Using activity theory to evaluate and improve K-12 school and university partnerships

2007 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 364-380 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa C. Yamagata-Lynch ◽  
Sharon Smaldino
Keyword(s):  
Activity Theory ◽  
University Partnerships ◽  
K 12

scholarly journals Teaching and Learning Within Inter-Institutional Spaces: An Example from a Community-Campus Partnership in Teacher Education

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-55
Author(s):  
Cher Hill ◽  
Paula Rosehart ◽  
Sue Montabello ◽  
Margaret MacDonald ◽  
Don Blazevich ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Common Ground ◽  
Graduate Program ◽  
Institutional Practices ◽  
University Partnerships ◽  
University Communities ◽  
Dialogic Inquiry ◽  
K 12 ◽  
Institutional Space

This paper explores the potentiality inherent within a community-campus partnership in the area of inservice teacher education, and the inter-institutional space that has afforded creative and collaborative practices. Through this partnership, we endeavour to find innovative ways to better serve our students and create opportunities for smooth interactions and flow across school and university communities. Unlike other research that explores tensions and/or common ground within community-university partnerships, we seek to understand the potential that is created in the metaphorical space in-between institutions. Using dialogic inquiry, the diverse members of our teaching team, including members of the university community and the K-12 school system, as well as graduates of the program, reflected on the unique material, discursive and relational dimensions of our inter-institutional space. We came to see our graduate program as a hybrid place of connections, rhythms, and intersections in which usual institutional practices are ruptured. Together we identified powerful interrelated structural dimensions of our inter-institutionality, which we referred to as the gathering space, the inquiry space, the transformative space and the empowering space. These themes and the flow that has been created across and between institutions will be discussed in the following paper. 

scholarly journals Best Practices in K-12/University Partnerships

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Schnittka ◽  
Elizabeth Parry ◽  
Lizette Day ◽  
Augusto Macalalag ◽  
Albert Padilla ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Best Practices ◽  
University Partnerships ◽  
K 12

Using activity theory to understand the role of the coach in K–12 curriculum redevelopment

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 231-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cecile H. Sam ◽  
Anne E. Caliendo
Keyword(s):  
Sample Size ◽  
Activity Theory ◽  
School Context ◽  
Social Activity ◽  
Qualitative Inquiry ◽  
Curriculum Policy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Usa ◽  
K 12

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine school-embedded instructional coaching as a social activity situated within a new initiative. The coaches were in their first year of implementing new standards and curriculum policy in a large urban school district in the USA. Design/methodology/approach Using activity theory as a conceptual framework, this study was a qualitative inquiry into the experiences of 20 school-embedded coaches. Data were drawn from multiple interviews over the course of a year, with a total of 49 interviews and an end-of-year questionnaire from all participants. Findings The study found that within the initial year, coaches had to negotiate a variety of relationships that included the overall school context, teachers, principals and their own responsibilities. While negotiating these relationships, coaches utilized a variety of strategies to accomplish their goals. Research limitations/implications All data are self-reported, and there is a limited sample size (n=20). While the sample size may limit generalizability, all coaches in the initiative were participants in the study. By including all coaches, this study had a more complete picture of coaching during its initial year. Practical implications This study offers some suggestions that help inform the professional development of coaches. Originality/value The present study expands upon the literature by exploring the broader relationships of coaching to other stakeholders. Rather than focusing specifically on the approaches or styles of coaching, this paper focuses on the work of coaches as a social endeavor. It resituates the role of coaches within their context and reframes our understanding of the nature of coach work.

Advocacy in Action: K-12 and University Partnerships: Bridging the Advocacy Gap

Strategies ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 36-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charity Bryan ◽  
Sandra Sims
Keyword(s):  
University Partnerships ◽  
K 12

scholarly journals Best Practices in K-12 and University Partnerships Panel Winners

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mindy Hart ◽  
Laura Bottomley ◽  
J. Jill Rogers ◽  
Merredith Portsmore ◽  
Jeffrey Goldberg
Keyword(s):  
Best Practices ◽  
University Partnerships ◽  
K 12

An examination of educator multicultural attitudes before and after a diversity dinner dialogue

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Clare Merlin-Knoblich ◽  
Merry Leigh Dameron
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Racial Identity ◽  
Identity Development ◽  
Multicultural Competence ◽  
Racial Identity Development ◽  
University Partnerships ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Development Processes ◽  
K 12

Purpose The demographic make-up of students in US public schools is becoming increasingly diverse, and a need exists to train teachers in multicultural competence. Despite this need, little research addresses multicultural competence training for in-service teachers. In this pilot study, we aimed to implement an intervention, known as a diversity dinner dialogue (DDD), in which elementary and university educators read the same diversity-related book, then gathered over dinner to discuss the book and its implications in their work. Design/methodology/approach This study used a pre-experimental study and measured participants’ reactions to the intervention, as well as changes in multicultural attitudes immediately and six months after the training. Findings Findings indicated that participants had positive reactions to the DDD, yet multicultural attitudes decreased after the training, a potential indication that participants encountered racial identity development processes during the intervention. Research limitations/implications Further research is needed on DDDs and interventions affecting educator multicultural attitudes in K-12 schools and higher education. Originality/value This study contributes a new potential intervention for use in K-12 school and university partnerships that may support the development of culturally responsive teaching practices and catalyze participant experiences in racial identity development processes.

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