Navigating sources of teacher uncertainty: exploring teachers’ collaborative discourse when learning a new instructional approach

ABSTRACT

As educators learn about new tools to utilise in their classrooms, there can be questions and ambiguity that accompany the new information; yet they are not always given time or support to address their questions. Acknowledging and embracing the uncertainties that teachers inevitably face when learning about new instructional approaches can help push them to explore new possibilities and better support student learning. Taking a qualitative discourse analytic approach, we used a single-group case study design to explore how a group of STEM teachers navigate uncertainty when learning a new instructional approach throughout two collaborative discourse sessions within the context of a professional learning space. Grounding our study in a social constructivist lens, we interpreted and compared the sources of uncertainty that teachers expressed. We then mapped out the flow of the conversations to explore how teachers navigated those sources through the trajectory of their collaborative discourse. Analysis revealed that teachers expressed uncertainties while offering suggestions in the form of pedagogical techniques in response to others’ uncertainties, often leading to shifts, resolutions, and generations of new uncertainty expressions. We suggest that professional learning spaces offer an opportunity for teachers to collaboratively navigate their uncertainties when learning new instructional approaches.

KEYWORDS:

• Collaboration
• small-group discussion
• stem teachers
• teacher pedagogy
• teacher uncertainty

Disclosure statement

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

Data availability statement

The participants of this study did not agree for their data to be shared publicly, so supporting data is not available.

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. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of NSF or DOE.

Notes on contributors

Emily Starrett

Emily Starrett is a doctoral student at Arizona State University. She was a classroom teacher for ten years, teaching both special education and secondary mathematics. Having taught in two states that view education very differently and experiencing the benefit of working in a supportive and creative environment, her current research focus surrounds supporting in-service teachers through collaboration and improving professional development opportunities.

Carla M. Firetto

Carla M. Firetto is an assistant professor of educational psychology. The overarching focus of her research aims to facilitate learners’ high-level comprehension of complex texts and content. Her research in this area focuses on identifying the individual differences that account for variation in learners’ ability to comprehend and integrate between multiple, complex texts as well as the use of small-group discussions to promote learners’ comprehension and integration processes.

Michelle E. Jordan

Michelle E. Jordan is an associate professor of educational psychology and the learning sciences. Her research focuses on the interactional dynamics of learners engaged in open-ended collaborative projects, particularly in engineering education contexts. She is particularly interested in how teachers and students negotiate uncertainty as a resource for learning.