BON Diliman, Go amd Trallie Ligne (200/), aks Caught on Lal 2. Getum: / Junfimremmal Daweliprned thik Tetins Lrackern Crelege Piece Tree tyke Charrer 4 Beyond Certainty: Taking an Inquiry Stance on Practice MARILYN COCHRAN-SMITH SUSAN L. LYTLE Over the last several decades, what some people refer to as a “new image” of teacher learning, a “new model" of teacher education, and even a “new paradigm” of professional development has emerged (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 19993; Darling-Hammond, 1994; Grimmett & Neufeld, 1994; Hawley & Valli, 1999; Lieberman & Miller, 1991; Little, 1993; McLaughlin, 1993; Stein, Smith, & Silver, 1999). For pro- spective teachers, teacher learning is no longer seen as a one-time pro- cess of “teacher training” wherein undergraduates are equipped with ‘methods in the subject areas and sent out to “practice” teaching. Simi- larly, for experienced teachers, teacher learning is no longer seen as a process of periodic “staff development” wherein experienced teach- ers are congregated to receive the latest information about the most effective teaching processes and techniques. New images of professional development are informed by research about how teachers think about their work (Clark & Peterson, 1986), and emphasis has shifted from what teachers do to what they know, what their sources of knowledge are, and how those sources influence their work in classrooms (Barnes, 1989), The general orientation of the new approach to professional de- velopment is more constructivist than transmission-oriented—the rec- ognition that both prospective and experienced teachers (like all learn- 1s) bring prior knowledge and experience to all new learning situations, Tesora Cag Aon Messer Oven Mae Capit 2b Tes ope. Celeb Let loge ese SN O47 43 po) BBV O4NT-4T09 J Pro roeapng Cin ue crac Cong Carrer Ca, Calor Sree, 2 Panes, Cu MA BEE USA GH PP 48 . 746 Beyond Certainty: Taking an Inquiry Stance which are social and specific. In addition, itis now generally understood that teacher learning takes place over time rather than in isolated mo- ‘ments in time, and that active learning requires opportunities to link previous knowledge with new understandings. It has been widely ac- knowledged that professional development needs to be linked to edu- cational reform (Loucks-Horsley, 1998) and needs to focus on “culture- building,” not skills training (Lieberman & Miller, 1994). It is also generally agreed that professional development that is linked to student learning and curricular reform must be deeply embedded in the daily life of schools (Darling-Hammond, 1998; Elmore & Burney, 1997) and ‘must feature opportunities for teachers to inquire systematically about how teaching practice constructs rich learning opportunities for some students (Ball & Cohen, 1999; Little, 1993) but may limit access and learning opportunities for others (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1993). Very broadly speaking, this new vision of professional development is shared by many of those responsible for designing, implementing, and researching programs, projects, and other initiatives that are in. tended to promote teacher learning. Some even suggest that there is @ new consensus about what it takes for effective professional develop- ment (e.g., Hawley & Valli, 1999). We would like to argue, however, that “the new professional development” is much less monolithic and consensual than is now being proposed. In fact, just beneath the sur- face, new visions of professional development look very different from one another, depending upon underlying assumptions and goals, in- cluding underlying images of knowledge, practice, and teacher learn- ing. In this chapter we briefly describe three contrasting sets of assump- tions that animate some of the most prominent and visible initiatives for professional development. We suggest that one of these is most in keeping with a democratic agenda. Along these lines, we propose that a legitimate and essential purpose of professional development is the development of an inquiry stance on teaching that is critical and trans- formative, a stance linked not only to high standards for the learning of all students but also to social change and social justice and to the individual and collective professional growth of teachers. CONTRASTING CONCEPTIONS OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT We have argued in detail elsewhere (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1999a) that although the surface contours of the new professional development are similar, there are at least three significantly differ-darilyn Cochran-Smith & Susan L. Lytle 7 ant conceptions of teacher learning that drive many of the most stominent and widespread initiatives intended to promote teacher earning and professional development. These three derive from dif- ‘ering ideas about knowledge and professional practice and how these ure related to one another in teachers’ work. Although competing in fundamental ways, these three conceptions coexist in the world of educational policy, research, and practice and are invoked by differ- ently positioned people in order to explain and justify quite different ideas and approaches to improving teaching and learning. Although they are considerably different, however, the lines between the three are not perfectly drawn, and the language that emanates from them to describe various policy initiatives for teacher learning is not mutually exclusive. This is the case in part because there are no particular methods of teacher education and no particular organizational arrangements for improving teachers’ practices or altering curriculum that follow directly or necessarily from any of these three conceptions of teacher learning, Rather, professional development initiatives are driven primarily by interpretations and ideas—even if these are unexamined and tacit— and not simply by methods and practices. For example, some of the most widespread methods of preservice teacher education—mentoring, reflection, and teacher research/action research—carry multiple mean- ings and are connected to agendas that are quite different from one another, By the same token, some of the most prominent strategies {for promoting professional development—inquiry groups, school-wide projects, coaching, and collaborations with universities—are constructed quite differently and serve very different purposes. We have made distinctions among three prominent approaches to professional development by unpacking their differing images. The first approach is what we refer to as “knowledge-for-practice.” Here it isassumed that university-based researchers generate what is commonly referred to as formal knowledge and theory (including codifications of the so-called wisdom of practice) for teachers to use in order to improve practice. The second approach to professional development is what we think of as “knowledge-in-practice.” From this perspective, some of the most essential knowledge for teaching is what many people call prac- tical knowledge, or what very competent teachers know as it is embed- ded in practice and in teachers’ reflections on practice. Here it is as- sumed that teachers learn when they have opportunities to probe the knowledge embedded in the work of expert teachers and/or to deepen their own knowledge and expertise as makers of wise judgments and designers of rich learning interactions in the classroom.