Action Research On Promoting Teachers' Professional Development Within Integrated Practical Activity Curriculum

Teachers' professional development has become an important topic in the latest Curriculum Reform. Applying the method of action research, the study explores the value of promoting teachers' professional development within Integrated Practical Activity Curriculum.The New Curriculum Reform raises a new vision of teacher's professional development. But in fact, teacher's professional development now is being in trouble. According to analyses the vision and troubles, the thesis refers that Integrated Practical Activity Curriculum could create a field in which teachers can explore their teaching practices, rethink the meaning of their teaching practice and form new teaching practice, As a result, it could establish new qualities of teacher which would be advocated by new curriculum.The study completed an action research which was worked out together by the author and the teachers in L school from August, 2005 to April, 2006. In the process of collecting materials, the method concerns observations, interviews and document analyses.In this thesis, the study represents two aspects as follows: First, it describes the whole process that the author and teachers worked together to implement integrated practical activity, shows what teacher saying, doing and thinking; Second, the author analysis the teacher's exploration in this process and concludes the influencing factors ofit.This thesis describes the whole process of action research in the framework of situation, and reflects teachers' distinctive characteristics through two cases.The conclusions of this action research come from the changes of involved teachers' thoughts and practices, and contribute to the following points: First, the core value of integrated practical activity curriculum to teachers' professional development is to establish new outlook on student; Second, the main content of teachers' professional development is that the school should keep teachers explore their teaching practice continuously by offering supporting conditions.