Examining Impacts of Professional Development on Project-Based Learning Instructional Practices

Session Type: Roundtable Session

Abstract

Students of color impacted by poverty are often relegated to rote and decontextualized instruction relative to their white and more affluent peers who have greater access to authentic, student-centered instruction (Salazar, 2013). Recently, one student-centered approach, Project-Based Learning (PBL), has become a focus of educational reform in its promise to promote equity, particularly in under-resourced communities. Ultimately, however, the promise of PBL depends on how teachers implement it. Therefore, it is essential to examine teachers’ shift in instructional practices as a result of professional development. This proposed symposium presents research examining ways PD has helped teachers improve their move from a traditional to a student-centered pedagogy. Specifically, papers present findings of teacher’s instructional shifts as a result of PBL training.

Sub Unit

• Division K - Teaching and Teacher Education / Division K - Section 01: Teaching, Teacher Education and Professional Development in the Content Areas

Chair

• JeanMarie Farrow, University of Pennsylvania

Papers

• Impact of Professional Development on Teacher Project-Based Learning Practices Within Low-Income Districts - JeanMarie Farrow, University of Pennsylvania; Sarah Schneider Kavanagh, University of Pennsylvania; Preeti Ganesh Samudra, SUNY - College at Plattsburgh; Chenelle Boatswain, University of Pennsylvania

• Supporting Teacher Learning to Promote Equity in Science Education Through Project-Based Learning - Janet Carlson, Stanford University; Rebecca R. Deutscher, Stanford University

• Knowledge in Action Professional Development Lessons Learned - Anna Rosefsky Saavedra, University of Southern California; Amie Rapaport, Gibson Consulting Group

Discussant

• Pamela Lynn Grossman, University of Pennsylvania