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Paradigm
Shift in Online Interdisciplinary Professional Development
Context
This
research is a work in progress. I am participating in
this study with two other researchers as part of my
job as research assistant with a teacher professional
development program. This program trains content area
teachers with English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers.
This study is the first step in a larger effort to gauge
the effectiveness of the program that will last for
many years.
The
Study
The
program hopes that bringing these two groups together
in a collaborative learning environment will result
in a pedagogical paradigm shift, which will, in turn,
result in improved student performance. Unfortunately,
while this is a logical assertion, there is little evidence
to support it.
Research
Questions
The
literature led me to ask two research questions:
- Do
ESL and Content area teachers demonstrate a paradigm
shift?
- Does
a paradigm shift result in changes in classroom practice?
- Do
these changes in classroom practice correlate with
student performance gains?
Current
Status of the Study
Currently,
we are attempting to answer the first of these questions,
as each of these questions need to be addressed, in
order, to inform the next question. We are using an
emergent research design to develop a coding instrument.
Using transcript data from the program courses, we have
established a number of codes that indicate a paradigm
shift, or changes in values, beliefs, and practices.
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