Professional development at the local level: Necessary and sufficient conditions for critical colleagueship

Abstract

h i g h l i g h t sInvestigation of conditions associated with teachers' in-depth discussions. Focus on teacher communities of inquiry in a professional development initiative. Using unique methodological approach: Qualitative Comparative Analysis. Single purpose was a necessary condition associated with in-depth discussion. Coach questions and connecting theory and practice were also associated conditions. a b s t r a c t This paper examines factors that contributed to critical conversations in teacher communities of inquiry (CI) as part of a statewide professional development initiative in the United States. Based on a three-year mixed method design, we use qualitative comparative analysis to investigate the influence of combinations of conditions on the depth of discussion. Results suggest that there were three conditions associated with the extent to which CI members engaged in discussions with substantive interaction and reflection: a clear purpose, coach questioning, and the connection of theory to practice. The findings contribute to the understanding of effective reform implementation in different contexts.

Enactment of Ongoing Formative Assessment: Challenges and Opportunities for Professional Development and Practice

“…In these teams, teachers learned about and discussed the nuances of FA and supported one another in implementing these practices in their classrooms. See Kintz et al (2015) and Cisterna et al (2016) for more information about the PD model and features.…”

“…We worked with four science teachers from two different focal learning teams that were selected purposely for more intensive study by our larger research program (Kintz et al, 2015). We were able to observe the PD meetings of these two focal learning teams for at least 1 year, and we had evidence of the teachers' engagement in the program.…”

Student teachers’ and in-service teachers’ peer learning: a realist synthesis

“…Van Veen et al, 2012). More recent studies confirm this finding (e.g., Carrillo, Maasen van den Brink, & Groot, 2016;Coenders & Verhoef, 2018;DeNeve & Devos, 2016;Kintz, Lane, Gotwals, & Cisterna, 2015). Furthermore, several studies suggested that feedback from peers elicits reflection on the part of the feedback receiver (Showers & Joyce, 1996) and, moreover, that feedback and reflection were important characteristics of effective PTL activities.…”

Professional learning and development in early childhood education: A shifting landscape of policies and practice

“…Situative approaches underpin the PLD that groups or communities of teachers are engaged in when they participate in collaborative inquiry into their own teaching and its impact on learners. Such groups are variously described as communities of learners (MOE, 2017c), collaborative teacher inquiry teams (Ermeling, 2010), communities of inquiry (Kintz, Lane, Gotwals, & Cisterna, 2015), and professional learning communities (PLC) (Hipp & Huffman, 2010), or may be groups that engage in practitioner inquiry (Newman & Mowbray, 2012).…”