Do top-down models really work when it comes to professional development? Tom Cosgrove, Nicola Cosgrove and Paul Magnuson explain how schools can adopt a different approach
Leysin American School is a full-boarding school situated in the small alpine town of Leysin, Switzerland. For faculty, professional development is extremely important, so much so that we have our own research center, known as LASER (Leysin American School Educational Research).
The center has many interconnected programs, one of which supports Resident Scholars. A Resident Scholar is one of our own teachers who works on a passion project for an academic year.
Teachers apply to join the program by submitting an idea for a project, and successful applicants are awarded a stipend of 1000 Swiss francs to pursue their idea and to share their learning experiences with colleagues at our school and around the world.
The program was initiated during a year in which two science teachers, who were working on independent projects in their classroom, suggested to the LASER director that they could get a lot more done with the project if they had more time.
While the original plan was for a year-long release from one class, we settled in the end for a stipend to recognize the effort and a release from any required professional development to win back a bit of time for them. We also set aside funds to allow resident scholars a budget for their project or a budget to present their project at a conference.
This opportunity is available to any faculty member, for which LASER will accept up to eight project proposals per year.
Now eight years into the program, we have had 59 projects from over 60 staff members. Some have turned into full-on businesses, like Rob Barnett’s 2018/19 resident scholar project that eventually became the Modern Classrooms Project. Some have contributed to master’s or PhD coursework, such as Sarah Graham’s 2021/22 project on peer instructional coaching. More recently, some resident scholar projects from previous years have allowed us to write chapters for books from reputable publishers and turned projects into professional learning community groups.
Building conversations
A top-down structure just might not be effective for professional learning
Although this concept is rooted in action research, it is more informal than that. It allows teachers to explore their passions without the added burden of the more academic style of a true action research project. The program promotes growth from within by empowering teachers to take ownership of larger projects beyond the scope of their regular workload. In addition, by having resident scholars spread out across the various subjects and grade levels within the school, it also encourages other teachers to try new things in their classroom and explore innovative ideas. These projects build conversations and challenge the traditional norms of education, which is a big bonus for improving school culture and professional development across the board.
The principal value of the resident scholar structure has been the ability to empower teachers to do more. Teachers are free to select and manage their projects. They are passionate about their topic of interest and they work hard to learn more and to implement the ideas that they are trialing. The program sets the stage for teachers to embrace their own professional learning and take control of it, demonstrating their own agency without being told what initiative or new ideas they must try in their classes. A top-down structure just might not be effective for professional learning.
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Becoming a resident scholar
The process for a staff member to become a resident scholar is relatively straightforward. Near the end of the school year, staff are asked to submit a proposal for an action research project that they would like to carry out. The submitted projects get shared with a panel, and then projects are either accepted or rejected (with the majority of projects being accepted). Over the course of the following school year, we have a few check-in points with each resident scholar to monitor their progress and offer assistance. It is also expected that resident scholars share their work with the wider community and offer an after-school presentation and Q & A session about their work to interested staff and students.
During the 2022-2023 school year, we are fortunate to have nine projects led by 10 staff members. For example, our school librarian, Samantha Wasson, is creating innovative professional learning networks for librarians. Other projects for this year range from creating a studio for students to play music in the dorm (Jennifer and Eric Briner) and creating a stronger community through authentic connections and restorative practice (LaToya Peltier). The educational research team at LAS checks in with each resident scholar during the year to monitor progress and offer help.
How to create a resident scholar program at your institution
Schools are likely already supporting some activities that are similar to this program. It is easy to start building on some of these teacher-led projects. We suggest:
1. Start where you are, in your school. Leverage what is working well by encouraging teachers to take the easiest next step in their own work.
2. Be careful about asking teachers to do research. The word itself conjures up thoughts of statistics and control groups too easily! Action research is at the classroom level, led by an inquisitive teacher who tries something out, notes what happened, adjusts, and tries it out again. Once in that cycle, there is potential for lots of learning - especially if you create a venue for that teacher to share with others. Create that venue!
3. Ensure that teachers engaged in action research are recognized for their effort. These are your high flyers. They will work very hard for themselves and the school, but they need to be recognized.
4. Commit to supporting teacher-led action research for the long term, say, for at least ten years. It’s not expensive and it’s not disruptive – but it needs support. Besides recognizing the work, provide some time in the schedule, when you can, and make sure you have some resources available for the teacher who can present their work, perhaps at a regional conference - or beyond.
5. When a teacher presents their work either at school or elsewhere, make sure that administrators and teachers attend. There is nothing more disheartening than wanting to share everything one has learned through hard work only to discover that management does not care to listen.
6. Choose a funding model that works for you. Originally, we planned to offer release time for two faculty members who were going to conduct a significant research project over a school year. There are schools using this model, for example, the Barker Institute in Australia. Course releases are, however, relatively expensive. We decided to offer smaller stipends instead. In this way, we involved more teachers, at less cost, and did not have all of our eggs in the same basket. If funding isn’t available, there may be alternative incentives to reward teachers for this additional work.
In future articles, we will explore these projects in more depth and uncover the benefits of this kind of professional learning model for teachers. In the next article, Tom Cosgrove will talk about how he has used the resident scholar program to become a better teacher and improve the learning environment for his students.
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