“Happy Professional Development at an Unhappy Time”: Learning to Teach for Historical Thinking in a High-Pressure Accountability Context

Theory and Research in Social Education

Volumn 45, Issue 2, 2017, Pages 248-285

  Meuwissen, Kevin W ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER   (United States)

Author keywords

accountability; historical thinking; history teaching; professional development; teacher learning; urban education

Indexed keywords

EID: 84990174469     PISSN: 00933104     EISSN: 21631654     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/00933104.2016.1232208     Document Type: Article

References (78)

1. Adler, P., & Adler, P., (1994). Observational techniques. In N. K., Denzin & Y. S., Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (pp. 377–392). Thousand Oaks, CA:Sage.
2. Anagnostopoulos, D., & Rutledge, S., (2007). Making sense of school sanctioning policies in urban high schools:Charting the depth and drift of school and classroom change. Teachers College Record, 109, 1261–1302.
3. Au, W., (2007). High-stakes testing and curricular control:A qualitative metasynthesis. Educational Researcher, 36, 258–267. doi:10.3102/0013189x07306523
4. Bain, R. B., (2005). “They thought the world was flat?” Applying the principles of how people learn in teaching high school history. In M. S., Donovan & J. D., Bransford (Eds.), How students learn:History in the classroom (pp. 179–214). Washington, DC:National Academies Press.
5. Bain, R. B., (2006). Rounding up unusual suspects:Facing the authority hidden in the history classroom. Teachers College Record, 108, 2080–2114. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9620.2006.00775.x
6. Barton, K. C., (2015). Elicitation techniques:Getting people to talk about ideas they don’t usually talk about. Theory & Research in Social Education, 43, 179–205. doi:10.1080/00933104.2015.1034392
7. Berliner, D., (2011). Rational responses to high stakes testing:The case of curriculum narrowing and the harm that follows. Cambridge Journal of Education, 41, 287–302. doi:10.1080/0305764x.2011.607151
8. Boardman, A. G., & Woodruff, A. L., (2004). Teacher change and “high-stakes” assessment:What happens to professional development? Teaching and Teacher Education, 20, 545–557. doi:10.1016/j.tate.2004.06.001
9. Bogdan, R. C., & Biklen, S. K., (2003). Qualitative research for education:An introduction to theories and methods (4th ed.). New York, NY:Allyn and Bacon.
10. Borko, H., (2004). Professional development and teacher learning:Mapping the terrain. Educational Researcher, 33(8), 3–15. doi:10.3102/0013189x033008003
11. Cochran-Smith, M., & Fries, K., (2005). Researching teacher education in changing times:Politics and paradigms. In M., Cochran-Smith & K., Zeichner (Eds.), Studying teacher education:The report on the AERA panel on research and teacher education (pp. 69–109). Washington, DC:American Educational Research Association.
12. Cohen, D. K., & Hill, H. C., (2000). Instructional policy and classroom performance:The mathematics reform in California. Teachers College Record, 102, 294–343. doi:10.1111/0161-4681.00057
13. Cornbleth, C., (2008). Echoes effects and curriculum change. Teachers College Record, 110, 2148–2171.
14. Creswell, J., (2006). Qualitative inquiry and research design:Choosing among five approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA:Sage.
15. Crocco, M. S., & Costigan, A. T., (2007). The narrowing of curriculum and pedagogy in an age of accountability:Urban educators speak out. Urban Education, 42, 512–534. doi:10.1177/0042085907304964
16. Daly, A. J., & Finnigan, K. S., (2011). The ebb and flow of social network ties between district leaders under high-stakes accountability. American Educational Research Journal, 48, 39–79. doi:10.3102/0002831210368990
17. De La Paz, S., (2005). Effects of historical reasoning instruction and writing strategy mastery in culturally and academically diverse middle school classrooms. Journal of Educational Psychology, 97, 139–156. doi:10.1037/0022-0663.97.2.139
18. De La Paz, S., Malkus, N., Monte-Sano, C., & Montanaro, E., (2011). Evaluating American history teachers’ professional development:Effects on student learning. Theory & Research in Social Education, 39, 494–540. doi:10.1080/00933104.2011.10473465
19. Desimone, L., Porter, A. C., Garet, M., Yoon, K. S., & Birman, B., (2002). Effects of professional development on teachers’ instruction:Results from a three-year longitudinal study. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 24, 81–112. doi:10.3102/01623737024002081
20. DeWitt, S., Patterson, N., Blankenship, W., Blevins, B., DiCamillo, L., Gerwin, D., … Sullivan, C. C., (2013). The lower order expectations of high-stakes tests:A four-state analysis of social studies standards and test alignment. Theory & Research in Social Education, 41, 382–427. doi:10.1080/00933104.2013.787031
21. Engeström, Y., (1991). Non scolae sed vitae discimus:Toward overcoming the encapsulation of school learning. Learning and Instruction, 1, 243–259. doi:10.1016/0959-4752(91)90006-t
22. Feiman-Nemser, S., (2012). Teachers as learners. Cambridge, MA:Harvard Education Press.
23. Finnigan, K. S., & Gross, B., (2007). Do accountability policy sanctions influence teacher motivation? Lessons from Chicago’s low-performing schools. American Educational Research Journal, 44, 594–630. doi:10.3102/0002831207306767
24. Gerwin, D., & Visone, F., (2006). The freedom to teach:Contrasting history teaching in elective and state–tested courses. Theory & Research in Social Education, 34, 259–282. doi:10.1080/00933104.2006.10473307
25. Gordon Commission on the Future of Assessment in Education. (2012). Shifting paradigms:Beyond the abstract. Assessment, Teaching, and Learning, 2(2), 1–6.
26. Gradwell, J., (2006). Teaching in spite of, rather than because of, the test:A case of ambitious history teaching in New York State. In S. G., Grant (Ed.), Measuring history:Cases of state-level testing across the United States (pp. 157–176). Greenwich, CT:Information Age.
27. Grant, S. G., (1997). Opportunities lost:Teachers learning about the New York State social studies framework. Theory & Research in Social Education, 25, 259–287. doi:10.1080/00933104.1997.10505808
28. Grant, S. G., (2003). History lessons:Teaching, learning, and testing in U.S. high school classrooms. Mahwah, NJ:Lawrence Erlbaum.
29. Grant, S. G., (Ed.). (2006). Measuring history:Cases of state-level testing across the United States. Greenwich, CT:Information Age.
30. Grant, S. G., Gradwell, J. M., Lauricella, A. M., Derme-Insinna, A., Pullano, L., & Tzetzo, K., (2002). When increasing stakes need not mean increasing standards:The case of the New York state global history and geography exams. Theory & Research in Social Education, 30, 488–515. doi:10.1080/00933104.2002.10473208
31. Grossman, P., Wineburg, S., & Woolworth, S., (2001). Toward a theory of teacher community. Teachers College Record, 103, 942–1012. doi:10.1111/0161-4681.00140
32. Haertel, E. F. (2013). Reliability and validity of inferences about teachers based on student test scores. Princeton, NJ:Educational Testing Service. Retrieved May 17, 2015, from, https://www.ets.org/Media/Research/pdf/PICANG14.pdf
33. Hawley, W., & Valli, L., (1999). The essentials of effective professional development:A new consensus. In G., Sykes & L., Darling-Hammond (Eds.), Teaching as the learning profession:Handbook of policy and practice (pp. 127–150). New York, NY:Teachers College Press.
34. Hochberg, E. D., & Desimone, L. M., (2010). Professional development in the accountability context:Building capacity to achieve standards. Educational Psychologist, 45, 89–106. doi:10.1080/00461521003703052
35. Hursh, D., (2013). Raising the stakes:High-stakes testing and the attack on public education in New York. Journal of Education Policy, 28, 574–588. doi:10.1080/02680939.2012.758829
36. Kazemi, E., & Hubbard, A., (2008). New directions for the design and study of professional development:Attending to the coevolution of teachers’ participation across contexts. Journal of Teacher Education, 59, 428–441. doi:10.1177/0022487108324330
37. Koretz, D., (2008). Measuring up:What educational testing really tells us. Cambridge, MA:Harvard University Press.
38. Kraft, M. A., & Papay, J. P., (2014). Can professional environments in schools promote teacher development? Explaining heterogeneity in returns to teaching experience. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 36, 476–500. doi:10.3102/0162373713519496
39. Leonardatos, H., & Zahedi, K., (2014). Accountability and “racing to the top” in New York State:A report from the frontlines. Teachers College Record, 116(9), 1–23.
40. Levstik, L. S., & Barton, K. C., (2008). Researching history education:Theory, method, and context. New York, NY:Routledge.
41. Levstik, L. S., & Barton, K. C., (2010). Doing history:Investigating with children in elementary and middle schools (4th ed.). New York, NY:Routledge.
42. Maggioni, L., VanSledright, B., & Alexander, P. A. (2009). Walking on the borders:A measure of epistemic cognition in history. The Journal of Experimental Education, 77, 187–214.
43. Merriam, S. B., (2009). Qualitative research:A guide to design and implementation. San Francisco, CA:Jossey-Bass.
44. Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M., (1994). Qualitative data analysis:An expanded sourcebook (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA:Sage.
45. Monte-Sano, C., (2008). Qualities of historical writing instruction:A comparative case study of two teachers’ practices. American Educational Research Journal, 45, 1045–1079. doi:10.3102/0002831208319733
46. Pace, J. L., (2011). The complex and unequal impact of high stakes accountability on untested social studies. Theory & Research in Social Education, 39, 32–60. doi:10.1080/00933104.2011.10473446
47. Pace, J. L., (2015). The charged classroom:Predicaments and possibilities for democratic teaching. New York, NY:Routledge.
48. Patton, M. Q., (2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA:Sage.
49. Penuel, W. R., Fishman, B. J., Yamaguchi, R., & Gallagher, L. P., (2007). What makes professional development effective? Strategies that foster curriculum implementation. American Educational Research Journal, 44, 921–958. doi:10.3102/0002831207308221
50. Pressley, M., & Afflerbach, P., (1995). Verbal protocols of reading:The nature of constructively responsive reading. Hillsdale, NJ:Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
51. Reddy, K., (2013). Challenging preservice teacher beliefs about the past:The influence of a course designed to shift ways of knowing about history teaching and learning (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Maryland, College Park.
52. Reich, G., (2009). Testing historical knowledge:Standards, multiple-choice questions, and student reasoning. Theory & Research in Social Education, 37, 325–360. doi:10.1080/00933104.2009.10473401
53. Reich, G., (2015). Measuring up? Multiple-choice questions. In K., Ercikan & P., Sexias (Eds.), New directions in assessing historical thinking (pp. 221–232). New York, NY:Routledge.
54. Reisman, A., (2012). Reading like a historian:A document-based history curriculum intervention in urban high schools. Cognition and Instruction, 30, 86–112. doi:10.1080/07370008.2011.634081
55. Roth, W.-M., & Lee, Y.-J., (2007). “Vygotsky’s neglected legacy”:Cultural-historical activity theory. Review of Educational Research, 77, 186–232. doi:10.3102/0034654306298273
56. Saldaña, J., (2009). The coding manual for qualitative researchers. Thousand Oaks, CA:Sage.
57. Sandwell, R., & Von Heyking, A., (Eds.). (2014). Becoming a history teacher:Sustaining practices in historical thinking and knowing. Toronto, Canada:University of Toronto Press.
58. Saye, J. W., & the Social Studies Inquiry Research Collaborative (SSIRC). (2013). Authentic pedagogy:Its presence in social studies classrooms and relationship to student performance on state-mandated tests. Theory & Research in Social Education, 41, 89–132. doi:10.1080/00933104.2013.756785
59. Sloan, K., (2006). Teacher identity and agency in school worlds:Beyond the all-good/all-bad discourse on accountability-explicit curriculum policies. Curriculum Inquiry, 36, 119–152. doi:10.1111/j.1467-873x.2006.00350.x
60. Stake, R. E., (1995). The art of case study research. Thousand Oaks, CA:Sage.
61. Stillman, J., (2011). Teacher learning in an era of high-stakes accountability:Productive tension and critical professional practice. Teachers College Record, 113, 133–180.
62. Stodolsky, S. S., (1988). The subject matters:Classroom activity in math and social studies. Chicago, IL:University of Chicago Press.
63. Valli, L., & Buese, D., (2007). The changing roles of teachers in an era of high-stakes accountability. American Educational Research Journal, 44, 519–558. doi:10.3102/0002831207306859
64. Valli, L., Croninger, R., & Buese, D., (2012). Studying high-quality teaching in a highly charged policy environment. Teachers College Record, 114, 33.
65. van Drie, J., Havekes, H., & van Boxtel, C., (2012, April). Pedagogies integrating knowing and doing history:The role of the task and the teacher. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Vancouver, Canada.
66. van Hover, S., (2006). Teaching history in the Old Dominion:The impact of Virginia’s accountability reform on seven secondary beginning history teachers. In S. G., Grant (Ed.), Measuring history:Cases of state-level testing across the United States (pp. 195–220). Greenwich, CT:Information Age.
67. van Hover, S., (2008). The professional development of social studies teachers. In L. S., Levstik & C. A., Tyson (Eds.), Handbook of research in social studies education (pp. 352–372). New York, NY:Routledge.
68. VanSledright, B. A., (2002). In search of America’s past:Learning to read history in elementary school. New York, NY:Teachers College Press.
69. VanSledright, B. A., (2008). Narratives of nation-state, historical knowledge, and school history education. Review of Research in Education, 32, 109–146. doi:10.3102/0091732x07311065
70. VanSledright, B. A., (2011). The challenge of rethinking history education:On purposes, practices, and policy. New York, NY:Routledge.
71. VanSledright, B. A., Maggioni, L., & Reddy, K., (2011, April). Preparing teachers to teach historical thinking:The interplay between professional development programs and school-systems cultures. Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, LA.
72. Vogler, K., (2006). The impact of a high school graduation examination on Mississippi social studies teachers’ instructional practices. In S. G., Grant (Ed.), Measuring history:Cases of state-level testing across the United States (pp. 273–302). Greenwich, CT:Information Age.
73. Wayne, A. J., Yoon, K. S., Zhu, P., Cronen, S., & Garet, M. S., (2008). Experimenting with teacher professional development:Motives and methods. Educational Researcher, 37, 469–479. doi:10.3102/0013189x08327154
74. Wertsch, J., (1991). Voices of the mind. Cambridge, MA:Harvard University Press.
75. Wiliam, D., (2010). Standardized testing and school accountability. Educational Psychologist, 45, 107–122. doi:10.1080/00461521003703060
76. Wilson, S. M., & Berne, S. J., (1999). Teacher learning and the acquisition of professional knowledge:An examination of research on contemporary professional development. Review of Research in Education, 24, 173–209. doi:10.3102/0091732x024001173
77. Wineburg, S. S., Martin, D., & Monte-Sano, C., (2012). Reading like a historian:Teaching literacy in middle and high school history classrooms. New York, NY:Teachers College Press.
78. Yeager, E. A., & Davis, Jr., O. L., (Eds.). (2005). Wise social studies teaching in an age of high-stakes testing:Essays on classroom practices and possibilities. Greenwich, CT:Information Age.