Teacher-initiated professional development : a case study

Abstract

This study documents four collaborative professional development initiatives carried out by the author in three different schools over the course of five years. The author looks back upon her experiences, discussing the progression through several levels of readiness--survival, coaching, action research, and reflective self-analysis. She compares and contrasts the successful and lessthan- successful experiences with regards to current research in the fields of educational and organizational theory. The author postulates that the content of professional development, the collaborative process, and the context in which professional development takes place are contributing factors to the success or failure of teacher-initiated professional development.