Instruction to Understanding: The Emotional Underpinnings of New Teachers' Professional Development

Abstract

This study focuses on the professional development of 54 newly certified, preservice teachers who participated in a masters program that incorporated a 15-hour-per-week internship in an urban school. Perceptual and independent data were collected from 10 cohorts who completed the program between 1998 and 2007. Findings suggest that new teachers' knowledge and practices change when rigorous year-long masters programs are situated in schools. The roots of these changes are the connections between cognition and emotion that emerge from intensive, context-rich professional development.