Professional Development

Analyzing Teacher Learning in a Research Practice Partnership

Teachers are increasingly participating in RPPs with the goal of improving their schools and districts. This context provides teachers with unique learning opportunities as they directly take part in district-level instructional improvement work. However, we know little about what teachers learn from their involvement in RPPs. This study explores teacher learning over the course of the first year of a multiyear RPP which involves a group of elementary teachers and a team of researchers from a local university.

Author/Presenter

Enisa Selimbegovic Akgul

Alison Castro Superfine

Year
2023
Short Description

Teachers are increasingly participating in RPPs with the goal of improving their schools and districts. However, we know little about what teachers learn from their involvement in RPPs. This study explores teacher learning over the course of the first year of a multiyear RPP which involves a group of elementary teachers and a team of researchers from a local university.

Characterizing Mathematics Teacher Learning Patterns Through Collegial Conversation in a Community of Practice

We examined secondary (6-12) mathematics teachers’ participation in a professional development (PD) model where they collectively investigated video cases of students engaging with ambitious instructional materials. We leveraged frame analysis, frame processes, and the Teaching for Robust Understanding framework to characterize the learning of professional learning communities. We found that teacher learning was supported within collegial environments where teachers respectfully challenged or transformed ideas on how to solve problems of practice.

Author/Presenter

Joseph DiNapoli

Amy Daniel

Helene S. Leonard

Youngjun Kim

Victoria D. Bonaccorso

Eileen Murray

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2023
Short Description

We examined secondary (6-12) mathematics teachers’ participation in a professional development (PD) model where they collectively investigated video cases of students engaging with ambitious instructional materials. We leveraged frame analysis, frame processes, and the Teaching for Robust Understanding framework to characterize the learning of professional learning communities.

Hearing All Voices to Promote Learning Orientation and Effective Collaboration

Liu, P., Taylor, S. Colwell-Johnson, A., Lee, A. A., McKinney, D., Harris, C. J., Linnenbrink-Garcia, L., Marchand, G. C., & Schmidt, J. A. (2023). Hearing all voices to promote learning orientation and effective collaboration. Science Scope, 46(7). https://doi.org/10.1080/08872376.2023.12315901

Author/Presenter

Sharon Taylor

Ann Colwell-Johnson

Alexandra Lee

David Mckinney

Christopher J. Harris

Lisa Linnenbrink-Garcia

Gwen C. Marchand

Jennifer A. Schmidt

Year
2023
Short Description

Practical research article from Science Scope.

Hearing All Voices to Promote Learning Orientation and Effective Collaboration

Liu, P., Taylor, S. Colwell-Johnson, A., Lee, A. A., McKinney, D., Harris, C. J., Linnenbrink-Garcia, L., Marchand, G. C., & Schmidt, J. A. (2023). Hearing all voices to promote learning orientation and effective collaboration. Science Scope, 46(7). https://doi.org/10.1080/08872376.2023.12315901

Author/Presenter

Sharon Taylor

Ann Colwell-Johnson

Alexandra Lee

David Mckinney

Christopher J. Harris

Lisa Linnenbrink-Garcia

Gwen C. Marchand

Jennifer A. Schmidt

Year
2023
Short Description

Practical research article from Science Scope.

Hearing All Voices to Promote Learning Orientation and Effective Collaboration

Liu, P., Taylor, S. Colwell-Johnson, A., Lee, A. A., McKinney, D., Harris, C. J., Linnenbrink-Garcia, L., Marchand, G. C., & Schmidt, J. A. (2023). Hearing all voices to promote learning orientation and effective collaboration. Science Scope, 46(7). https://doi.org/10.1080/08872376.2023.12315901

Author/Presenter

Sharon Taylor

Ann Colwell-Johnson

Alexandra Lee

David Mckinney

Christopher J. Harris

Lisa Linnenbrink-Garcia

Gwen C. Marchand

Jennifer A. Schmidt

Year
2023
Short Description

Practical research article from Science Scope.

Online Teacher Professional Learning: An Approach to Foster Personalized Pathways

Teachers tend to be lifelong learners, motivated to pursue professional learning that is meaningful to their particular needs. In 2013, Marrongelle et. al., noted “it is incumbent on the field to capitalize on emerging technologies in the design and delivery of effective professional development.” (p. 208). While the past decade has seen an increase in development of opportunities for personalized learning for mathematics teachers online (e.g., Silverman & Hoyos, 2018), more work is needed to provide additional research-based opportunities.

Author/Presenter

Hollylynne S. Lee

Emily P. Thrasher

Matt Grossman

Gemma F. Mojica

Bruce Graham

Adrian Kuhlman

Year
2022
Short Description

The InSTEP professional learning platform aims to support grades 6-12 teachers’ professional learning in teaching statistics and data science through a personalized online learning platform. While statistics and data analysis are included in standards for both mathematics and science, there are also many states across the country envisioning high school course pathways that include a heavier emphasis on statistics and even stand alone courses on data science. In this brief research report, we aim to share how we have designed supports for teachers to personalize their professional learning and results from a collective case study of 37 participants engaged in a field test of the platform in Fall 2022.

Engagement in the InSTEP Professional Learning Platform: Developing Expertise to Teach Data and Statistics

In this study, 82 middle and high school teachers engaged with the InSTEP online professional
learning platform to develop their expertise in teaching data science and statistics. We
investigated teachers’ engagement within the platform, aspects of the platform that were most
and least effective in building teachers’ expertise, and the extent to which teachers’ self-efficacy
changed. Using mixed methods, we collected, analyzed and integrated multiple data sources.

Author/Presenter

Gemma F. Mojica

Emily Thrasher

Adrian Kuhlman

Bruce Graham

Hollylynne S. Lee

Michelle Pace

Year
2023
Short Description

In this study, 82 middle and high school teachers engaged with the InSTEP online professional
learning platform to develop their expertise in teaching data science and statistics. We
investigated teachers’ engagement within the platform, aspects of the platform that were most
and least effective in building teachers’ expertise, and the extent to which teachers’ self-efficacy
changed.

Responsive Professional Development: A Facilitation Approach for Teachers' Development in a Physics Teaching Community of Practice

Providing high-quality professional development for teachers with diverse backgrounds and classroom experience is a challenging task. In this work, we investigate the Illinois Physics and Secondary Schools (IPaSS) partnership program, which provides instructional resources and a network of support for high school physics teachers through a partnership with the University of Illinois. IPaSS aims to address disparities in physics instruction by equipping teachers with university physics curricula and equipment adapted to fit the context of their high school classrooms.

Author/Presenter

Hamideh Talafian

Morten Lundsgaard

Maggie Mahmood

Devyn Shafer

Tim Stelzer

Eric Kuo

Year
2023
Short Description

Providing high-quality professional development for teachers with diverse backgrounds and classroom experience is a challenging task. In this work, we investigate the Illinois Physics and Secondary Schools (IPaSS) partnership program, which provides instructional resources and a network of support for high school physics teachers through a partnership with the University of Illinois.

Navigating Socio-emotional Risk Through Comfort-Building in a Physics Teaching Community of Practice: A Case Study

In teacher professional development (PD), grouping teachers with varying levels of experience can be a productive and empowering way to stimulate the exchange and co-generation of content and pedagogical knowledge. However, less experienced teachers can face socio-emotional risks when engaging in collaborative science content reasoning tasks with more experienced colleagues (Finkelstein, Jaber, & Dini, 2018), and these risks may impact the collaborative experience of both parties and the learning environment in teacher PD.

Author/Presenter

Maggie Mahmood

Hamideh Talafian

Devyn Shafer

Morten Lundsgaard

Eric Kuo

Tim Stelzer

Year
2023
Short Description

This descriptive case study examines the process of productively navigating socio-emotional risks and interpersonal tensions encountered by a veteran and pre-service physics teacher during one episode of discussing physics content.

Elementary Science Teacher Educators Learning Together: Catalyzing Change With Educative Curriculum Materials and Vignette Writing

In this article, we describe a professional learning community (PLC) for science teacher educators that supported changes in pedagogy through educative curriculum materials and vignette writing. The PLC was convened as part of a grant-supported project to build preservice elementary teachers’ content knowledge for matter using educative curriculum materials. PLC members collaborated with one another over an academic year to learn about and discuss implementing curricular materials in their respective science teacher education courses.

Author/Presenter

Sumreen Asim

Jeni Davis

Melanie Kinskey

Heather Lavender

Jaclyn Murray

Amanda Obery

Carrie-Anne Sherwood

Sarah Voss

Lead Organization(s)
Year
2023
Short Description

In this article, we describe a professional learning community (PLC) for science teacher educators that supported changes in pedagogy through educative curriculum materials and vignette writing.