Hawaii Lab Cohort: Supporting Teachers’ Literacy Pedagogy Through Teacher Learning Communities In Hawaii Public Schools

Abstract

This qualitative action research case study documents the beliefs of teaching and learning of the creator, facilitator and researcher of the Hawaii Lab Cohort (HLC) model after she sought to provide a new curriculum and model for teachers, which was backwards designed to improve literacy instruction. The new model was informed by the design elements of effective professional development for the 21st century and inspired by many previous studies surrounding Teacher Learning Communities. This study also documents the experiences of five elementary public-school teachers participating in the HLC over a period of one academic school year. Constructivism, situated learning, and Lave and Wenger’s communities of practice theories framed the perspectives of the researcher. Multiple data sources were collected: one-to-one interviews, teacher questionnaires, artifacts from the observational classroom visits teachers made to one another, audio-recordings and transcripts of teachers’ feedback and discussion during observational visit debriefs, audio-recordings and transcripts of the professional dialogue that took place during HLC meetings, and a researcher’s journal. Using multiple data analysis tools, five themes were identified: sense of belonging, application, feedback, impact of student learning, and tension. Due to the findings, it is recommended that professional development opportunities be voluntary in participation, include relationship building, and build in the ability for teachers to co-construct the focus of their learning.