"It's a Big Deal to Make Change": Exploring the Nature of In-Service Teacher Learning

• In Event: Professional Learning and the Change Process

Abstract

This qualitative case study of in-service teacher learning examines what teachers experience and articulate in the middle of an intensive learning experience that differs greatly from the school-based contexts in which they live and work. Observations, interviews, and field notes inform a nuanced look at how teachers navigated course expectations to teach students from an inquiry-based perspective, using technology-based practices. During the three-week summer intensive course, teachers’ questions shifted from closed-ended queries to more open-ended questions as they guided student learning, instead of directing it. Implications for practice suggest that radically different learning experiences hold potential for disrupting teacherly norms and ways of thinking.

Author

• Susanna M. Steeg, George Fox University