Negotiating the Rub between Cultures: Teacher Talk and Sustained Shifts in Practice

This article examines the outcomes of an eight-month professional development initiative, designed to support six Writing Project teachers’ classroom inquiry projects, each focused on improving an aspect of student writing. We begin by introducing the genesis of these classroom research projects as well as the structure and content of the support program, consisting of seven two-hour sessions between October 2009 and April 2010. Data consisted of observations of these sessions and teacher interviews. We report the successes and challenges of this learning community in supporting teachers’ professional growth. Findings uncover the barriers participants faced while working toward classroom inquiry goals and suggest the importance of community, critical, structured discussion, and active problem solving in developing teachers’ confidence. We close by discussing the implications of this study for professional development in schools.