Teachers’ perceptions about the value of protocols for professional development: results of a qualitative investigation

ABSTRACT

Professional learning communities (PLCs) are a powerful school improvement strategy designed to advance teacher professional development. Protocols are tools for structuring teacher conversations in PLCs. In this article the authors present the results of a qualitative study of teacher perspectives about the value and effects of systematic protocol use. This investigation took place within the context of a Researcher–Practitioner Partnership situated in an urban school district that aims to bring culturally responsive computer science education to all K–5 students. Findings revealed that teachers believe use of protocols supplanted ‘chaotic’ conversation with critical dialogue and improved their instructional practices. Protocols appear to ameliorate common hindering factors to the realization of effective PLCs, including conflict avoidance, participation inequities, and lack of group purpose. An annotated list of protocols of especially high value, and that teachers used most frequently to advance their collaborative learning and professional development, is presented.

KEYWORDS:

• Professional learning communities
• protocols
• collaboration
• research–practice partnerships

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the National Science Foundation [DRL 1837086].

Notes on contributors

Rebecca Woodland

Rebecca H. Woodland, PhD, is Professor of Educational Policy, Research, and Administration at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She is Co-Director of the UMass Center for Education Policy, and Director of Program Evaluation for the Center for Educational Assessment. She is a former public school teacher in Colorado, and served as Director of Teacher Education at the University of Vermont. She is on the Board of the International Network for the Science of Team Science (INSciTS), and Co-PI of Computer Science for All, an NSF-funded Research Practitioner Partnership.

Ann M. Leonard

Ann M. Leonard is Director of Coaching at the Center for Collaborative Education and visiting assistant professor in the School of Education at Salem State University. She has been a public school educator for 30 years, serving as a teacher, project director, assistant principal, and principal at the elementary, middle, and high school levels in rural, suburban, and urban districts. She holds BA and MAT degrees from Brown University and a PhD in Educational Leadership from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

Itza D. Martinez

Itza D. Martínez, PhD, is a research associate at the Collaborative for Educational Services in Northampton, Massachusetts. She has a BFA in Visual Arts Education and an MAT from Manhattanville College and her doctoral degree in educational leadership with a graduate certificate in Teaching for Diversity and Social Justice from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. She has worked in a variety of K–12, graduate, and adult learning environments. Her work is focused on collaboration, leadership, critical dialogue, and social justice in curriculum development, design, and evaluation.