Using Social Constructivist Principles for the Design and Evaluation of Rural Teacher Professional Development Models

• In Event: 47.064 - Constructivist-Aligned Teaching Practices: Implementation, Principles, and Fidelity

Abstract

Social constructivist learning theory suggests that social interaction is critical for individual learning to occur. In the field of education, teacher professional development (PD) is often viewed through a social constructivist lens due to the fact that the goal of teacher PD is to help teachers acquire new understandings, beliefs, and practices, often within social settings. The single-case study described in this paper investigated how social constructivist principles contributed to teacher professional growth within a PD model designed and implemented in a rural school division in Manitoba, Canada. Evidence from the study suggested that six social constructivist principles were present in the model design, and that they contributed significantly to teacher professional growth over a two-year period.

Author

• Candy L. Skyhar, Brandon University