ERIC Number: EJ1071728
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2015
Pages: 27
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1354-0602
EISSN: N/A
Curricular Design and Implementation as a Site of Teacher Expertise and Learning
Peercy, Megan Madigan; Martin-Beltrán, Melinda; Silverman, Rebecca D.; Daniel, Shannon
Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, v21 n7 p867-893 2015
Previously, research about teacher expertise has adhered to relatively fixed notions of teacher expertise. However, in this study, we share data from teacher study group (TSG) meetings, which demonstrate a dynamic understanding of teacher expertise. In these meetings, teachers discursively positioned themselves, their colleagues, and the research team as both experts and learners as they engaged in a community of enquiry around questions of curriculum design and implementation. We argue that teachers' dynamic and multiple positionings generated especially striking opportunities for learning. As teachers externalized their expert knowledge, their assumptions were brought forth to be examined, challenged, and reconsidered, thus opening space for further learning. We argue that these TSGs thus existed as a site for teacher learning, in which teacher dialog around curricular design, redesign, and the student learning that occurred in the lessons influenced their own learning about their students' capabilities. We make a case for further research that explores how teacher expertise is interwoven with episodes of teacher learning. We assert that a complex understanding of teacher expertise, grounded in principles of learning occurring through social interaction, has important implications for how the field should move forward in its approach to fostering teacher learning throughout teachers' careers.
Descriptors: Curriculum Design, Curriculum Implementation, Expertise, Pedagogical Content Knowledge, Communities of Practice, Teacher Education, Professional Development, Teacher Attitudes, Attitude Change, Educational Attitudes, Teacher Collaboration, Interaction, Elementary School Teachers, Interviews, Teacher Surveys
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Institute of Education Sciences (ED)
Authoring Institution: N/A
IES Funded: Yes
Grant or Contract Numbers: R305A110142