“You Have to Find Your People Like I Did:” A Design-Based Approach to Transforming Teacher Practices

Teachers in the K‑12 setting regularly undergo professional development in stand‑alone experiences and have very little input on these conversations. As a means to disrupt the way the education field approaches professional learning for K‑12 teachers, the aim of this work is to explore the nature of teaching practices as educators are empowered to design learning relative to their own praxes. This research article describes a seven-month long qualitative, design-based research study among middle school and high school teachers. A qualitative analysis led to the findings from current study that uncovered what teachers need to grow as professionals – such as establishing a community of trust, rethinking teacher identities and purpose, and embracing change as educators. Current study demonstrated an alternative perspective on teacher professional development. The results of this research article can be used to expand the use of networked inquiry experiences related to teacher professional development. This issue will be of interest to K‑12 educators, teacher induction programs, as well as school and system leaders.