Do Standards for Teachers' Learning and Development Conceal or Reveal Complexity?

• In Event: Millennium Hotel Roundtable Session 12
  In Roundtable Session: Complexity Perspectives on Teacher Professional Development

Abstract

Standards for effective teaching inform evaluation policies and teacher preparation curricula (CCSSO, 2013). Documents include assumptions that shape thinking about the nature of teaching but the linear format can mask complexity-informed assumptions about the teaching and teachers’ learning (Russ, Sherin & Sherin, 2016). This document analysis is intended to promote dialogue among researchers, policymakers, and practitioners by drawing on the ecological, dynamical systems approach (Garner & Kaplan, 2017) and the Dynamic Systems Model of Role Identity (Kaplan & Garner, 2017) to reveal complexity-oriented assumptions, including an emphasis on agentive, reflective exploration of a behavioral landscape and the congruence of pedagogical skill development with role identity formation. The analysis explicates epistemological assumptions and provides conceptual parameters that can guide future research.

Authors

• Joanna K. Garner, Old Dominion University

• Avi Kaplan, Temple University