From Planning to Practice: Designing a Targeted Professional Development Program to Change Teachers’ Pedagogical Mindsets to Promote Engagement in Instructional Practices.

This design-based school improvement study examines a suburban high school in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex implementing a professional development program to align teachers' pedagogical mindsets and promote engagement in instructional practices. The researcher implemented professional development sessions designed to promote engagement in the classroom. The sessions focused on goal-setting, quality feedback, and lesson plan alignment. Throughout the process, teacher expectations and experience were examined. As teachers develop interventions and higher expectations for their students, they begin to see more significant opportunities for their students to be successful. This study's framework and blueprint are based on situational theory, which allows adaptability and flexibility to find the most effective changes. The aim is to explore individual teachers' mindsets and classroom experiences. Five teachers in EOC-tested subject areas (English I, English II, Biology, and United States History) participated in the study. The emerging themes centered around student-centered engagement, the educator's role in the classroom, lesson planning and time management, ongoing professional development, and constructive and immediate feedback. Teachers participated in interviews, observations, and professional development sessions to create and practice classroom lesson plans.