Scaling up Teacher Professional Learning: How to Grow Teacher Knowledge while Growing School Networks

Authors

  • Emily J. Klein Montclair State University
  • Reva Jaffe Walter Montclair State University
  • Meg Riordan NYC Outward Bound Schools - Expeditionary Learning

Keywords:

Teacher Learning, Professional Communities of Practice, Scaling-up, School Design Organizations

Abstract

This research reports data from case studies of three intermediary organizations facing the challenge of scaling up teacher learning. The turn of the century launched scaling up efforts of all three intermediaries, growing from intimate groups, where founding teachers and staff were key supports for teacher learning, to large multi-state organizations. The authors drew on data from three earlier qualitative studies of professional development at Big Picture Learning, Expeditionary Learning, and the Internationals Network, and reveal some of the benefits and challenges of taking teacher learning to scale.  

Author Biography

Meg Riordan, NYC Outward Bound Schools - Expeditionary Learning

Meg Riordan, Ph.D., is the Regional Director of Expeditionary Learning (EL) in NYC. She supports a network of 11 EL schools and also teaches an on-line Masters' course in Instructional Strategies through St. Joseph's College, Maine. Her research interests include experiential education, internship-based learning, school reform, and teacher professional development. She recently co-authored a book titled Going to Scale with New School Designs: reinventing high school (Teachers College Press, 2009) about the challenges of scaling-up designs for teaching and learning.

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Published

2015-08-11

How to Cite

Klein, E. J., Walter, R. J., & Riordan, M. (2015). Scaling up Teacher Professional Learning: How to Grow Teacher Knowledge while Growing School Networks. Current Issues in Education, 18(2). Retrieved from https://cie.asu.edu/ojs/index.php/cieatasu/article/view/1336

Issue

Vol. 18 No. 2 (2015)

Section

Articles

License

Authors retain copyright without restrictions. Unless otherwise indicated, from 2021 all articles are published under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA license. For more information visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/. Articles published prior to 2021 used a CC-BY-NC-SA license.