Advancing Knowledge Creation in Education Through Tripartite Partnerships

Sharon Friesen; Barbara Brown

doi:10.21432/cjlt28052

Authors

Sharon Friesen University of Calgary
Barbara Brown University of Calgary

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21432/cjlt28052

Keywords:

design-based professional learning, knowledge building, knowledge creation, professional learning, teacher induction

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the work of one tripartite partnership with stakeholders to improve and strengthen novice teachers’ pedagogical designs using design based professional learning guided by the principles of knowledge building/knowledge creation. The tripartite partnership involved 450 novice teachers from an urban school division, a practitioner-research university team, and the provincial government. Drawing upon one case, this paper analyzes the ways in which the design-based professional learning mirrored the knowledge building/knowledge creation processes highlighting the ways in which teachers worked in collaborative, collective, and connected ways to progressively improve pedagogical designs for collective knowledge building. Computer supported, networked digital technologies provided a community to develop an audit trail to keep track of progressive improvements and refinements to their pedagogical designs and to support, enable, and enhance knowledge building discourse. Design-based professional learning informed by the 12 principles of knowledge building/knowledge creation provided novice teachers with a process to work collectively as a community, progressively improving and refining their pedagogical designs, identifying the role of their pedagogical designs in their students’ work, and engaging with other teachers in their respective schools.

Author Biographies

Sharon Friesen, University of Calgary

Sharon Friesen, PhD, is a professor in the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Her research interests include the ways in which K-12 educational structures, leadership, curriculum, and learning need to be reinvented for a knowledge/learning society. She co-founded and led the work of the Galileo Educational Network for the past 25 years.

Barbara Brown, University of Calgary

Barbara Brown, PhD, is an associate professor and Associate Dean, Teaching and Learning in the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Her research interests include research-practice partnerships, professional learning, and collaborative instructional design in technology-enhanced learning environments.

References

Abdal-Haqq, I. (1998). Professional development schools: Weighing the evidence. Corwin (Sage).

Abodeeb-Gentile, T., Pedro, J., & Tapper, J. (2016). Translational research in education: The benefits of a partnership that examines the impact of professional development on early-literacy outcomes. Delta Kappa Gamma Bulletin, 82(3), 1-15.

Aguerrondo, I. (2009). Complex knowledge and education competencies. UNESCO. http://www.ibe.unesco.org/sites/default/files/resources/wpci-08-knowledge_compet_eng_0.pdf

Alberta Education (2018). Teaching Quality Standard. https://education.alberta.ca/media/3739620/standardsdoc-tqs-_fa-web-2018-01-17.pdf

Bereiter, C. (2002). Education and mind in the knowledge age. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Bereiter, C., & Scardamalia, M. (2014). Knowledge building and knowledge creation: One concept two hills to climb. In S. C. Tan, H. J. So, & J. Yeo (Eds.), Knowledge creation in education (pp. 35-52). Springer.

Brandon, J., Friesen, S., & Saar, C. (2020). Conceptualizing and enacting overall instructional leadership in the Alberta context. In S. Friesen, J. Brandon, & M. Jacobsen (Eds.), Selected proceedings of the IDEAS conference: Transforming pedagogies (pp. 57-76). Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary.

Brandon, J., Saar, C., & Friesen, S. (2016). NEIL leading and learning cycles. In M. Takeuchi, A.P. Preciado Babb, & J. Lock (Eds.), IDEAS 2016: Designing for innovation selected proceedings (pp. 141-151). Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary. http://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/5260

Brandon, J., Saar, C., Friesen, S., Babb, P., & Alonso, G. (2014). Supporting pedagogical leadership in Area III. In P. Preciado Babb (Ed.), Proceedings of the IDEAS: Rising to challenge conference (pp. 15-24). Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary.

Brandon, J., Saar, C., Friesen, S., Brown, B., & Yee, D. (2016). Pedagogical leadership teams: Magnifying and spreading impact. In M. Takeuchi, A.P. Preciado Babb, & J. Lock (Eds.), IDEAS 2016: Designing for innovation selected proceedings (pp. 152-161). Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary. http://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/5260

Britz, J., Lor, P., Coetzee, E., & Bester, B. (2006). Africa as a knowledge society: A reality check. International Information and Library Review, 38, 25-40.

Brown, B. (in press). Research-practice partnerships in education: Benefits for researchers and practitioners. Alberta Journal of Educational Research.

Brown, B., & Egizii, R. (2019). Research-practice partnerships in Alberta: Research brief. Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary. http://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/36830

Brown, B., Friesen, S., Beck, J., & Roberts, V. (2020). Supporting new teachers as designers of learning. Educational Sciences, 10(8), 207. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci10080207

Bullough, R., Birrell, J., Young, J., Cecil Clark, D., Erickson, L., Earle, R., Campbell, J., Hansen, L., & Wiston Egan, M. (1999). Paradise unrealized: Teacher educators and the costs and benefits of school/university partnerships. Journal of Teacher Education, 50(5), 381-390.

Chan, C., Lai. K-W., Bielzczyc, K., Tan, S-C., Ma, L., Scardamalia, M., Bereiter, C., Friesen, S., Massey, L., McAuley, A., Millwood, R., Philip, D., & Reeve, R. (2020). Knowledge building/ knowledge creation in the school, classroom, and beyond. In P. Fisser & M. Phillips (Eds.), Learners and learning contexts: New alignments for the digital age (pp. 101-108). https://edusummit2019.fse.ulaval.ca/files/edusummit2019_ebook.pdf

Chen, B., & Hong, H-Y. (2016). Schools as knowledge building organizations: Thirty years of design research. Educational Psychologist, 51(2), 266-288. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2016.1175306

Chu, M-W., Brown, B., & Friesen, S. (2020). Psychometric properties of the design-based professional learning for teachers survey. Professional Development in Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/19415257.2019.1709219

Coburn, C., Penuel, W., & Geil, K. (2013). Research-practice partnerships: A strategy for leveraging research for educational improvement in school districts. William T. Grant Foundation. https://wtgrantfoundation.org/library/uploads/2015/10/Research-Practice-Partnerships-at-the-District-Level.pdf

Doolittle, G., Sudeck, M., & Rattigan, P. (2008). Creating professional learning communities: The work of professional development schools. Theory into Practice, 47(4), 303-310. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405840802329276

Donohoo, J., & Velasco, M. (2016). The transformative power of collaborative inquiry: Realizing change in schools and classrooms. Corwin (Sage).

Drucker, P. (2015). Innovation and entrepreneurship: Practices and principles. Routledge.

Fishman, B., Marx, R., Blumenfeld, P., & Krajcik, J. (2004). Creating a framework for research on systemic technology innovations. The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 13(1), 43-76. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327809jls1301_3

Fishman, B., & Penuel, W. (2018). Design-based implementation research. In F. Fischer, Hmelo-Silver, C., Golsman, S., & Reimann, P. (Eds.), International handbook of the learning sciences (pp. 393-400). Routledge.

Friesen, S. (2009). Teaching effectiveness framework: A framework and rubric. Toronto, CA: Canadian Education Association. https://www.edcan.ca/wp-content/uploads/cea-2009-wdydist-teaching.pdf

Friesen, S., & Jacobsen, M. (2015). A design-based approach to teachers’ professional learning. EdCan Network. https://www.edcan.ca/articles/a-design-based-approach-to-teachers-professional-learning/

Gaudin, C., & Chaliès, S. (2015). Video viewing in teacher education and professional development: A literature review. Educational Research Review, 16, 41-67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2015.06.001

Gordon, D. (2020). WSIS 2020 high level dialogue on open educational resources as a tool to combat inequalities in times of crisis. https://en.unesco.org/news/wsis-2020-high-level-dialogue-open-educational-resources-tool-combat-inequalities-times-crisis

Guba, E. G., & Lincoln, Y. S. (2005). Paradigmatic controversies, contradictions, and emerging confluences. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), The Sage handbook of qualitative research (pp. 191-215). Sage.

Hargreaves, A., & O’Connor, M. (2018a). Leading collaborative professionalism: Seminar series 274. Centre for Strategic Education. http://www.andyhargreaves.com/uploads/5/2/9/2/5292616/seminar_series_274-april2018.pdf

Hargreaves, A., & O’Connor, M. (2018b). Leading collaborative professionalism. Corwin (Sage).

Hargreaves, A., & Shirley, D. (2012). The global fourth way: The quest for educational excellence. Corwin (Sage).

Heron, J., & Reason, P. (1997). A participatory inquiry paradigm. Qualitative Inquiry, 3(3), 274-294. https://doi.org/10.1177/107780049700300302

Killion, J. (2013). Meet the promise of content standards: The role of third-party providers. Learning Forward. https://learningforward.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/the-role-of-third-party-providers.pdf

Laferrière, T., Montane, M., Gros, B., Alvarez, I., Bernaus, M., Breuleux, A., & Lamon, M. (2010). Partnerships for knowledge building: An emerging model. Canadian Journal of Learning Technologies, 36(1), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.21432/T2R59Z

Lincoln, Y., Lynham, S., & Guba, E. (2018). Paradigmatic controversies, contradictions, and emerging confluences, revisited. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), The Sage handbook of qualitative research (pp. 108-150). Sage.

Maheady, L., Magiera, K., & Simmons, R. (2016). Building and sustaining school university partnerships in rural settings: One approach for improving special education service delivery. Rural Special Education Quarterly, 35(2), 33-40. https://doi.org/10.1177/875687051603500205

McKenney. S., & Reeves, T. C. (2018). Conducting educational research. Routledge.

Neumerski, C. (2012). Rethinking instructional leadership, a review: What do we know about principal, teacher, and coach instructional leadership, and where should we go from here? Educational Administration Quarterly, 49(2), 310-347. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013161x12456700

Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). (2008). 21st century learning: Research, innovation and policy. https://www.oecd.org/site/educeri21st/40554299.pdf

Penuel, W., & Gallagher, D. (2017). Creating research-practice partnerships in education. Harvard University Press.

Scardamalia, M. (2003). Knowledge building environments: Extending the limits of the possible in education and knowledge work. In In A. DiStefano, K.E. Rudestam, & R. Silverman (Eds.), Encyclopedia of distributed learning (pp. 269-272). Sage.

Scardamalia, M., & Bereiter, C. (2010). A brief history of knowledge building. Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology, 36(1), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.21432/T2859M

Scardamalia, M., & Bereiter, C. (2014). Knowledge building and knowledge creation: Theory, pedagogy, and technology. In R. K. Sawyer (Ed.), The Cambridge handbook of the learning sciences (2nd ed., pp. 397-417). Cambridge University Press.

Timperley, H. (2015). Continuing professional development. Continuing professional development. In J.D. Wright (Ed.) International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences (2nd ed., pp. 796-802). https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-097086-8.92134-2

UNESCO (2005). Towards knowledge societies: UNESCO world report. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000141843_eng

UNESCO (2011). UNESCO ICT competency framework for teachers. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000265721

UNESCO (2012). Inclusive knowledge societies for sustainable development. https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/policy/untaskteam_undf/groupb_unesco_knowledge_societies.pdf

UNESCO (2020). The digital transformation of education: Connecting schools, empowering learners. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000374309

Unwin, T. (2009). Development agenda and the place of ICTs. In T. Unwin (Ed.), ICT4D information and communication technology for development (pp. 7-38). Cambridge University Press.