A sociocultural ontology forms the foundation for this grounded theory ethnography describing how teachers in a U.S. elementary school changed professional learning from a “training model” to a “situative model.” Findings answer the research question: How does the introduction of a situative model influence the process of teacher learning and professional development? A practitioner researcher stance and emic perspective facilitated an iterative analysis of 42 veteran teachers during the first-year implementation of a situative professional learning model called Teacher Communities of Learning (TCLs). Data collection included a repeated questionnaire, participant observations with field notes, and audio transcripts of TCL meetings. Formal and informal interviews provided opportunities for triangulation of data and theory development. ATLAS.ti assisted a constant comparative analysis process. Findings include a description of teachers’ participation in TCLs, influences on participation (e.g., roles, care, reflection), responses to TCLs among Suntree teachers, and shifts that occurred during the academic year as TCLs were introduced. The role of practitioner research in school and teacher change processes, the process of negotiation during situative learning, and differences in teachers’ roles and responses to TCLs are discussed. This research promotes a model for understanding how reflection and enaction account for teacher change and the importance of an ethic of care on formation of a professional community of learners.

Secondary educators must be knowledgeable in their content while increasing the academic literacy of their students, a process further complicated when working with students who are long-term English learners (LTELs). This mixed-methods study explored the knowledge, practices, and perceptions of six secondary teachers working to develop the academic literacy of LTEL students in content-specific classrooms. Set within a sociocultural framework, the study provides a greater understanding of the challenges and successes educators experience when working at the secondary level with students with diverse learning needs. The data were collected in two phases. Phase I included a quantitative survey of teachers, designed to acquire demographic information from participants who met the inclusion criteria: educators who taught a content-specific course and had a minimum population of 10.7% LTEL students in at least one of their classes. These data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Phase II consisted of qualitative one-on-one interviews, classroom observations, and follow-up interviews. Data analysis for Phase II included transcribing the interviews and taking notes on emerging themes. Qualitative data were also provided by the classroom observations using the Observation Protocol for Academic Literacies. Notes created in each of the classrooms were coded by themes and used in the creation of profiles for each educator. Themes that emerged through the one-on-one interviews and classroom observations were used to create questions for the follow-up interviews. Findings add to the body of research regarding content-specific secondary teachers’ knowledge and perceptions about the academic literacy development of their LTELs.

In the 21st Century and beyond, it is clear that science and technology will be a catalyst in strengthening economic competitiveness and fostering social cohesion. However, some minoritized students are not engaged in science or related careers in science such as medicine. This study addresses the systemic issue of equitable and accessible science education as a requisite for career acquisition such as medicine. Mentoring is presented as a sociocultural participatory activity for engaging students in science learning. The purpose of this study is to assess the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine Summer Mentorship Program (SMP) and to use the data to theorize on the mentoring phenomenon. In 1994, the SMP was established as a means of ameliorating the traditionally low participation of Aboriginal and Black students in medicine and other health sciences. For the first 10 years (1994 – 2004), 250 participants enrolled in the program. Recently, ten past mentees of the program matriculated into various medical schools (5 in the Class of 2008 at the University of Toronto, this is significant, as the norm is usually 0 or at most 2). The study utilized a qualitative approach, requiring the collection of semi-structured one-on-one interview data and an interpretive phenomenological methodology to evaluate the data. There was an increased level of school and community involvement when students returned to high school and an increased awareness of the academic and career choices available to protégés. Mentees indicated that the influence of the SMP followed them much further than the end of the summer and considered it to be an important and defining moment in their educational journey. Communication could be improved so that mentors get a sense of their own impact and for professional development. Recommendations include conducting a study more focused on the impact of the SMP on Aboriginal students who completed the program. Finally, from a theoretical perspective, further work is recommended in order to fine-tune the proposed Mentoring Oriented Teaching and Learning Strategy (MOTALS) framework that incorporates students as natives in a welcoming community of science practice rather than immigrants in a strange land of non-contextual science knowledge.

In the 21st Century and beyond, it is clear that science and technology will be a catalyst in strengthening economic competitiveness and fostering social cohesion. However, some minoritized students are not engaged in science or related careers in science such as medicine. This study addresses the systemic issue of equitable and accessible science education as a requisite for career acquisition such as medicine. Mentoring is presented as a sociocultural participatory activity for engaging students in science learning. The purpose of this study is to assess the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine Summer Mentorship Program (SMP) and to use the data to theorize on the mentoring phenomenon. In 1994, the SMP was established as a means of ameliorating the traditionally low participation of Aboriginal and Black students in medicine and other health sciences. For the first 10 years (1994 – 2004), 250 participants enrolled in the program. Recently, ten past mentees of the program matriculated into various medical schools (5 in the Class of 2008 at the University of Toronto, this is significant, as the norm is usually 0 or at most 2). The study utilized a qualitative approach, requiring the collection of semi-structured one-on-one interview data and an interpretive phenomenological methodology to evaluate the data. There was an increased level of school and community involvement when students returned to high school and an increased awareness of the academic and career choices available to protégés. Mentees indicated that the influence of the SMP followed them much further than the end of the summer and considered it to be an important and defining moment in their educational journey. Communication could be improved so that mentors get a sense of their own impact and for professional development. Recommendations include conducting a study more focused on the impact of the SMP on Aboriginal students who completed the program. Finally, from a theoretical perspective, further work is recommended in order to fine-tune the proposed Mentoring Oriented Teaching and Learning Strategy (MOTALS) framework that incorporates students as natives in a welcoming community of science practice rather than immigrants in a strange land of non-contextual science knowledge.