Adoption, Adaptation, and Abandonment: Appropriation of Science Education Professional Development Learning

Understanding factors that influence teachers to use certain practices from training they receive will help improve learning experiences for students. This study examined how two teachers with the same teacher training experience use learning from that training in their instruction differently. This research attempted to account for multiple factors that influenced teachers learning. Educator’s incorporation of teaching practices can vary from teacher to teacher and from training to training. This variability is understood in terms of their appropriation of new teaching practices into their teaching and delivery of learning. Two teachers were selected as a result of their participation in an eighth-grade science teacher training session where they exhibited unique characteristics that could inform this study. Information was collected from these teachers through classroom observations and individual interviews. This study looked at connecting the practice of educators and the factors that influence change in their teaching practice. The study provides eight factors that influence how a teacher uses new ideas and practices from training experiences, and how those in charge of the training can improve classroom implementation outcomes