Supporting Elementary School Teachers to Become Agents of Action and Change in the Classroom

• In Event: 66.087 - MTCC Roundtable Session 30
  In Roundtable Session: 66.087-2 - Empowering Teachers to Conduct Research in Their Classrooms: An Investigation of Teacher Inquiry Across Three Teacher Preparation/Professional Development Programs

Abstract

Purpose & Theoretical Framework
Rooted in the idea of action research, this paper investigates the collaborative process between novice teachers and university professors to create levels of instructional and pedagogical change in the classroom. We define teacher action research as a process in which the teacher identifies an instructional issue and creates a systematic process to identify and implement a solution (Mills, 2002; Holly, Arhar, & Kasten, 2005). Action research has been a tool to support professional development over the past two decades, and in this paper we use the tenants of action research to investigate the collaborative relationship between two professors from a local urban university and eight in-service teachers conducting action research projects in their classroom. Findings have important implications on how to create responsive professional development opportunities for inservice teachers working in urban, high needs districts.

Methods & Data Sources
Participants of this 7-month qualitative study (Patton, 2002) included eight in-service teachers who received their Masters in Education from the same 18-month residency, elementary school teacher-preparation program (Author et al., In press). Across the program, teaching candidates were exposed to evidence-based practices that support student achievement. Researchers have referred to these practices in multiple ways, including High Leverage Practices (Ball & Fornazi, 2011), core practices (McDonald, Kasemi, & Kavanagh, 2013), or general pedagogical practices/instructional routines (Hiebert & Morris, 2012). Teacher candidates were introduced to three core practices: (a) formative assessment measures using the Keeping Learning on Track© curriculum, (b) standards-based mathematics instruction, and (c) effective instruction of English learners.

At the time of the study, the eight teacher participants were tenured and working in the same urban, public school district for at least four consecutive years. All participants volunteered to be part of the study, where each teacher collaborated with one of two assistant professors from the teacher-residency program to create action research projects that were aligned to one of the aforementioned core teaching practices. The paper is guided by the following research questions: What does it mean to support teachers to be progressive agents of change in their instruction? What motivates tenured teachers to seek professional development opportunities to support their instructional growth? How can local teaching universities sustain collaborative relationships with their graduates?

Data collection was focused on the process of engaging teachers in action research. As a result, data included four distinct artifacts: 1) memos of monthly workshops and individual meetings with teachers, 2) pre and post open-response teacher surveys, 3) pre and post teacher interviews, and 3) teachers’ written reflections and memos. All interviews were transcribed. All data was read for recurrent topics and themes, and then a set of codes were established representing repetitive themes (Saldaña, 2009).

Results & Significance
Findings revealed the shared characteristics of the teachers and the measures of support teachers needed to create spaces of reform and action in their respective classrooms. Results will offer programmatic solutions to implement professional development projects between local colleges and classroom teachers to systematically take ‘action’ in the classroom to improve instruction.

Authors

• Jennifer Marie Collett, Lehman College - CUNY

• Anne M. Marshall, Lehman College - CUNY

• Harriet R. Fayne, Lehman College - CUNY