniques for the classroom (Forte & Flores, 2014). By providing professional development for collaboration, it allows teachers to benefit from specific workshops and what would otherwise be time constraints (Avalos-Bevan & Bascopé, 2017).