Peer Coaching in a Research-Based Teachers’ Professional Learning Method for Lifelong Learning: A Perspective

Teacher professional development (PD) has been claimed to be the foundation for transforming school culture. Any PD activity with a human infrastructure that is composed of teachers, researchers, and policy makers who together form a professional learning community (PLC) situated in a local school must incorporate the team’s appreciation of collective efficacy and sense of community in the learning environment. A PLC must exemplify the concept of ongoing collaborative experiential learning through experimentation and reflection on emerging practices. It is expected, therefore, that with everyone's active involvement in the support structure, teachers' PD will be positively impacted and reflected in approaches to professional development. Fundamental to the adult learning environment is the process of collaborative inquiry where participants critically reflect on their own experiences. The process of collaborative inquiry encapsulates the notion that as teachers are regarded as lifelong learners, they need to gather insights from their experiences with the support of their colleagues to ensure that their learning process contributes to the enhancement of the quality of teaching and learning outcomes. Collaborative inquiry captures the idea of co-learning PD where professional knowledge and skills are acquired and sustained in an authentic teaching environment that aims to foster sustainable changes in teaching practices. Grounded in the principles of adult learning, this article presents a methodological perspective on how educational institutions can form a professional learning community within the school context where problems from past experiences are critically examined and serve as a foundation to professionally reflect, think, and act.Il a été affirmé que le développement professionnel des enseignants est la base de la transformation de la culture scolaire. Toute activité liée au développement professionnel ayant une infrastructure humaine composée d’enseignants, de chercheurs et de décideurs qui forment une communauté d’apprentissage professionnelle (CAP) dans une école locale doit incorporer l’appréciation de l’équipe pour l’efficacité collective et le sentiment de communauté dans le milieu d’apprentissage. Une CAP doit illustrer, par l’expérimentation et la réflexion sur les pratiques émergentes, le concept de l’apprentissage expérientiel collaboratif et continu. On s’attend alors que l’implication active de tout le monde dans la structure de soutien aura un impact positif sur le développement professionnel des enseignants et sur les approches à ce cheminement.Le processus d’enquête collaborative où les participants se livrent à une réflexion critique sur leurs propres expériences constitue un élément fondamental du milieu de l’éducation des adultes. L’enquête en collaboration résume la notion qu’en tant qu’apprenants à vie, les enseignants se doivent de recueillir des connaissances de leurs expériences avec l’appui de leurs collègues et pour s’assurer que leur cheminement contribue à l’amélioration de la qualité de l’enseignement et des résultats d’apprentissage. L’enquête collaborative englobe l’idée du co-apprentissage dans le contexte du développement professionnel au cours duquel des connaissances et des habiletés professionnelles sont acquises et maintenues dans un milieu pédagogique authentique qui vise la promotion de changements durables dans la pratique enseignante. Fondée sur les principes de la formation des adultes, cet article présente une perspective méthodologique sur la formation, par les établissements d’enseignement, d’une communauté d’apprentissage professionnelle dans un milieu scolaire où les expériences du passé font l’objet d’un examen critique et servent de base à des réflexions et des actions professionnelles.Mots clés : développement professionnel, formation en cours d’emploi, perfectionnement professionnel, collaboratio

Sublingual Immunization with M2-Based Vaccine Induces Broad Protective Immunity against Influenza

The ectodomain of matrix protein 2 (M2e) of influenza A virus is a rationale target antigen candidate for the development of a universal vaccine against influenza as M2e undergoes little sequence variation amongst human influenza A strains. Vaccine-induced M2e-specific antibodies (Abs) have been shown to display significant cross-protective activity in animal models. M2e-based vaccine constructs have been shown to be more protective when administered by the intranasal (i.n.) route than after parenteral injection. However, i.n. administration of vaccines poses rare but serious safety issues associated with retrograde passage of inhaled antigens and adjuvants through the olfactory epithelium. In this study, we examined whether the sublingual (s.l.) route could serve as a safe and effective alternative mucosal delivery route for administering a prototype M2e-based vaccine. The mechanism whereby s.l. immunization with M2e vaccine candidate induces broad protection against infection with different influenza virus subtypes was explored.A recombinant M2 protein with three tandem copies of the M2e (3M2eC) was expressed in Escherichia coli. Parenteral immunizations of mice with 3M2eC induced high levels of M2e-specific serum Abs but failed to provide complete protection against lethal challenge with influenza virus. In contrast, s.l. immunization with 3M2eC was superior for inducing protection in mice. In the latter animals, protection was associated with specific Ab responses in the lungs.The results demonstrate that s.l. immunization with 3M2eC vaccine induced airway mucosal immune responses along with broad cross-protective immunity to influenza. These findings may contribute to the understanding of the M2-based vaccine approach to control epidemic and pandemic influenza infections