Interview With the Author: Susan Mundry

Teachers as Learners: A Multimedia Kit for Professional Development in Science and Mathematics

"Designing Professional Development for Teachers of Science and Mathematics came out in 1998. Soon after, the book became a best-seller in the field, and education leaders started gravitating toward our ideas about designing teacher learning programs. But as we continued to work with these leaders, we realized that they really needed to be able to see different images of teacher learning strategies. That’s when we came up with the idea for the video collection.

“Since the book had been so well-received, we had a lot of initial support and encouragement from associates in the professional development field. We joined with the video production team at WGBH Boston and educators from the Education Development Center, Museum of Science Boston, and Horizon Research, and together we started locating and documenting images of teacher learning.

“We wanted to show that successful teacher learning involves more than just setting up workshops — it must incorporate a well thought-out design, one that is always tied to enhancing both teaching and learning. Our goal was to demonstrate the variety of these designs, showing teachers engaging in their own learning, and how that helps lead to increased student understanding of science and math. We wanted people to see that teacher learning programs come in a variety of forms, and that the best forms address the goals and context of the specific sites in which they are implemented. The tools within the Teachers as Learners kit help professional developers, teacher leaders, and others understand and apply these ideas.

“We’re hearing that Teachers as Learners is very useful. During our field tests, people said how great it was to see teacher learning in action and how informative it is to have professional development strategies so clearly defined. And it’s not just professional developers who said this: We’ve had a great response from people who come from outside of education — especially from scientists and staff from museums and science centers — who are working with teachers to increase understanding of science and mathematics.

“The project has really been a labor of love and has brought us closer to understanding the wide range of strategies for teacher learning and the ingredients needed for success."

Contact Information

Susan Mundry
781.481.1106
smundry@wested.org