Teacher's LAB : a platform for teacher learning

Abstract

The Teacher's LAB software application is a development platform for innovative classroom activities. Educators can use the tool to construct and share representations of their day-to-day classroom practices. Through the process of representing, constructing, and sharing, teachers engage in critical reflection about their own practice. In my pilot study, this reflection helped teachers recognize essential educational building blocks. I call these elements pedagogical patterns and argue that understanding these patterns is a key dimension of teacher learning. Teacher's LAB promotes this understanding, helping classroom teachers become more reflective practitioners. Furthermore, using the software to share pedagogical patterns challenges the isolation of working teachers by allowing them to co-construct lessons with their colleagues. Educators and curriculum developers can collaboratively develop an expanding pattern language of pedagogy, leading to improved educational practices and new opportunities for learning.