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European Journal of Education Studies ISSN: 2501 - 1111 ISSN-L: 2501 - 1111 Available on-line at: www.oapub.org/edu Volume 3 │Issue 11│2017 doi: 10.5281/zenodo.1051036 'HOW TO CHANGE THINGS WHEN CHANGE IS HARD': THE TRIAL OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT MODEL FOR LIBYAN UNIVERSITY TEACHERS Wesam Rohouma1, Hameda Suwaed2i College of Engineering, 1 Al Zawia University, Libya College of Arts, 2 Sabratha University, Libya Abstract: In higher education contexts, while much research is conducted towards highlighting the importance of professional development, studies on how to train teachers to implement new methods effectively are few and far between. Such an imbalance needs to be addressed since how to train teachers might have a direct impact on how teachers teach. This paper investigates the implementation of training model that highlights the importance of creating collaborative, college based settings to support teachers. The findings of the study show that the suggested model provides a college based setting that would support teachers' self-reflection and improvement in the teaching practice. Keywords: educational context, teachers’ training, professional development 1. Introduction Over the years, many studies identified the problems in higher education in the Arab world. Most of the findings of these studies indicate that graduates lacked mostly the communication skills, English language proficiencies, problem solving skills, and thinking skills (Singh & Singh, 2008). A traditional way of teaching and learning still dominates the teaching practice for many decades in the public universities including the Libyan universities. This traditional teaching method in form of teacher-centered Copyright © The Author(s). All Rights Reserved. © 2015 – 2017 Open Access Publishing Group 230 Wesam Rohouma, Hameda Suwaed 'HOW TO CHANGE THINGS WHEN CHANGE IS HARD': THE TRIAL OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT MODEL FOR LIBYAN UNIVERSITY TEACHERS learning approach is seen as the most possible reason why knowledge, skills and values fail to be developed satisfactorily in the students (Othman etal 2013). University of Zawia management, the context of this study, had sensed this situation and some steps have been taken to initiate significant changes in the teaching methods that the teachers use. In-service professional development programs have been developed and delivered. These forms mostly require teachers to play new classroom roles. It has become clear however, that many teachers lack the knowledge and skills which are required to implement the new teaching practices and improve the quality of their teaching (Suwaed and Rohouma 2015). What is more, even when teachers implement the new techniques, how the techniques are implemented in classrooms does not always reflect the professional development program's intentions. Thus, the traditional models of professional development available to teachers are inadequate for supporting the teachers in their implementation of the new instructional methods. These traditional models expose teachers to new methods through a limited number of days of in service training (Fuhrman 1993). Then, the teachers are left to their own to apply what they did learn. Unsurprisingly, the result is that teachers' teaching practices remain unchanged. For viewing / downloading the full article, please access the following link: https://oapub.org/edu/index.php/ejes/article/view/1191 . European Journal of Education Studies - Volume 3 │ Issue 11│ 2017 231