Boyer's Scholarship of Teaching is a concept mainly applied to Academia. But what about the K12? Many K12 teachers are involved in Action Research, and as a result they improve their practice, as well as the practice of other educators by sharing their work through professional development venues (presentations and/or publications). Is this not SoT in action? How do/would you apply it in a/your K12 context?
I do not presently work in a K12 school, but I did once upon a time. Of course I would count action research as a kind of scholarship of teaching and learning. Easier and more clear method to use, at least for me in higher educaiton contexts, is so called "Design-based Educational Research", DBR. Check this paper and google on: Article Design-Based Research: An Emerging Paradigm for Educational Inquiry
Anders Norberg many thanks for your response, and for reminding me of this excellent Design-Based Research article!
I would have thought Acrion Research is essentially a political activity, since its about changing practice. In some ways it rejects the notion of scholarship and its products in favour of more direct "knowledge in action", surely?
I wrote a paper how it can be applied in K12. But it has to be implemented at a much slower pace. Otherwise it is doable.
Michael A. Radin thank you for your response! Could you inbox me your paper?
Ian Stevenson thank you for sharing this critical point of teachers' being agents of change through their AR endeavours. Though I would agree with you on this front, I am not sure that "scholarship" and "knowledge in action" are directly opposite. It all depends on how one views scholarship.
I've never encountered Boyer's model of scholarship in any of the PK-12 schools where I've taught and can't remember discussing it during any undergraduate or graduate education coursework or professional development sessions. Your question leaves me wondering: why not? Educators at the PK-12 level definitely work with a more expansive definition of scholarship than most post-secondary institutions or the "American professoriate" that Boyer questioned. In PK-12 education, our use of language like "whole-child," "character education," and the very existence of comprehensive high schools and vocational-technical schools goes well beyond the traditional academic model Ernest Boyer was attempting to expand.
Given the wider definition of scholarship that already existed among PK-12 educators when Boyer called attention to the "priorities of the professoriate", maybe schools of education and classroom teachers don't need Boyer's more expansive definition because they were, in many ways, already living it. PK-12 research is more practical in relation to student learning. In addition to action research, you might consider the use of professional learning communities (PLCs) and protocols for analyzing student work (the School Reform Initiative is a great example of this). I do agree with you that action research fits Boyer's expanded definition of scholarship. However, I can also write anecdotally that scholars outside schools of education seem to look down on this type of research. Personally, I found the research expectations for my history graduate work far more demanding than the research equivalents during graduate-level education work. Perhaps this ongoing snobbishness among academic researchers is exactly what Boyer's model attempt to change.
While definitions of scholarship in the field of education are in some ways more expansive than the post-secondary setting, in other ways they are narrower. The priority of PK-12 teachers is student learning, not the pressures of "publish or perish." Most PK-12 research reflects this with its focus on improving teaching and learning or various aspects of organizational development.
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