Description
TitleTeachers’ experiences in a critical friends group: a focus on student writing
Date Created2019
Other Date2019-05 (degree)
Extent1 online resource (vii, 220 pages) : illustrations
DescriptionA growing body of literature on teacher learning highlights that teachers are not likely to change their practices as a result of participating in traditional one-shot conference and workshop professional development activities, and suggests that a more effective approach is a teacher-driven, situated, collaborative, and sustained one (Ball & Cohen, 1999; Brown et al., 1995; Bruce, 2010; Burke, 2013; Cochran Smith & Lytle, 1999; Little, 2002; Nelson, Slavit, Perkins, & Hathorn, 2008; Putnam & Borko, 2000; Newmann, Smith, Allensworth, & Bryk, 2001; Smith, Hofer, Gillespie, Solomon, & Rowe, 2008; Wood, 2007). Research shows that Critical Friends Groups (CFG) can be an effective way to enact this type of professional development (Bambino, 2002; Baskerville & Goldblatt, 2009; Curry, 2008; Dunne et al., 2000; Kember et al., 1997; Swaffield, 2004).
As a first grade teacher, I was aware that my colleagues and I had few meaningful opportunities to learn with and from each other. Therefore, I sought to introduce Critical Friends Groups in order to understand how elementary teachers in an independent school experienced research-based professional development focused on writing instruction. The three products in this paper reflect the outcomes and challenges relating to the implementation of a CFG in a school that previously had not used this form of professional development. First, in an article written for publication in a practitioner journal, I detail the CFG processes that supported changes to teachers’ practices and community and collegial benefits that occurred as a result of participating in a CFG focused on student writing. Next, I present teacher training sessions to describe how the CFG implementation process and the factors that influenced the implementation in order to help teachers consider how to drive their own change efforts forward within their school contexts. Finally, a facilitator’s handbook describes the roles, responsibilities, challenges, and possible solutions that are required in order to be an effective CFG facilitator.
NoteEd.D.
NoteIncludes bibliographical references
Genretheses, ETD doctoral
LanguageEnglish
CollectionGraduate School of Education Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Organization NameRutgers, The State University of New Jersey
RightsThe author owns the copyright to this work.
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