Grantee: University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA Project Summary: This 5-year project investigates the mechanisms by which teachers learn to use the multiple forms of knowledge that promote dialogic and disciplinary discourse among students in science, literature, and mathematics classrooms. Prior work indicates that teachers need several kinds of knowledge to effectively orchestrate classroom discourse that reflects differences across disciplines in epistemology, practices, and content. Such knowledge includes:
Project Lead: Susan Goldman, Ph.D.
Grant Title: How Teachers Learn: Orchestrating Disciplinary Discourse in Science, Literature, and Mathematics Classrooms
https://doi.org/10.37717/220020517
Program Area: Understanding Human Cognition
Grant Type: Teachers as Learners
Year Awarded: 2017
Duration: 5 years
The project team comprises researchers from several universities who bring multiple methodological and disciplinary perspectives, in collaboration with middle and high school teachers of science, literature or mathematics. We also have expertise in our team and advisory board with regard to linguistic diversity as a resource and its relevance for scaffolding disciplinary reasoning and the critical role of discussion in such efforts. Working together in urban and exurban schools serving culturally and linguistically diverse learners, the team will engage in three interrelated research areas:
MAPPING TEACHER LEARNING TRAJECTORIES (Years 1-2) through analyses of videos, artifacts from classroom interventions, and professional development from prior work.
IDENTIFYING LEARNING MECHANISMS AND BENCHMARKS (Years 2-4) via the creation of professional learning contexts that are sites of adaptive professional development where teachers work in disciplinary teams and share information across disciplines.
TRANSLATIONAL SCIENCE ACTIVITIES (Years 3-5) as we seek to disseminate knowledge gained from the teacher-researcher collaborations.