Collaboration as Dialogue: Teachers and Researchers Engaged in Conversation and Professional Development

Abstract

This article, in both form and substance, seeks to reconceptualize the role of collaboration in professional development. The nature of collaboration and collaborative relationships in professional development research is reviewed, and an alternative conceptualization is offered. Because our work spans multiple sites, we are able to highlight the particularities of our experiences across sites and to contrast the individual stories of each teacher and researcher as opposed to essentializing our story into generalities about these groups. Writing about this work together required the construction of a narrative form that could incorporate and honor the voices of everyone. The story/data is presented as a Readers Theatre—a written script, based on meeting dialogues and interactions. This format highlights the problem of writing in collaborative research, as well as the differences in collaborative experiences among teachers and researchers. It also seeks to challenge traditional conceptions of the roles of teachers and researchers as theorizers about and disseminators of knowledge.

La représentation des rôles dans une étude de collaboration interinstitutionnelle

“…Les écrits récents sur la collaboration interinstitutionnelle (Clark, Moss, Goering, Herter, Lamar, Leonard, Robbins, Russell, Templin et Wascha, 1996 ;Johnston et Krischner, 1996) insistent aussi sur le fait que l'interaction sociale est la condition nécessaire à la construction des interprétations partagées et de l'ouvrage collectif. Johnston et Krischner proposent que le dialogue sur les différences et sur les agendas divergents devienne l'objet des interactions sociales et qu'il suscite ainsi une forme d'apprentissage collectif.…”

Challenges and Possibilities in the Perspective of Inclusive Education Through Collaborative Teaching

“…Em um outro estudo, este desenvolvido por Capellini (2004a), houve aprendizado significativo para todos os envolvidos no projeto colaborativo, corroborando com Clark et al (1996), onde professores e pesquisadores relataram terem aperfeiçoado a colaboração e que, por meio das interações instituídas, passaram a enxergar um ao outro de maneira diferenciada.…”

A pesquisa na prática docente em projeto de formação continuada: ideias e práticas em debate

“…Em importante artigo, Clark et al (1996) indicam a inexistência de um consenso quanto ao que seja a pesquisa colaborativa. Os mesmos autores apresentam diversos interlocutores tentando clarear o termo.…”