Is Epistemic Orientation the Chicken or the Egg in Professional Development for Knowledge Generation?

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 14
  In Roundtable Session: Exploring In-Service Science Teachers' Professional Learning and Instruction (Table 15)

Abstract

The conference theme wisely states that “continued refinement will not be enough.” As university-based teacher educators, we could not agree more that substantive overhaul of teaching contexts should be the aim of reform, rather than superficial adjustments to traditional practice. Accordingly, we present a comparative case study conducted in the context of a three-year professional development program for 146 in-service elementary science teachers in two U.S. states based on the research question: How do teachers' epistemic orientations relate to their experiences in professional development for the construction of knowledge generation environments? Findings suggest that epistemic orientation influences what teachers choose to learn, and epistemic orientation also influences what teachers choose to enact in practice, creating iterative opportunities for reflexivity.

Authors

• Catherine A. Lammert, Texas Tech University

• Jee Kyung Suh, University of Alabama

• Jale Ercan, Gazi University

• Krystal Flantroy, University of Alabama

• Eric A. Akuoko, University of Iowa

• Brian Hand, University of Iowa

• Gavin W. Fulmer, NWEA