The Co-Development of Teachers’ Identities as Professionals and Learners in Humanistic Knowledge Building Communities

Abstract

Fostering innovation, collaboration, and creativity are prominent goals for educators in the 21^stcentury. However, the innovation age has made the tasks of contemporary teachers more demanding than ever, requiring them to be lifelong learners, stay up-to-date on expanding knowledge, and use sophisticated technologies and pedagogies to design learning environments that prepare their students for the global economy and a democratic society. In this dissertation, I examine an innovative approach to help prepare teachers for these challenges, called “Humanistic Knowledge Building Communities” (HKBCs). Although numerous studies have examined various learning processes as they occur in HKBCs, the overall impact on teachers’ practices within their own classrooms has not been researched. Such research is vital to make a claim as to the value of focusing on teachers-as-learners as part of their professional development, with clear implications on both theory and practice. The aim of this research, therefore, is to examine the outcomes of the HKBC approach, specifically when applied to teachers-as-learners and the way this can impact their teaching practices. To answer my research questions, I carried out a retrospective study of all teachers who studied in courses designed as HKBCs which have been taught (in various instantiations) over the past 18 years. In total, 100 out of the 121 teachers who participated in these courses agreed to take part in the current study, whereby they answered an online questionnaire. Likewise, I followed one student across multiple contexts using a life history approach to better understand how her identity as a learner co-developed with her identity as a teacher. The results from the first part of the study showed the different categories of change that teachers went through both as learners and teachers, using a grounded methodology. The quantitative aspects of this part of the study showed a significant correlation between teacher’s responses about how they learn and teach, where R = .0679 (R2 = 0.461; p < .00001). The second part of this study showed how the teacher’s identity as a learner and teacher developed in an intertwined way over five thematic stages. The implications of this study build on these points and suggest that teacher education programs should consider the HKBC design on teachers-as-learners as ways to supplement their approaches. Future research can continue to examine why and how having teachers learn about their identities as learners may be highly consequential to their teaching practices.