January 2015 archive

Collaborative Design as a Form of Professional Development

In 2012, I attended the International Conference for the Learning Sciences. front pageThere I was part of a workshop led by Yael Kali and Susan McKenney, where we discussed collaborative and participatory approaches to teacher learning. I collaborated with Joke VoogtTherese LaferrièreAlain BreuleuxDaniel T. Hickey, and Susan McKenney to write our article on Collaborative Design as a Form of Professional Development, just published in Instructional Science.

The basic model for participatory professional development is outlined in Case 1. I’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback on the article.

 

 

Supporting Not-So-Tech-Savvy Teachers through PD

I was scrolling through tumblr today and came across holtthink’s post, which posed an excellent question: “should we still have sympathy for teachers who don’t use technology” or “don’t get computers?” It’s a fair question, and one I’ve come across many times. I would argue that, yes, we need to have sympathy for these teachers and moreover, we need to provide them with appropriate, sustained support in learning to use and integrate new technologies into their classrooms.

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