Listening, Leading, and Learning: Reflections on Teacher-Researcher Collaboration in a Science Education Grant Project

• In Event: Saturday Roundtable Session 11:25 am
  In Roundtable Session: School-University Partnership Research Roundtable (Table 5)

Abstract

Partnerships between university researchers and K-12 teachers are laden with power dynamics that can spur mutually beneficial engagement or conflict and domination. Reflecting on our experiences working with high school science teachers to develop tools that incorporate the Next Generation Science Standards’ “cross-cutting concepts” we ask: 1) In what ways have we solicited and responded to teachers’ feedback, desires, needs and perspectives on the tools? and 2) What challenges or tensions have we faced in this collaborative partnership? Our preliminary qualitative findings, including a consideration of the dynamics between teacher burnout and invitations to participate in time-extensive research, may be helpful talking-points for others striving to do research with, not on, teachers.

Authors

• Emma Minke McMain, University of Arkansas

• Chad M. Gotch, Washington State University

• Kexin Jiang, Washington State University

• Chloe G. Dydasco, Washington State University

• Joshua Premo, Utah Valley University