From Isolation to Symphonic Harmony: Building a Professional Development Community among Teacher Educators

This article was published in Teaching and Teacher Education, Volume 26, Issue 8, Author(s): Linor Hadar and David Brody, " From Isolation to Symphonic Harmony: Building a Professional Development Community among Teacher Educators", Pages 1641-1651, Copyright Elsevier (November 2010).

The current study describes a professional development project modeled on a professional development community. The project focused on thinking education in a teachers college.

Qualitative measures revealed a multilayered process consisting of breaking personal and professional isolation through interdisciplinary collaboration, talk about student learning, improvement of teaching through skill acquisition, and professional development with the adaptation of new teaching dispositions and a sense of efficacy.

The community was characterized by a safe environment which encouraged risk taking and mutual support, enabling significant change in college courses.