Abstract:
While teachers and administrators in polytechnics in Ghana have categorically
expressed the growing need for the former’s knowledge and skills to be updated
in the era of polytechnic transformation, little attention has been paid to the subject.
This study reports a professional development intervention organised for 16
engineering teachers divided among three teacher design teams (TDT) who
planned and undertook industrial attachments to update their knowledge and
skills in their subject areas. With relevant knowledge acquired, they updated
their courses and subsequently conducted teaching tryouts. Data collected during
the study through interviews, questionnaires and a logbook sought teachers’
learning experiences in TDTs. The results indicated teachers’ acquisition of relevant
knowledge and skills during the TDT activities. Furthermore, TDT enabled
active learning, collaboration as well as dialogue on subject matter among teachers
and was a useful means for the professional development process
