Open AccessSupporting Learning: An Examination of Two Teacher Development Collectives
Author(s) -
Xavier Fazio,
Tiffany L. Gallagher
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
complicity
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1710-5668
DOI - 10.29173/cmplct8810
Subject(s) - mathematics education , diagrammatic reasoning , professional development , development (topology) , representation (politics) , bounded function , development theory , robustness (evolution) , science learning , computer science , pedagogy , psychology , science education , mathematics , political science , mathematical analysis , biochemistry , chemistry , politics , economics , law , market economy , gene , programming language
This study examined two teacher development cases (middle/secondary school science teachers and elementary learning resource teachers) from which significant professional learning outcomes emerged. Both collectives exhibited characteristic qualities ascribed to complexity theory (e.g., self-organized; bottom‐up emergent; ambiguously bounded). This post hoc analysis provides evidence of the robustness of complexity theory and its applicability to analyzing professional development collectives. A diagrammatic representation is provided as a tool for the development and study of teacher development collectives. Recommendations are offered to researchers and teacher development facilitators to use complexity theory at the outset of their projects.