Collaborative Design as Mediated Praxis: Professional Development for Social Justice

• In Event: Poster Session 5
  In Poster Session: The English Learners in the Mainstream (ELM) Project: A Comprehensive Teacher Training Model

Abstract

In this study, we draw on Freire’s (1970) notion of praxis to examine a multi-year professional development program with secondary English teachers at a public school district located in the Southeastern United States. The goal of the project was to support teachers in providing more opportunities for connected learning (interest-driven, peer-supported, academically oriented, and enabled by digital technologies) in their classrooms. A variety of data were collected for the study including recordings of collaborative planning meetings, teachers’ reflections, and teachers’ unit plans. Findings focus on the processes of the professional development project that teachers found most meaningful to their classroom practice including co-planning units of study with researchers, negotiating a shared agenda, and working prospectively rather than retrospectively.

Authors

• Lindy L. Johnson, The College of William and Mary

• Nicole Sieben, SUNY College at Old Westbury