Considering Conceptualizations, Methodological Approaches, and Analytical Procedures in the Investigation of Teacher Professional Identity

• In Event: Teacher Identity and Motivation: Concepts, Research Designs, and Empirical Examples

Abstract

Objectives
The objective of the interactive work session is to actively engage the audience in considering the relevance of the different conceptualizations of teacher PI and their corresponding methodologies to their own phenomena of interest, research questions, and research design.

Theoretical Framework
The interactive work session will be framed by the introductory presentation of several central conceptualizations of teacher identity and the Dynamic Systems Model of Role Identity (DSMRI).

Methods
Audience members will select among five activities facilitated by poster presenters, each centered on brief excerpts from a particular type of teacher data: (1) narrative interview; (2) longitudinal diary entries; (3) conversation transcripts; (4) longitudinal brief reflective writing; (5) structured writing in response to specific prompts. In each activity, participants will engage in learning the codebook, and then will conduct a scaffolded analysis of the data. The audience in the small groups will then engage in a facilitated conversation considering the relevance, strengths, and limitations of different conceptualizations of teacher identity, the DSMRI, and various methodologies and analytical procedures for their personal research questions. The audience will then respond to a brief open survey about the perceived comprehensibility and relevance of the particular approach.

Findings
Interested audience members will receive a synthesis of the responses by the audience regarding their perceptions of the conceptualizations and empirical methods to operationalize and study teacher PI for different research questions and will enlist in a forum of scholars interested in the topic of teacher identity.

Scholarly Significance
The interactive work session will provide audience focused scaffolds for conceptualizing teacher PI as a complex dynamic system, practicing empirical analytical tools for the investigation of teacher PI, and considering the relevance of these theoretical and methodological tools to their research projects, thus promoting individual participants’ scholarship and networking among researchers with similar interests.

Authors

• Joanna K. Garner, Old Dominion University

• Avi Kaplan, Temple University