Research

Learning from Our Work

CEL has been working in partnership with school districts to improve teaching and learning since 2000.  In order to further examine our theory of action in improving instructional leadership within these types of district-wide partnerships, CEL (in conjunction with the Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy at the University of Washington) launched a research project in fall 2004.

More specifically, the CEL Research Project investigated how an external support provider—the Center for Educational Leadership (CEL) at the University of Washington—was engaging school districts in collaborative teaching and learning partnerships about leadership for instructional improvement.  The questions that guided the project included:

1.    How does the participation of school district personnel in roles and activities related to instructional improvement practice (that is, the work of leading and improving instruction) change over time?

2.    What are the critical characteristics and dimensions of the settings that support the learning of school district personnel and how are these constructed?

3.    How does the relationship with an external support provider shape or guide the districts in teaching and learning related to instructional improvement practice?

4.    In what ways does individual and collective learning among district personnel contribute to what the district as a system “learns”, as evidenced by changes in practice, new policies and the development of tools that support and sustain the instructional improvement work?

The study began with a pilot investigation in the Highline School District (WA), and in 2005, research activities were extended to the Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District (CA) and to the Marysville School District (WA).

By the conclusion of the research project in spring 2009, seven research briefs, seven professional journal articles, and three Ph.D. dissertations had been generated.  

Chrysan Gallucci, Ph.D., Research Assistant Professor in the College of Education at the University of Washington and a Research Associate with the Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy (CTP) was the Principal Investigator for this project.  Judy Swanson (Research for Quality Schools) collaborated on the project.  Research assistants included Juli Swinnerton Lorton, Dan Lysne, Beth Boatright, Michelle Van Lare, and Irene Yoon.

Learning gained from this research project continues to inform and enhance CEL’s work to improve the quality of student learning by developing the instructional capacity of teachers and leaders.


Project publications:

Boatright, B., Gallucci, C., Swanson, J., Van Lare, M., & Yoon, I. (2009).  Medical residency model goes to school.  Journal of Staff Development, 30(3).

Boatright, B., Gallucci, C., Van Lare, M., & Yoon, I. (January, 2009).  When looking within is not enough:  How districts act on a recognized need for external expertise.  The School Administrator.

Boatright, B., Gallucci, C., Swanson, J., Van Lare, M., & Yoon, I. (2008).  Coaching for instructional improvement:  Themes in research and practice.  Washington State Kappan, 2, 3-5.

Boatright, B., Gallucci, C., Swanson, J., Van Lare, M., & Yoon, I. (2008). The ‘studio-residency’:  A job-embedded coaching model.  Washington State Kappan, 2, 28-30.

Boatright, B., & Gallucci, C.  (2008). Providing embedded, ongoing professional learning through "studio residencies". ASCD Express.

Gallucci, C. (2008).  Districtwide instructional reform:  Using sociocultural theory to link professional learning to organizational support. American Journal of Education, 114, 541-581.

Gallucci, C., Van Lare, M., Yoon, I., Boatright, B. (In review).  Instructional coaching:  Using theory to understand the role and its professional learning challenges. American Educational Research Journal.


Interim Research Reports

Van Lare, M., Yoon, I., & Gallucci, C. (2008).  Orchestration as an aspect of leadership in district-wide reform: A partnership between the Center for Educational Leadership and Marysville School District (Interim Report #2).


Gallucci, C., & Swanson, J. (2008).  Balancing direction and support  - Third year scale up of a system-wide instructional reform initiative: A partnership between the Center for Educational Leadership and Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District (Interim Report #2).



Swanson, J. (2007).  Learning at every level: A partnership between the Center for Educational Leadership and Marysville School District (Interim Report #1).



Gallucci, C., & Boatright, E. (2007).  Gaining traction through professional coaching: A partnership between the Center for Educational Leadership and Highline School District (Interim Report #2).



Gallucci, C., & Swanson, J. (2006).  Aiming high: Leadership for district-wide instructional improvement A partnership between the Center for Educational Leadership and Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District (Interim Report #1).



Gallucci, C., Boatright, B., Lysne, D., Swinnerton, J. (2006).  The pedagogy of third-party support for instructional improvement: A partnership between CEL and Highline School District (Interim Report #1 ).



Ph.D. dissertations:

Juli Swinnerton (2006).  Learning to lead what you don’t (yet) know:  District leaders engaged in instructional reform.

Beth Boatright (2007), Constructing high quality professional learning opportunities for high school teachers in a transformation context.    

Michelle Van Lare (forthcoming).