This naturalistic inquiry explores the lived experience of five teachers through the first of a two-year professional development (PD) focused on environmental systems, outdoor education, pedagogical content knowledge, and building a community of practice. Qualitative data include participant interviews, participant journals, and researcher field notes. Thematic analysis of the data was conducted utilizing a variation of the constant comparative method (Glasser & Strauss, 1967) as modified by Lincoln & Guba (1985). Data are presented categorically and the relationships between themes are explored. Finally, the data are alternatively presented in the form of a creative dialogue, which summarizes the most salient aspects of the data. Implications for PD are discussed and include the suggestion that PD providers consider offering multiple opportunities for participants to re-enter the system, thus increasing the chances for positive outcomes associated with building a community of practice. These outcomes include networking, the application of newly acquired knowledge, and receiving continuous support from the professional community.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:TCU/oai:etd.tcu.edu:etd-04122011-161659 |
| Date | 12 April 2011 |
| Creators | Sawey, April Tammara |
| Contributors | Molly H Weinburgh |
| Publisher | Texas Christian University |
| Source Sets | Texas Christian University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf, application/msword |
| Source | http://etd.tcu.edu/etdfiles/available/etd-04122011-161659/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to TCU or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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