Recent and Upcoming Events

Upcoming Events

Collaboratory Research Exchanges (2021–present, every semester) 

Beginning in the spring of 2021, we initiated virtual gatherings that take place once each semester to share and receive feedback on research underdevelopment or in progress. The aim is to nurture a scholarly community of faculty, students, and teacher education program leaders. Every academic year, the Collaboratory hosts a Fall and Spring Research Exchange for the teacher education community at Penn. During each exchange, members of the Penn community have the chance to workshop new and ongoing research projects on teaching and teacher education.

Teachers as Learners Symposium (April 2024)

This convening brings together researchers of teacher learning to collaborate around pressing issues in research on teacher learning. The goal of the two-day symposium is to think across research projects that hold a common focus: supporting teacher learning about facilitating student-centered discussion. Participants aim to come together to collectively foster conceptual clarity around a variety of different topics, including context and design principles for teacher professional development; perspectives on the benefits to teachers of professional learning opportunities; conceptualizations of how teacher learning occurs, what it constitutes, and how it can be observed; and what visions of high quality teacher projects ground themselves in.

Research Talk: Matthew Kraft (March 2024)

Cosponsored by the Institute for Education Sciences (IES) Predoctoral Training Program at the University of Pennsylvania, the Collaboratory is hosting Dr. Matthew Kraft, Associate Professor of Education at Brown University. Dr. Kraft’s primary work focuses on efforts to improve educator and organizational effectiveness in urban public schools. The goal of Collaboratory Research Talks is to spark dialogue around topics and issues at the heart of the center's mission: teaching practice; educational justice; inquiry, activism, and advocacy; and teacher learning.

Research Talk: Heather Hill (December 2023)

Cosponsored by the Institute for Education Sciences (IES) Predoctoral Training Program at the University of Pennsylvania, the Collaboratory hosted Dr. Heather Hill, Hazen-Nicoli Professor in Teacher Learning and Practice at Harvard University. Dr. Hill studies policies and programs designed to improve teacher and teaching quality. The goal of Collaboratory Research Talks is to spark dialogue around topics and issues at the heart of the center's mission: teaching practice; educational justice; inquiry, activism, and advocacy; and teacher learning.

Recent Events

Research Designs and Measurement for Teacher Education Conference (December 7–8, 2023)

Cosponsored by the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard Graduate School of Education, and Boston University, the Collaboratory gathered researchers and teacher educators who have been investigating ways to complement existing methods for studying teacher preparation practices with experimental and quasi-experimental research designs as well as new measurement approaches. This conference explored and built on:

• Research designs in teacher education
• Novel approaches for measuring instruction and pre-service teachers’ knowledge, beliefs, and mindsets
• In-progress studies stemming from previous gatherings
• New tools in the field

Social Justice Practices: A Virtual Panel of Philadelphia Educators (Spring 2022)

Panelists: Zoë Ehrenberg, Abigail Henry, Charlie McGeehan, Kristian Ogungbemi

Scholars of Color Seminar Series with Camika Royal (Spring 2022)

Since 2008, select scholars of color have been invited to Penn GSE to give lectures and share their research with faculty and students as part of our Visiting Faculty Scholars of Color series. The series also provides an opportunity for doctoral student socialization and learning. These talks are followed up with a lunch and conversation between students and the speaker about their work. The Collaboratory co-sponsored this event, which featured Dr. Camika Royal, an urban education expert with more than 20 years of experience. Her work at Loyola University Maryland focuses on the intersections of race, politics, history, and urban school reform.

Conversations on Teacher Education in Response to Today’s Demands (Spring 2021)

• Addressing issues of identity, racial injustice and social inequity in the current political climate: The role of teacher education with Panelists: Teddi Beam-Conroy, Ed Brockenbrough, and Hosun Kang
• How has preparing teachers online shifted teacher educators’ priorities and practices? with Panelists: Evrim Baran, Remi Kalir, and Jennifer Wolfe

Conversations on Virtual Education, Well-being and Equity during the Current Health Crisis (Spring 2020)

• Fostering Student Engagement in Online Classes with Panelists: Betty Chandy, Michael Flynn, and Megan Kelley-Petersen [Watch video]
• Sustaining Our Own and Prospective: Teachers' Mental Health and Well-Being with Panelists: Grace Song, Jeanne Felter, and Xavier Brown [Watch video]
• Supporting Prospective Teachers to Engage Learners During School Closures with Panelists: Patrick Sexton, Tanya Maloney, and John Pascarella III [Watch video]
• Addressing Issues of Educational Equity During the Current Health Crisis with Panelists: Khalilah Harris, ShaVon Savage, and Gerald Campano [Watch video]

Workshop Series on Practice-Based Approaches to Teacher Education (Spring 2019)

• Introduction to Practice-Based Teacher Education, facilitated by Pam Grossman [Watch video]
• Methods Courses as Places to Practice, facilitated by Caroline Ebby and Janine Remillard [Watch video]
• Using Video to Expand Possibilities for Teacher Learning, facilitated by Pam Grossman and Sarah Kavanagh [Watch video]
• Using the Field to Work on Practice, facilitated by Abby Reisman and Sarah Kavanagh [Watch video]