Co-designing reform-based online inquiry learning environments as a situated approach to teachers’ professional development

Abstract

This study examined the contribution of a co-design approach to science teachers’ situated professional development, and explored its effect on student learning and motivation. Study participants were three science teachers who were members of a co-design team; one of the teachers enacted the designed learning environment with her 11th grade, non-science major students. Data were collected from 31 design meetings over two years, teacher interviews, and from pre-post student learning and motivation assessments. Findings indicated that the co-design approach addressed teachers’ reform-based professional development needs, had greater impact on the enacting teacher, and met the enacting students’ learning and motivation needs. The findings talk to the potential of co-design as a successful approach for teachers’ reform-based, situated professional development.

Keywords:

• Co-design
• teachers’ professional development
• educational reform
• inquiry learning
• science education
• online learning environments

Acknowledgements

Opinions, findings and conclusions are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the funding agency. We thank the participants of the Local Working Group for their efforts, and for providing us with the opportunity to learn through our collaboration. We also thank the Editor and the anonymous reviewers for their constructive feedback. For more information about the CoReflect project, please visit http://www.coreflect.org.