Responding to Teacher Needs in a Research-practice Partnership

• In Event: Surfacing Teacher Learning Needs from the Ground Up: Research-Practice Partnerships to Cultivate Innovative Practices

Abstract

Purpose
The [Blinded] is a research-practice partnership (RPP) between researchers, teachers, school districts, community partners, and First Nations leaders. The project supports 5th grade teachers in implementing a place-based curriculum that braids Indigenous ways of knowing and Western science and examines how curricular adaptations and enactments develop over three years. We also gathered qualitative data to learn how to better support teachers in a research-practice partnership.
Perspective
Studies document the challenge of disrupting traditional power imbalances between researchers and participants in RPPs (e.g., Farrell et al., 2019), yet there are few examples of how to navigate that relationship (Coburn & Penuel, 2016; Denner et al., 2019). To guide our collaborative work, we adapted tools from the R+P Collaborative (EDC, 2024) to help build relationships (Tseng et al., 2017), identify shared goals and values (Denner et al., 2019; Riedy & Penuel, 2024); as well as engage in collaborative design, gather evidence, assess impacts, and communicate with different audiences (Coburn et al., 2021). In addition to developing shared goals and commitments at the beginning of the project, teachers provided feedback throughout the project to iteratively guide our collaborative work.
Methods and Analysis
Researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with 13 participating teachers at three time points to elicit feedback. Researchers queried teachers on the degree to which Blinded leadership was responsive to their needs and interests, the classroom observation process, communication and organization across the project, and opportunities for deepening student and teacher learning. Interviews were qualitatively analyzed by three members of our research team to identify segments related to participating teachers’ perceptions of collaboration (Saldaña, 2021). The research team then used the identified segments to develop themes to guide our response to teacher needs in an ongoing cycle.
Results
Researchers as teacher support. Teachers preferred researchers to be active participants in their classrooms. In response, researchers adjusted their approach to work with small groups of students, assist in materials management and trouble-shooting, and act as chaperones on field trips. Researchers benefited from being deeply embedded in classrooms as it provided insight about instructional decisions.
Teachers supporting each other. Teachers requested more opportunities to share their experiences with each other for support and new ideas for implementing the curriculum. Researchers subsequently planned a summit in which teachers (and some students) presented on their curriculum implementation for each other and community partners. Researchers also adjusted the design of the year two professional development to center teachers’ classroom stories and respond to teachers’ interest in the curriculum’s impact on students.
Significance
RPPs are increasing as a means to collaborate with a community to conduct research, yet there are few examples detailing strategies for meeting the needs of all participating parties (Coburn & Penuel, 2016; Denner et al., 2019). We found that interviews throughout our project shared power with teachers (Tseng et al., 2017) and informed a flexible response. This could serve as an example for other research-practice partnerships who are navigating teachers as research participants and collaborating partners.

Authors

• Josie Melton, Western Washington University

• Sarah Voss, Western Washington University

• Deborah Hanuscin, Western Washington University