ERIC Number: EJ1117613
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2016-Nov
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-2324-805X
EISSN: N/A
An Analysis of How Building a Collaborative Community of Professional Social Studies Teachers through Targeted Ambient Professional Development Impacts Social Studies Classroom Practices
Thomas-Brown, Karen; Shaffer, LaShorage; Werner, Sharon
Journal of Education and Training Studies, v4 n11 p58-72 Nov 2016
This study examined the impact of a yearlong ambient professional development (PD) program-The Wayne Schools Global Geography Project (WSGG-project)-that focused on improving teacher quality through PD and classroom observations for in-service social studies teachers. The project targeted middle and high school social studies teachers and used theory of instruction, theory of teacher change, and constructivist learning as the primary pedagogy pivot. A mixed methods approach was utilized for data collection in the forms of surveys, questionnaires, observations, pre/posttests, and focus groups. Results support the use of intensive, sustained, and content-specific PD to improve teacher content knowledge, pedagogy, and for the development of skills and strategies when teaching social studies. In addition, the formation of a Collaborative Community of Professional Teachers (CCPT) evolved as teachers examined, theorized, and reported on their perceptions of how the project impacted their social studies classroom practices.
Descriptors: Social Studies, Faculty Development, Classroom Observation Techniques, Inservice Teacher Education, Secondary School Teachers, Mixed Methods Research, Questionnaires, Teacher Surveys, Teacher Attitudes, Focus Groups, Teacher Improvement, Teacher Effectiveness, Pedagogical Content Knowledge, Teaching Skills, Educational Strategies, Teacher Competencies, Fidelity, Curriculum Implementation, Educational Practices, Pretests Posttests
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Michigan
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A