Design-Based Implementation Research: An Approach to Studying Teacher Learning in Research-Practice Partnerships Focused on Equity (Poster 8)

• In Event: Teacher Learning in Changing Contexts

Abstract

Our purpose in this poster is to offer a set of guiding theories for teacher learning in context, and to suggest an emerging approach to studying and supporting teacher learning that is attuned to the demands of equity-oriented reform efforts in schools. The studies synthesized here rely on a range of theories to inform the design of classroom learning environments within complex school district contexts and their environments. Theories to inform design of classroom environments position teaching as principled adaptation of materials and improvisation (Philip, 2019; Sawyer, 2004) and as a political act to disrupt inequality (Madkins & McKinney de Royston, 2020). To conceptualize the role of context and environment, we use institutional theory (Scott, 2008), social capital theory (Lin, 2001), and theories of infrastructure (Star & Ruhleder, 1996).
This poster synthesizes findings from multiple studies conducted as part of a long-term, research-practice partnership between the Denver Public Schools and the University of Colorado Boulder, focused on the development of curriculum materials for high school science classrooms. The studies work within a Design-Based Implementation Research (Fishman et al., 2013) framework, which articulates ways for research and researchers to contribute to the kinds of organizing efforts involved in developing new classroom materials. We describe key principles of this approach and implications for how we support, study, and understand teacher learning. The studies rely on interviews with teachers, direct assessments of student learning, and exit tickets focused on student experience (Penuel & Watkins, 2019).
Collectively, the studies demonstrate how a research-practice partnership can support shifts in teaching at a district-level scale by helping teachers improvise with teaching routines embedded within high-quality instructional materials and associated professional development. It shows how adapting the techniques of improvement science can help teachers come to value and use data on student experience to support more equitable participation in science learning. Finally, the studies also show how a partnership can achieve partial success in helping teachers navigate incoherent instructional guidance systems, while also generating new knowledge related to approaches to professional development.

Authors

• William R. Penuel, University of Colorado - Boulder
  Presenting Author

• Carrie D. Allen, University of North Texas
  Presenting Author

• Eve Manz, Boston University
  Presenting Author

• Sara C. Heredia, University of North Carolina - Greensboro
  Presenting Author