About the Project
Bringing researchers, teachers, and STEM coaches together to learn from one another.
A long-standing challenge for education and learning sciences is sharing the distinct knowledge bases of researchers and teachers with each other. This project supports teachers, STEM coaches, and researchers in sharing that knowledge so that they can learn from one another.
Who is Involved?
STEM coaches work with teachers and are focused on science and technology in their schools. They will also serve to connect K-12 schools and researchers, and will play a critical role in bridging between the teachers and researchers.
What We Will Do Together?
One purpose of the learning community will be to select and adapt research-based practices that address local changes. The learning community will also work together to create research-practice briefs that are short written summaries of research that provides usable knowledge and guidance for teaching and learning.
Our Approach
The project takes a sociocultural perspective using activity theory to analyze the interactions that will occur between researchers, teachers, and STEM coaches.
Throughout, we incorporate the perspectives of all three groups and work to understand how this new professional learning community model can function within school and district contexts.
Research Questions
- How can researchers and STEM coaches jointly construct products that support their learning and knowledge diffusion?
- How do STEM coaches help teachers adapt practices to their classrooms?
- What contextual factors support or impede the adoption of research-based practices?
How Will We Study It?
We will use a mixed methods approach to understand the interaction system within this expansive learning community drawing on three types of data.
