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Change Trajectories In Teacher Professional Growth

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Change Trajectories In Teacher Professional Growth

Author: Hilary Hollingsworth

Publication Year: 1996

Abstract

Professional growth is a form of learning. As such, it is not surprising that the response of a
teacher to a professional development program is a very individual one. This paper reports
the professional growth of two teachers involved in the same professional development
activity, and with many common elements in their personal histories and work situations.
However, the teachers' responses to the professional development program were
significantly different with respect to: the level of classroom experimentation (both reported
and observed); the degree to which each reflected on their teaching and the consequences of
the program; the changes they reported in their practices and beliefs; and their engagement
in collaborative activity with their colleagues. The challenge for the researcher
investigating teacher professional growth is to find a suitable mechanism to describe the
growth process. This paper employs "change trajectories" as a suitable descriptive device.
The metaphor of a trajectory offers an image of movement over time, and draws attention to
issues like: the dimension along which change occurred; the rapidity of the change; and the
factors facilitating and inhibiting the change. In the case of the two teachers reported here,
the change trajectories are sufficiently different to provide a useful insight into the
individuality of a teacher's response to a professional development experience.

Type: Research Paper

Hilary Hollingsworth
Change Trajectories In Teacher Professional Growth

Short Communications & Round Tables

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MERGA Publication Agreement – to be submitted on the MERGA conference website at the time of the abstract submission

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