Designing a research experience for teachers: applying features of effective professional development to a hybrid setting

ABSTRACT

To facilitate transfer of teachers’ learning into classroom practice, science and engineering teacher professional development (PD) experiences should increase teachers’ content knowledge, disciplinary practices, and pedagogical strategies. As this can be difficult within traditional PD contexts, this study is a qualitative investigation of hybrid PD program design. The author explores influences on five teachers’ learning and instruction when seven features of effective PD, derived mainly from traditional PD, were integrated into both the pedagogical and practice components of a hybrid Research Experience for Teachers (RET) PD. Through constant comparative analysis of interviews, reflections, artifacts, and classroom observations, the author discovered that explicit connections between the seven features across pedagogical and disciplinary aspects of the RET facilitated teachers transferring their learning into classroom practices in ways applicable to their specific contexts. Thus, these seven features of effective PD hold promise as an organizing framework for designing and evaluating a hybrid PD.

KEYWORDS:

• Professional development
• research experiences for teachers
• science instruction
• engineering instruction
• science and engineering practice

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This material is based upon work supported in part by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Department of Energy (DOE) under [NSF CA No. EEC-1041895];

Notes on contributors

Wendy Wakefield

Wendy Wakefield conducted this research as a doctoral candidate in the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at Arizona State University. Her research area is designing and implementing quality educational and professional development opportunities for teacher candidates and in-service teachers across their careers. Specifically, her work focuses on supporting K–8 teachers to implement culturally responsive science and engineering teaching with their students.