Filling the Theory-to-Practice Gap: Teaching Educational Research to Teachers in Professional Graduate Programs

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

This symposium addresses challenges and innovations in teaching education research methods to teachers in graduate programs. Presentations include an argument about how interpretive description, relative to traditional methodologies, offers a more pragmatic approach to research in the Ed.D; research on how M.Ed./Ed.D. candidates learn about survey-based research from surveys of teachers’ PD experiences; a case study of a community of practice created to foster scholar identity, research skills, and communication capacities in teachers and their graduate faculty; and demonstrations of innovative virtual/hybrid tools and instructional approaches developed to meet the needs of novice teacher-researchers. After the presentation, the audience is invited to participate in a moderated discussion and engage with virtual resources.

Sub Unit

• SIG-Professors of Educational Research

Chair

• Rachel E. Gaines, Kennesaw State University

Papers

• Thinking Like a Researcher: What Novice Teacher-Researchers Can Learn From Surveys About Teacher Professional Development - Janet Penner-Williams, University of Arkansas

• Meeting Them Where They Are: Providing Embedded Support for Novice Teacher-Researchers - Megan Adams, Kennesaw State University

• Two Open Science Initiatives to Help Novice Teacher-Researchers Develop Research Designs - Ivan M Jorrín Abellán, Kennesaw State University

• Rethinking Research Approaches in the Educational Leadership Ed.D.: Introducing Interpretative Description as a Viable Solution - Ed Bengtson, University of Arkansas

• The Research Consortium: Building Research Capacity Through a Community of Practice - Olga Koz, Kennesaw State University; Anissa Lokey-Vega, Kennesaw State University