Construction of Master Teacher Studios: A Successful Device for Promoting Teacher Professional Development

In China, in-service teachers at the basic education level can pursue professional development through various channels. The two most common modalities of further education in this group are: (i) participating in teacher training programs, such as the National Teacher Training Initiative sponsored by educational authorities, or attending thematic lectures organized by the schools (Zhu, 2010); (ii) fulfilling personalized study plans, enhancing their professional competence by reading academic literature on education and taking online courses, among other autonomous approaches. While well-organized collective training programs may enable teachers to efficaciously update their knowledge, including mastery of new pedagogical theories, and can facilitate professional growth of novice teachers, group training of these programs seldom incorporates practical activities and is unable to meet individualized needs.