Year-long Professional Development Research Articles

Turning Science Lessons Inside Out: Professional Development for Elementary School Teachers' Outdoor Instruction

Despite the growing field of research focusing on the benefits of learning science in the outdoors where students have direct connections with the natural world, teachers report that challenges such as time and test preparation discourage outdoor science instruction. Additionally, many teachers feel ill-equipped and a lack of support from administrators to teach science and enact outdoor instruction. We present research collected during a series of professional development workshops at two elementary schools designed to help teachers recognize the potential for teaching science outdoors and provide strategies for adapting their existing lessons to include schoolyard experiences. Through observation and interview data with teachers and school leaders, we document teachers’ views of and experiences with outdoor teaching and learning. Interview data document four major themes that include teachers’ outdoor experiences, outdoor connections with science and other subjects, benefits and barriers of outdoor teaching and learning, and teachers’ impressions of students and outdoor science. While teachers report that the year-long professional development experience provided a strong introduction to outdoor instruction, they need continued support to enact authentic science instruction situated in the schoolyard.

A Phenomenological Study of Intensive Experiential Learning for University Faculty Professional Development

Background: College students need the ability to generalize and apply solutions through reflective practice. University faculty need professional development to use authentic cases to prepare students for the future. Purpose: This study was to explore the experiences of faculty through a year-long professional development program that included a field experience contextually focused on natural disasters. Methodology: This phenomenological study used personal interviews with faculty about the essence of the shared experience. Data were analyzed through open coding, axial coding, and theoretical triangulation from Kolb’s experiential learning model. Findings/Conclusions: Participant interviews yielded 32 codes that were categorized into 12 themes and theoretically triangulated into the four components of Kolb’s experiential learning model: Experience, Reflection, Generalization, and Application. The concrete experience themes were connection to disasters, to other faculty, and new perspectives. Faculty reflected on their expertise, the importance of engaging experiences, and new realizations. Generalization broadened disciplinary perspectives and connections. Faculty gained teaching applications, including leadership concepts, and humanizing science. Implication: Professional development for faculty using experiential learning can improve teaching capacity for the next generation to solve complex problems of social, economic, and health concerns within communities.

‘I’m pretty sure we did every idea’: teachers’ experiences with external coaches and their relation to transformative learning

ABSTRACT In this interview study, the authors examined the process of coaching in the context of a year-long professional development initiative designed to support teachers’ expertise in implementing culturally and linguistically responsive practices. Using transformative learning as a theoretical and analytical frame, they investigated 20 teachers’ experiences with external coaches and identified relational and resource aspects of coaching that supported or hindered teachers’ growth. In addition, data analysis showed how collaborative coaching relationships were related to teachers’ movement through the phases of transformative learning. This study has implications for how external coaches work with teachers as part of professional learning and illustrates the importance of rooting the coach–teacher relationship in a shared understanding of teachers’ context and lived experiences.

“Going around it to go into it”: tensions and questions in teacher–researcher work towards a critical translanguaging stance

Abstract This article blends autoethnography with other qualitative research methods to address the following question: what tensions and questions emerged as a white, English-dominant researcher and white, English-dominant teachers co-developed a critical, anti-racist translanguaging stance? The co-development of such a stance occurred through a year-long professional development (PD) series on critical translingual approaches to English teaching (Seltzer, Kate. 2020. “My English is its own rule”: Voicing a translingual sensibility through poetry. Journal of Language, Identity and Education 19(5). 297–311), which, unlike many traditional teacher education and development programs, shifted away from “strategies” and “best practices” and instead centered and aimed to unpack ideologies that lead to deficit perceptions and ways of teaching racialized bi/multilingual students. By drawing on three moments from this PD series, I explore and raise questions about how (or whether) the translanguaging co-stance (García, Ofelia, Susana Johnson & Kate Seltzer. 2017. Rejecting abyssal thinking in the language and education of racialized bilinguals: A manifesto. Critical Inquiry in Language Studies 18(3). 203–228; Tian, Zhongfeng & Leah Shepard‐Carey. 2020. (Re) imagining the future of translanguaging pedagogies in TESOL through teacher–researcher collaboration. Tesol Quarterly 54(4). 1131–1143) the teachers and I were developing was as explicitly critical and anti-racist as I intended. To delve into these moments, I mesh data from the PD project with scholarship on whiteness, translanguaging, and raciolinguistic ideologies to explore these tensions and reflect critically on my own ways forward in collaborative translanguaging research with teachers.

Transformation of School Science Practices to Promote Functional Scientific Literacy

The incorporation of socioscientific issues into science teaching to promote students’ scientific literacy may require that science teachers reconsider and transform their teaching practices. This study examines the knowledge and considerations involved when two teachers incorporated socioscientific issues into their teaching, with the aim of understanding conditions for developing teaching to promote functional scientific literacy. Data consisted of written records of teaching, field notes of classroom observations and transcripts of meetings between the teachers and a researcher, generated during a year-long professional development project. Data were analysed through the framework of didactics that understands teaching as framed by societal conditions, curricula, teaching traditions and teacher and student knowledge and intentions. The results show that the incorporation of socioscientific issues enabled student engagement with scientific content, the practice of evidence-based reasoning and the consideration of values and norms. The teachers strove to seize upon student questions in teaching, and the results show that this may require strategies to raise questions among students, as well as profound science content knowledge on the part of teachers. Moreover, the results indicate that tensions arose between students’ instrumental views of teaching and learning and the teachers’ promotion of an exploratory classroom culture. The teachers had to support student adaption to the new requirements, and in this process, mutual trust and clear expectations were considered important. Implications for teachers’ professional development in relation to the incorporation of socioscientific issues in science education are discussed.

Leading urban school teachers of Black and Brown students during social injustice and the pandemic

ABSTRACT This case study illustrates how leadership for learning and cultural competence could be used as theories of action during times of disruption to lead and transform urban teachers’ sense of self, sense of others, and motivation for change. The case study focuses on educators from a large urban charter school whose response to the pandemic and the social justice movements was using a year-long professional development to provide continuous support and foster a growth mindset among educators. Self-evaluation on the cultural proficiency scale showed that the principal and thirty teachers differed in their levels of proficiency. The principal and six teachers with middle and high levels of proficiency were then interviewed to probe their personal interpretations of the connections among their cultural competence, their awareness of structural inequities, and the ways this awareness might have impacted how they teach Black and Brown students in their classrooms. Regardless of where they were on the scale, Black and White educators benefited from self-reflections and group dialogue about how they value, model, and practice cultural proficiency with their Black and Brown students. These findings have implications for urban public charter school leadership during times of continued change and uncertainty.

Quantity and quality of literacy instruction for English language learners in Indiana elementary schools

Abstract This research adopts a collective case study to explore the quantity (time allocations for key literacy components and group configurations) and the quality of English language arts (ELA) instruction for Grade 1 English language learners (ELLs) across six classrooms in three Indiana elementary school districts during the 2019–2020 school year. Three teachers (treatment group) were participants in a year-long professional development (PD) program consisting of ELL teacher licensure coursework (plus instructional coaching for two of the treatment teachers). The other three teachers (control group) did not participate in the PD program. Analysis of video-recordings of teachers’ ELA instruction, coded video instances, and time allocations reveal that overall treatment teachers allocated more time for the ELA block, more time for vocabulary, comprehension, and fluency instruction, and in general provided higher quality instruction. The findings provide evidence of the effectiveness of the PD program for improving ELA instruction for ELLs. However, both control and treatment teachers have some discrepancies in the quality and quantity of their literacy instruction compared to evidence-based research. This study holds important implications for literacy educators as they identify and employ strategies best suited for ELLs.

Teachers’ structuring of mathematical inquiry lessons: shifting from “task-first” to “scaffolded inquiry”

ABSTRACT A three-phase “task-first” lesson structure is frequently suggested when teaching mathematics through inquiry. We investigate how secondary school teachers of mathematics structure their inquiry lessons and examine how and why they deviate from a “task-first” structure. We present detailed lesson observation data from three teachers participating in a year-long professional development programme focused on inquiry teaching. We track the developing structure of these teachers’ inquiry lessons through minute-by-minute lesson analysis, describe how their lesson structures altered over time and explore why. Our data show that contextual constraints may explain why teachers departed from the “task-first” lesson structure. In their inquiry teaching, two of the teachers adopted more scaffolded approaches, including the use of a sequence of smaller sub-tasks and teacher interventions. We argue that these modifications to a “task-first” lesson structure are legitimate ways to support student learning through inquiry; indeed, that they may offer some advantages for inquiry teaching.

Professional development in classroom discussion to improve argumentation: Teacher and student outcomes

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a year-long professional development program in classroom discussion designed to improve students' argumentation skills in language arts classes. Twenty-six fifth-grade teachers and their 471 students at two research sites participated: 14 teachers in the experimental condition, who received the professional development, and 12 teachers in the comparison condition. Results showed that the professional development led to statistically significant improvements in the quality of teachers' facilitation and student argumentation during discussions, and in students' performance on individual argumentative reading and writing tasks following the discussions, at the end of the year. Findings suggest that the professional development for teachers resulted in strengthened student abilities to connect positions with relevant reasons and evidence, and that argumentation skills acquired in the discussions may have transferred to students’ individual argumentation, at least for reading outcomes.

"I knew it was a problem before, but did I really?": Engaging teachers in data use for equity.

In current contexts of education, educators are tasked with using data, most often without any critical preparation to do so. In this way, data are presented as objective measures of student progress and participation in school without consideration of the systemic and structural influences on that progress and participation. This article reports on a proposed framework for preparing educators to engage in critical data-driven decision making as an engine of disrupting classroom and school-based systemic inequity through data use. We argue that if educators are to use data in ways that acknowledge the inequities of schooling and act in ways to trigger change, we must prepare them to engage with data differently. The framework we describe, data use for equity, integrates data and equity literacies in this service. We use case study to report on the outcomes of a professional development project guided by this conceptual framework of data use for equity. Participants engaged in professional development that utilized a School and Classroom Equity Audit as a triggering data event and explicitly attended to the relationship of culture and education. Findings demonstrated that professional development in data use for equity enhanced participants' sense of agency, perceptions of equity and data, and perceived multicultural capacities. Findings also demonstrated that while participants made progress in strengthening their data and equity literacies on almost all indicators through the yearlong professional development, developing data use for equity must be an ongoing effort.

Multiple Representations in Elementary Science: Building Shared Understanding while Leveraging Students’ Diverse Ideas and Practices

ABSTRACT Research has explored how science teachers can create equitable learning environments. In addition, research demonstrates that representations can be powerful tools for supporting disciplinary learning and inviting and leveraging students’ diverse ideas and practices. Yet, professional development (PD) about representations has primarily focused on teachers’ knowledge of disciplinary practices rather than on how teachers can value and build upon students’ representations as resources for equitable sensemaking. In this paper, we present cases from a year-long professional development program with in-service elementary teachers designed to support science teaching with representations. Through our work with these teachers, we have illustrated an approach to using representations that supports equitable sensemaking by: (1) making space for students to create personally meaningful representations, (2) amplifying students’ representations, and (3) helping students iteratively refine their representations and ideas. These findings extend literature about inclusive science teaching by illustrating how focusing on students’ representations can support equitable sensemaking and by addressing tensions that emerge between equitable teaching, science standards that prioritize canonical knowledge and practices, and monoglossic language ideologies.

Enhancing mathematics teacher professional learning through a contextualized professional development program

ABSTRACT This study investigated the impact of a year-long professional development (PD) program on mathematics teachers’ knowledge, beliefs, and practice. The PD program of the study was designed to connect mathematics teachers’ learning and teaching practice through integrating situated aspects of the teaching profession and teachers’ reflections. Data was collected from three cohorts of teachers across three program years. Results from repeated-measures ANCOVA show changes in self-efficacy, epistemological beliefs, and math pedagogical knowledge. Teachers’ content knowledge decreased in the first-year group but increased for teachers in Year 2 and 3 cohorts. Teaching practice improved about one standard deviation along the indices measured. Multiple regression results show that teachers’ self-efficacy and epistemological beliefs influenced their practice. The discussion includes assessing links between PD design and its effectiveness in influencing knowledge, belief, and practice change, as well as making the case for future PD programs to consider targeting multiple interconnected teacher outcomes.

Instructional Change after Participating in a Mathematics Professional Development Program: An Exploration of Impact

This research study explored teachers’ self-reported uptake as well as observed instructional change after participating in a year-long professional development (PD) program focused on supporting the learning and teaching of transformations-based geometry. Analyses illuminate the degree and nature of the pedagogical shifts made by teachers who participated in this highly specified, videocase-based PD program. The treatment teachers’ lessons started out significantly lower on most aspects of their instructional quality relative to the control teachers’ lessons prior to the PD. However, the control teachers stayed the same or showed a decline in their instructional quality scores, whereas the treatment teachers made significant gains after the PD that brought them to the same level as the control teachers. The article concludes by considering how engagement with intentionally designed videocases during the PD may have contributed to the teachers' improvement in targeted dimensions of instructional quality.

Teachers’ Experiences with Agency and Wellbeing during a Critical Participatory Action Research Project

ABSTRACT Prior research suggests that critical participatory action research (CPAR) – a research approach that centers democratic participation, agency, and collective capacity-building – may be one way to improve teachers’ professional development and increase their feelings of agency and well-being. Engaging in CPAR has the potential to foster teachers’ positive relationships, build their critical consciousness, and increase their feelings of civic empowerment. The current project explores teachers’ experiences in a yearlong CPAR professional development course, investigating whether this professional development course may support teacher’s self-reported sense of agency and their self-reported sense of well-being. Drawing on interview data, the findings suggest that teachers felt an increased sense of agency and well-being while engaged in the CPAR workshop. Although some teachers were able to transfer these feelings to their school contexts, the levels and forms of transferability seemed related to specific contextual factors. Thus, this study indicates that the benefits of CPAR may not always transfer across settings.

Connecting the “Real-World” to the Math Classroom: Implementing Professional Development for Mathematical Modeling

This qualitative research study focused on the changes in classroom pedagogy and content of rural mathematics teachers who engaged in a year-long professional development project focused on mathematical modeling. During a 2-week summer institute, teachers solved mathematical modeling problems as learners and then went through an iterative design process of creating, testing and refining lessons for classroom implementation. The lessons were implemented during the academic year. Results of this study indicate that teachers developed a willingness to move from traditional lecture and replication as the main form of pedagogy. Instead they incorporated more group tasks, alternate assessments, and created their own mathematical modeling problems that were relevant to their students’ lives.

The effects of extended action research-based professional development on the teaching of climate science

ABSTRACT This study explored the use of collaborative action research (CAR) in a year-long professional development (PD) for global climate change (GCC) education. The purpose was to understand how high school science teachers’ engagement in CAR affected their classroom practice. The teachers exchanged stories of practice, shared and tried out new ideas in their classrooms, and engaged in systematic inquiry. The study was guided by these questions: What are the effects of extended professional development on the teachers’ classroom practice? What role did action research play in reaching our goals for professional development? What affordances and obstacles affect their change in pedagogy? Data included recordings of CAR meetings, classroom observations, and post-interviews with teachers. Data were analyzed through coding processes and the development of learning progressions to understand how the teachers’ knowledge developed throughout the PD. Results indicated teachers changes their practice and demonstrated increased confidence in teaching GCC science. They incorporated discussion and argumentation into their teaching practice, utilized a more place-based approach to GCC education, and presented GCC as real and anthropogenic. It was also found that the complexities of teachers’ lives inhibited the full participation of all the teachers who volunteered to engage in CAR.

Theorizing about components of teacher professional development: supports and barriers

PurposeThis paper reports on a study exploring a sustained coaching model of teacher professional development (PD). The study was undertaken with middle school teachers in a small rural school division in Alberta, Canada. The goal of the study was to theorize about the components of the sustained coaching model of PD that supported or was a barrier to teachers engaging in a year-long PD series.Design/methodology/approachA grounded theory methodology was used to theorize about the components of a teacher PD model that participants viewed as being a support or barrier to their engagement in the PD. Data were collected from two individual participant interviews: one interview at the beginning of the year and one interview at the end of the year.FindingsFindings indicate that teacher PD should include a constant community, accountability to other participants in that community, and a balance of theoretical and practical support and be provided over multiple sessions. In addition, in order for the PD to be sustainable, barriers to engaging in the PD should be minimized.Originality/valueA recognition of the complexity of the factors influencing a teacher's interaction with PD provides a lens with which to consider the potential for a teacher's engagement with PD.

Supporting teachers working with English learners: Engagement and impact of a professional development program

Despite the growing number of English learners in the United States, teachers continue to report that they do not feel well prepared to support English learners. It is critical to offer quality professional development accessible for all teachers and to engage teachers in exploring teaching applications involving English learners. In this study, the authors describe a yearlong strengths‐based professional development program with a focus on engaging educators in reflections on their teaching beliefs and practices. Based on both quantitative and qualitative data, the researchers report teachers’ beliefs and practices and highlight the impact of the yearlong professional development. Discussions and recommendations regarding future professional development efforts to support teachers working with English learners are provided.

Professional Development, Shifting Perspectives, and Instructional Change among Community College Anatomy and Physiology Instructors.

This paper presents community college (CC) instructors’ responses to the Community College Anatomy and Physiology Educational Research (CAPER) project, a professional development program focused on active learning and educational research. We engage with conceptual change theory to better understand why and how CC instructors shifted their perspectives toward active learning. Qualitative data indicate that the participating CC instructors experienced pedagogical discontentment, leading to increased positive beliefs about active learning and educational research. In addition, we find that CC instructors have continued their pursuit of pedagogical change and educational research through communities of practice, which provide positive learning environments.

Improving Experienced Mathematics Teachers’ Classroom Talk: A Visual Learning Analytics Approach to Professional Development

The professional development of experienced teachers has received considerably less attention than that of novice teachers. This study focuses on four experienced secondary mathematics teachers in Shanghai, China, with two participating in a year-long professional development program (treatment teachers) and the other two received conventional knowledge-based professional development (comparison teachers). The program introduced productive classroom talk skills which can facilitate teachers’ formative assessment of student learning during class. To encourage teachers to reflect on their classroom discourse when reviewing recordings of their teaching, we used visual learning analytics with the treatment teachers and theorized the use of this technology with activity theory. After completing the program, the treatment teachers were better able to use productive talk moves to elicit student responses and to provide timely formative feedback accordingly. Specifically, the percentage of word contributions in lessons from students and the length of their responses increased noticeably. Qualitative findings suggest that the use of visual learning analytics mediated the treatment teachers and improved classroom discourse. Based on these findings and activity theory, we provide recommendations for future use of visual learning analytics to improve teachers’ classroom talk and designing professional development activities for experienced teachers.