**2.2. Knowledge management**

supervision is more effective. If the principal wants teachers to participate in instructional supervision, they must enable the teachers to have a positive outlook on instructional supervision. The principal should create teaching groups, and let teachers learn together [4, 12]. The purpose of group development, as a dimension of instructional supervision, is to support teachers working cooperatively, rather than alone or competitively [13]. Among other things, group work is designed to develop communication, decision-making, and problem-solving abilities. Recently, teachers' roles have been defined as collegial, collaborative, and oriented

Professional development includes the learning opportunities for faculty provided or supported by school members. Professional development is the continuous education of educators to improve the quality of education in a school. Professional development concerns these issues: (1) controversies associated with preservice preparation and the political dynamics of teachers' nascent careers; (2) problems with contrived forms of collegiality, in contrast to effective mentoring and peer coaching in the context of shifting power relationships between principals and teachers; (3) political strategies principals use to empower teachers; and (4) the use of teacher influence to comply with and resist the imposition of administrators' dictates [11, 12]. Curriculum development is the revision and modification of the content, plans, and materials of classroom instruction. Curriculum development is the collective selection by educators of curriculum purpose, content, organization, and format that are appropriate to students' needs. It is supportive of teachers' choices, which improves commitment to curriculum implementation [11]. Principals in Taiwan assist teachers through workshops with curricula

Action research is the systematic study of classroom and school activity with the aim of improving teachers' learning. Action research is school/class or individual level instructional

Instructional supervision, as a teaching and learning improvement strategy, should be a continuous assessment tool that allows teachers to continually expand their capacity to learn and to help others. A more effective method to promote learning is to help those who work with students to become more knowledgeable, skillful, resourceful, flexible, creative, and sensitive to the needs of students [11]. As stakeholders in curriculum implementation, teachers should be at the forefront in the instructional-supervision planning process from the outset. If teachers view supervision as something done to them and for them but not with them, its potential to improve schools cannot be fully realized. Research also emphasizes the need for teachers to play an active role in instructional supervision. When teachers perceive purpose, control, and personal responsibility, they function more as originators rather than as executors [8]. Instructional supervision should allow competent teachers to explore new methods of improving their professional development and the apprehension of their classes [14].

Supervisors are not the sole contributors to the improvement of education. The principal, for example, is not more expert in teaching methodologies than teachers who know the abilities and inabilities of their own classes and students. Teachers should not be required simply to

defer to the supervisor regarding the instructional-supervision process [6].

improvement whereby educators conduct studies of the results of their activities [11].

toward professional community [12].

54 Contemporary Pedagogies in Teacher Education and Development

to develop instructional competence [4].

KM is a predominant knowledge-based approach in Taiwanese education and considers scientific knowledge as intellectual wealth. Therefore, knowledge accumulation through memorization of theory and facts for reproduction is essential for Taiwanese students. Pedagogical studies emphasize knowledge absorption. KM was introduced in the 1990s after the development of the knowledge economy. It refers to a multidisciplinary approach of achieving a school's objectives through the effective use of knowledge. Researchers have recognized the value of KM in education [5].

The Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education (ISKME) was founded in 2003 in the United States. The ISKME conducts applied research to more effectively understand how educational institutions can create environments and infrastructures that maximize knowledge across all levels of an organization. The ISKME assists schools in improving their use of information technology and in otherwise identifying, distilling, and harnessing information. The ISKME also advises institutional leaders and educational organizations on the development of strategic initiatives, policies, and practices (ISKME-Knowledge Management Web-sites, http://www.iskme.org/).

The majority of studies have shown that knowledge can be classified as either tacit or explicit [5]. Tacit knowledge is experience-based knowledge specific to an individual, whereas explicit knowledge is precise, formally articulated, and documented. In organizations, knowledge is often embedded in repositories, documents, routines, operational processes, practices, and norms. The practices of KM are particularly promising and appropriate for elementary schools. The democratization of data and the sharing of information induce people at every level to contribute, participate, interact, grow, and learn while mastering higher-order skill sets. KM can help benchmark progress and constantly improve educational quality. Therefore, KM can benefit schools and teachers.

Because the definition of KM within education varies, the author must distinguish the following concepts: KM as a strategy focused on corporate objectives, such as continuous improved performance [5]; KM as a process of retrieval, sharing, utilization, storage, and generation of knowledge based on the knowledge life cycle [15, 16].

**2.3. Professional development**

development.

designs [4, 20].

sional development defines coherence [20].

professional quality and ability.

Teacher knowledge contributes substantially to effective teaching and creates more accepting students [18, 19]. Research on teacher expertise underlines the importance of professional development for mastery of tasks typical of the profession [4]. A frequently cited heuristic to classify components of teachers' professional development was provided by Desimone [20]. The classification has greatly influenced the understanding of teachers' professional

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Professional development is a key to reforms in teaching and learning. Recent research agrees that the following characteristics of professional development are critical to improving teacher effectiveness and increasing student achievement: (1) content focus, (2) active learning, (3) coherence, (4) duration, and (5) collective participation. Studies acknowledge these as

The content focus of teacher development may be the most influential component. Evidence from the past 20 years links activities focused on content to student comprehension of that content. With increases in teacher knowledge and skills come improvements in practice and increases in student achievement. This evidence comes from case studies, national teacher questionnaire analyses, experiments, longitudinal studies of teachers, and experimental

Opportunities for teachers to engage in active learning also influence the effectiveness of professional development [4]. Active learning, as opposed to passive learning typically characterized by lectures, can take a number of forms, including teacher observation, followed by

Coherence is the extent to which teacher learning is consistent with teachers' knowledge and beliefs. The consistency of school, district, and state policies with what is taught in profes-

Research shows that intellectual change necessitates professional-development activities of sufficient duration, including both the time over which the activity is performed (e.g., 1 day or one semester) and the number of hours spent performing the activity each time. Research has not indicated ideal durations but has supported activities that spread over a semester [20].

Another component of development is collective participation. This can be accomplished through cooperation of teachers from the same school, grade, or department. Such arrangements promote interaction and discourse, which can be powerful forms of teacher learning [4].

Teachers' professional development and their teaching effectiveness can de predicted by teachers' KM behaviors [17, 21, 22]. The better teachers' KM is, the better their professional development and teaching effectiveness. Therefore, if teachers' KM behaviors improve, their professional development and effectiveness will also improve. If teachers can continually update their own knowledge through personal and school KM behaviors, they also improve

interactive feedback; reviewing relevant student work; and leading discussions [18].

critical components of effective professional development [4, 20].

Knowledge retrieval is the collection of knowledge for planning, decision-making, and problem-solving. It involves capturing existing knowledge through its formalized representation and acquiring needed knowledge and information. For teachers, it is the process of accessing knowledge from an external environment [16].

Knowledge sharing is the extent to which people share their knowledge and experience. Knowledge sharing involves the knowledge flow from one community to another and the transmission of organizational knowledge to those who need it [4]. All implicit or explicit teacher knowledge must be circulated and transmitted through relevant pipelines to form a team's working rules; and KM can help with this process. Through the diffusion of knowledge, explicit knowledge stored in the database and tacit knowledge in the minds of the depositors can be shared [5].

Knowledge utilization is the extent to which teachers apply knowledge to make decisions, take informed action, and modify their behaviors to achieve goals or change organizational practices. It is the integration of acquired knowledge into the organization [16].

Knowledge storage is the preservation of knowledge within the school system and those activities that maintain that preservation. It involves the process of document codification for information retrieval and knowledge creation. Acquired and stored knowledge can spread to become common knowledge for school members. KM also solves this problem.

Knowledge generation is the discovery of new knowledge through lessons, creative thinking, research, experimentation, and innovative development. It means that school members organize their knowledge to generate new ideas to be applied specifically to schoolwork or problem-solving.

In schools, KM assists organizations in measuring, storing, and effectively using knowledge. KM increases problem-solving capabilities and the ability to make improvements [5]. The KM approach in schools enables teachers to develop practices to collect and share information to improve teaching and learning outcomes [16].

Through effective instructional supervision, principals can help teachers retrieve, share, utilize, store, and generate knowledge. KM not only provides a platform for teachers to discuss teaching ideas and share educational resources but also stores the expertise of experienced teachers. This increases teachers' effectiveness and professional development, supports the development of a knowledge community in schools, and fosters a culture of learning [5].

KM processes promote mutual understanding among teachers of school practices and the power and accountability hierarchies. Therefore, it creates human, internal, and external capital. In summary, KM processes empower teachers to act and communicate effectively by equipping them with required knowledge [17].
