Contextual Opportunities for Teacher Professional Learning: The Experience of One Science Department
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Wayne Melville 1 * , Bevis Yaxley 2
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1 Lakehead University, Ontario, CANADA
2 Curtin University of Technology, Perth, AUSTRALIA
* Corresponding Author

Abstract

In this article we investigate the changing context for teacher professional learning potentially afforded by the conceptual change from professional development to professional learning. Using a narrative case study methodology, we utilize the Best Evidence Synthesis Iteration developed by Timperley, Wilson, Barrar and Fung (2007) to analyse the teachers’ responses to the changing context within their school. Our analysis reveals three important findings: the negligible impact of school policy on the work of the teachers, the willingness of teachers to utilize appropriate expertise, regardless of the source of that expertise, and the manner in which these teachers have developed a community in which teaching practices, both individual and corporate, can be discussed and critiqued. The clear implication of these findings is that it is teachers, working within the department and wider science education community, who were making the conceptual change from professional development to professional learning.

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

https://doi.org/10.12973/ejmste/75286

EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed, 2009 - Volume 5 Issue 4, pp. 357-368

Publication date: 22 Dec 2009

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