Mary D. Burbank

An alternative model for professional development: investigations into effective collaboration

Abstract Historically, teacher professional development has taken place in isolation and has been dependent upon input from outside “experts” (Sandholtz, A companion of direct and indirect professional development activities, Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Montreal, Canada, 1999). As an alternative, collaborative action research actively involves teachers in professional reflection, validates educators as producers of knowledge, and recognizes their role in professional development and decision making. The value of teacher research is well documented (Cochran–Smith & Lytle, Inside outside: teacher research and knowledge, Teachers College Press, New York, 1993) but unless deliberate attempts to share findings are established, the products of teacher research often remain within individual classrooms. Strategies to develop collaborative research capabilities are needed. While teacher collaboration may take many forms, action research teaming has become the centerpiece of one urban teacher preparation program. This paper presents quantitative and qualitative data from a study involving a university, school districts, and teacher candidates. Preservice–inservice dyads were taught how to use action research to examine, analyze, and reflect upon their teaching. Results indicate general acceptance by both new and experienced teachers, with developmental differences influencing the process.

Pre-Service Teachers' Thinking on Research: Implications for Inquiry Oriented Teacher Education.

Abstract Many teacher educators are championing inquiry oriented approaches that ask pre-service teachers to engage in a variety of activities including becoming critical consumers of research and participating in action research. What is largely missing from the literature is a sense of how preservice teachers think about research. This study attempts to fill in this gap, and by doing so considers how pre-service teachers’ thinking on research might inform approaches to inquiry teacher education. Our findings indicate that it may be helpful to investigate with preservice teachers what is research, to provide student teaching placements that support research as a form of inquiry, and to utilize action research as a bridge to more traditional forms of research.

Book Clubs as Professional Development Opportunities for Preservice Teacher Candidates and Practicing Teachers: An Exploratory Study.

The issue of professional development is receiving increased attention, as educators and policy makers are realizing the centrality of teachers to school reform and improvement. This paper describes research on book clubs as a mechanism for professional development and discusses how different study group configurations (i.e., preservice teacher candidates and practicing teachers) utilized book club activities as a central component of their professional development activities. While participation in professional book clubs provides opportunities to examine educational issues, the process is complex and should be examined carefully.

The Influence of Teacher Development on Secondary Content Area Supervision Among Preservice Teachers

This study addresses the issues and challenges faced by university supervisors when providing content-specific and general pedagogical feedback to preservice teachers. Study data highlight the perspectives of six preservice teachers as they reflect on their supervisory experiences over the course of a licensure year. Survey, interview, and written observation data from preservice teachers and university supervisors reveal the influence of teacher development and content area conventions on how preservice teachers view their teaching abilities and their expectations of university supervisors. Findings will inform how others may approach mentoring, support, and the evaluation of beginning teachers.

The Impact of Critically Reflective Teaching: A Continuum of Rhetoric

ABSTRACT This qualitative case study explored teaching approaches designed to develop critically reflective thinking (CRT) for preservice teachers in an urban, secondary teacher preparation program. Despite concerted use of CRT within course lessons, online discussions, and case studies, participants demonstrated varying degrees in their understanding of diversity and how they will respond in their teaching practices. Findings speak to the critical importance for teacher preparation that acknowledges conceptual readiness and receptivity among preservice teachers when challenging beliefs regarding diversity using critically reflective pedagogy. Findings will inform other teacher educators in the development of pedagogy and the tools for supporting critically reflective thinking, problem solving, and decision making in urban schools.