Deepening Teaching Practices: Examining the Roles of Hearing and Being Heard in Teachers' Concept Development

• In Event: Incorporating Contextual Knowledge in Facilitating Professional Development for Teachers of Multilingual Learners

Abstract

Grounded in Vygotsky’s idea of concept development, (Vygotsky, 1987) we share a theoretical framework of teacher conceptual development. We then consider how intentional listening is a relevant component in the work we propose. Finally, we consider how approaching professional development from a listening perspective can promote more democratic practices in classrooms, schools, and communities.
We explore how Vygotsky’s theory of concept development can be applied to teachers when learning new concepts (Vygotsky, 1987). Figure one illustrates this framework as it relates to teachers’ conceptual knowledge, pseudo understanding, conceptual understanding, and the qualitative transformations (QT) that occur in the formation of conceptual understanding.
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Building on this framework, we consider the roles of listening in supporting teachers to deepen their practices. Our work draws from professional development (e.g., Garet, Porter, Desimone, Birman, & Yoon 2001; Guskey, 2002; Pianta, Mashburn, Downer, Hamre, & Justice 2008) and listening for democratic purposes (e.g., English, 2013; Dobson, 2014).
Conceptual development is key for transforming practice, how we think about our work informs how we do our work (and vice versa). A central component of this model is hearing new ideas, and integrating what one hears into one’s practices. Professional development often proceeds from this premise. We propose that there is another side to listening that needs to be attended to in order to support teachers’ professional development: Being heard. Being heard involves intentional listening by facilitators. Understanding is supported by the opportunity to have one’s ideas, interpretations, and emerging practices heard and responded to in responsive and responsible ways by knowledgeable others. Professional development must include experiences for teachers that allow for active interpretation and examination of the concept in the complex context of the classroom that are responsive to their students’ needs and interests (Burbank & Kaucahk, 2003). At the same time, there is democracy at play in this work. Intentional listening means hearing and responding to how individual teachers are making sense of the work based on their unique interpretations and contexts. Thus intentional listening allows for heterogeneity of practices, not just homogeneous repetition. When teachers are heard, they are able to build new systems of understanding. This work is especially important when working with teachers who work in multilingual and multicultural contexts, where one size does not fit all.
Intentional listening is a professional practice that supports teachers’ ideas being heard and their practices being seen by knowledgeable others. When teachers have an understanding of concepts, they are better able to make pedagogical judgments and decisions. We propose that these ideas are important to consider as one designs professional development. It models the kinds of practices that we hope teachers will integrate into their practice to support the development of more democratic classrooms, schools, and communities that support disparate voices being heard and responded to, as much as it protects individuals’ rights to speak (Dobson, 2014).

Authors

• Kersti Tyson, University of New Mexico

• Casandra Sisneros, University of New Mexico