JEAN-PHILIPPE FONTAINE
Action Research Project
Master of Arts in Learning Technologies
Pepperdine University, Graduate School of Education and Psychology
The PROBLEM.
Did you know that almost half of all teachers leave the field after just five years? When asked why, teachers point to poor working condition as the number one reason for this. In fact, a job satisfaction poll distributed by The Gates foundation found that a majority of teachers reported that relevant professional development was even more important to them than higher salaries. They say that they are offered few resources and little support once they leave their credentialing programs to enter the classroom. In order to survive and thrive in their profession they need a systematic collaborative framework to support their professional growth. These kinds of supports are not readily offered through traditional professional development models.
As an educator, I believe that teachers tasked with working everyday in classrooms are the experts of their domain and are therefore our greatest source of knowledge about teaching in practice. Many of them are life-long learners that purposefully develop their teaching craft. My belief is that when teachers share what they know about what works best for kids, it will impact student learning. Additionally, I wanted to document the impact that technology could have on this process.
My action research may serve to better understand and/or predict teacher behavior. It argues that theories about the development and maintenance of social relationships provide a theoretical foundation for understanding the motivation to engage in professional development (Ma and Yuen, 2010). I chose to study teacher motivation as the main focus of my research because I believed that it will ultimately be the place where I am able to learn the most about how to support teachers in improving their practice and how my role as technology steward could help facilitate this. The thinking is that if I understand what motivates teachers to participate in professional development, more specifically peer-to-peer professional development supported by technology, I can design/replicate experiences that will afford them the greatest opportunity to positively impacting student learning.
My hope is that educators, in private and public K-12 education, will use my research to develop efficient and inexpensive collaborative models toward professional development that afford teachers the opportunity to work with and learn from each other in supportive and nurturing environments. Through cycle 1 I realized that getting buy-in from teachers meant they had to first perceive the positive benefits for themselves, their colleagues and/or the institution right away. (This leverage is particularly important given the transparent nature of their work and the everyday pressures for time.) I also realized the power that emotional support plays in the process of managing one’s identity in the group. In cycle 2, I experienced the overwhelming excitement that teachers feel when they engage in peer-to-peer professional development. I was also able to observe the negative impact that lack of accountability could have on a project. In cycle 3, teachers provided me feedback on a proposed peer-to-peer professional development initiative at the school.
For the purpose of this report, professional development (PD) will be defined as the organized manner by which educational pedagogy, teaching strategies, and available resources or tools are shared. Peer-to-peer professional development (P2P PD) is a cooperative teacher-centered PD model that sees teachers as the experts, sharing knowledge amongst each other and working together for their own professional growth.
As an educator, I believe that teachers tasked with working everyday in classrooms are the experts of their domain and are therefore our greatest source of knowledge about teaching in practice. Many of them are life-long learners that purposefully develop their teaching craft. My belief is that when teachers share what they know about what works best for kids, it will impact student learning. Additionally, I wanted to document the impact that technology could have on this process.
My action research may serve to better understand and/or predict teacher behavior. It argues that theories about the development and maintenance of social relationships provide a theoretical foundation for understanding the motivation to engage in professional development (Ma and Yuen, 2010). I chose to study teacher motivation as the main focus of my research because I believed that it will ultimately be the place where I am able to learn the most about how to support teachers in improving their practice and how my role as technology steward could help facilitate this. The thinking is that if I understand what motivates teachers to participate in professional development, more specifically peer-to-peer professional development supported by technology, I can design/replicate experiences that will afford them the greatest opportunity to positively impacting student learning.
My hope is that educators, in private and public K-12 education, will use my research to develop efficient and inexpensive collaborative models toward professional development that afford teachers the opportunity to work with and learn from each other in supportive and nurturing environments. Through cycle 1 I realized that getting buy-in from teachers meant they had to first perceive the positive benefits for themselves, their colleagues and/or the institution right away. (This leverage is particularly important given the transparent nature of their work and the everyday pressures for time.) I also realized the power that emotional support plays in the process of managing one’s identity in the group. In cycle 2, I experienced the overwhelming excitement that teachers feel when they engage in peer-to-peer professional development. I was also able to observe the negative impact that lack of accountability could have on a project. In cycle 3, teachers provided me feedback on a proposed peer-to-peer professional development initiative at the school.
For the purpose of this report, professional development (PD) will be defined as the organized manner by which educational pedagogy, teaching strategies, and available resources or tools are shared. Peer-to-peer professional development (P2P PD) is a cooperative teacher-centered PD model that sees teachers as the experts, sharing knowledge amongst each other and working together for their own professional growth.
CYCLE 1: Shaping a peer-to-peer knowledge sharing community and getting teacher buy-in.
Cycle 1 Question: Will working collaboratively with faculty in a peer to peer knowledge sharing community positively impact their motivation and improve the learning experience of teachers? What motivated teachers to participate?
Cycle 1 Question: Will working collaboratively with faculty in a peer to peer knowledge sharing community positively impact their motivation and improve the learning experience of teachers? What motivated teachers to participate?
CYCLE 2: Examining peer to peer professional development.
Cycle 2 Question: If I gather quantitative and qualitative data about teachers’ perceptions/ opinions before and after a peer-to-peer professional development event, what insights will I gain into the reasons why teachers are motivated to engage and participate in peer-to-peer professional development?
Cycle 2 Question: If I gather quantitative and qualitative data about teachers’ perceptions/ opinions before and after a peer-to-peer professional development event, what insights will I gain into the reasons why teachers are motivated to engage and participate in peer-to-peer professional development?
CYCLE 3: Impacting organizational change through the design of a collaborative PD model.
Cycle 3 Question: If I design a technology integration plan based on current research about social motivational theory and teacher motivation to participate in professional development, how will teachers respond to it?
Cycle 3 Question: If I design a technology integration plan based on current research about social motivational theory and teacher motivation to participate in professional development, how will teachers respond to it?