Defense Date
2024
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Department
Education
First Advisor
Dr. Ross Collin
Abstract
Professional learning is a critical component of enhancing teacher quality. It introduces and supports teacher efficacy through ongoing learning opportunities. Since the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, all 50 states have required teachers and public schools to engage in “high-quality” professional learning, and teachers experience tremendous variability in the content they receive, the options afforded to them, and the support offered beyond the workshop. Inconsistent experiences have led many educators to the universal experience of disconnected one-size-fits-all workshops that too often promise a quick fix to complex problems. By engaging teachers when designing, selecting, and leading professional learning, the content can help address their concerns in their local contexts and directly connect them to their learning.
This dissertation’s research examines the learning conditions that impact professional learning today. The first manuscript consists of a literature review that synthesizes the tensions and shifts in professional learning research over the last 50 years via research studies, literature reviews, and research articles. The findings suggest that professional learning, primarily if delivered by an external expert, needs to address and be rooted in the local context. Professional learning must also align with teachers' daily work with a plan and ongoing support to incorporate their new learning into their instruction. Lastly, teachers learn best in a community of other teachers; this can be through formal and informal professional learning communities and networks. The first manuscript serves as the foundation for the second and third manuscripts. The second manuscript analyzes how one national organization defines and develops its beliefs around professional learning through the linguistical structures, patterns, and choices used in a crafted position statement for English language arts educators. The findings indicate that the NCTE authors believe teachers are the experts, and the teacher vets external expertise for reliablility and validity. The teacher is the predominant authority in the local context. Additionally, the teacher sets the goals for learning and can develop a plan for implementation if that aligns with the teacher’s goals. Lastly, teacher networks form communities that remove the hierarchical role of administrators because educators can engage one another in solving or addressing the problems and questions they have in their classrooms. The third manuscript uses the learning conditions for professional learning from Manuscript 1 and the findings from Manuscript 2 to develop a practitioner article; Manuscript 3 helps empower secondary English language arts department chairs or teacher leaders who support professional learning in their schools with pragmatic solutions to support the conditions that impact teacher learning.
Rights
© The Author
Is Part Of
VCU University Archives
Is Part Of
VCU Theses and Dissertations
Date of Submission
11-17-2024
Included in
Curriculum and Instruction Commons, Language and Literacy Education Commons, Secondary Education Commons