Using the Adaptive Cycles Framework to Conceptualize the Temporal Dimension of Teacher Learning

Attending to when and where teachers are with respect to change and learning-the temporal aspects of teacher learning-can yield more effective, timely, and responsive professional development (PD) efforts. Toward this end, we conceptualize phases of learning in a PD program, and how these phases are shaped by different resources and levels within teacher learning ecologies. Conceptually, we build on the Adaptive Cycles framework (Gunderson & Holling, 2002) and empirically, on video-based teacher conversation from a partnership with a PD-organization (PDO). We describe the learning of two school-based teams in the PD through the four phases of the Adaptive Cycles: problematization, reorganization, growth, and conservation. Findings show how the teams differed in their starting point, learning trajectories, and external resources invoked by participants. These findings strengthen our call for centering temporality and provide conceptual tools for doing so in research and practice, towards greater responsiveness to teacher learning ecologies.