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Expansion of Personas to Guide Professional Development in Implementing Evidence-Based Practices in Diverse
Amy K Dunbar-Wallis1, Patricia Zagallo2, Annie Meeder1
1Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80309.
This study refines instructor personas for professional development (PD) and identifies two new ones, Riley the Rookie and Ash the Advocate, enhancing understanding of diverse educator identities in PD settings.
Area of Science:
- Education
- Professional Development
- Sociology of Education
Background:
- Instructor identities significantly impact professional development (PD) effectiveness.
- Prior research established instructor personas in PD settings.
- Diverse institutional contexts require updated persona validation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To validate existing instructor personas in a new PD context.
- To identify new personas reflecting diverse institutional settings.
- To expand understanding of instructor identity in professional development.
Main Methods:
- Followed a stepwise procedure including data collection (interviews, observations) over two years.
- Conducted qualitative analysis and data triangulation.
- Developed and validated instructor personas based on collected data.
Main Results:
- Refined four existing instructor personas.
- Identified two new personas: Riley the Rookie and Ash the Advocate.
- New personas emerged from institutional contexts not previously studied.
Conclusions:
- Instructor personas are crucial for understanding and optimizing professional development.
- The refined and new personas offer a more inclusive representation of educators.
- This work provides valuable insights for designing effective and equitable PD programs.
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