Shaping Opportunities for Transformative Teacher Learning in Collaborative Professional Learning

• In Event: Collaborations and Strategies for Transformative Teacher Learning

Abstract

Supporting teachers as they grow in their efforts to challenge and empower all students requires opportunities for transformative teacher learning characterized by questioning and deepening teachers’ understandings of the assumptions that undergird teaching. Collaborative professional learning is a promising vehicle for such learning, yet realizing the transformative potential of collaborative learning remains elusive for many groups. Informal teacher leaders may have unique potential to facilitate conversations that shape opportunities for transformative teacher learning. However, teacher leaders may also facilitate conversations that constrain such opportunities. Drawing from over 80 hours of teachers’ collaborative talk during lesson study, we analyze the cases of two teacher leaders to investigate how they support and constrain opportunities for transformative teacher learning.

Authors

• Cassie Howard, University of Central Florida

• Motoko Akiba, Florida State University