Research Article

Linking cutting-edge scientific content and educator professional development: A collaborative approach to supporting science teachers

Udita Gupta 1 * , Melissa M. Goldsmith 1 , Mary D. Burbank 1 , Sarah Buening 2
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1 Urban Institute for Teacher Education, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA2 The Daily Utah Chronicle, Salt Lake City, UT, USA* Corresponding Author
International Journal of Professional Development, Learners and Learning, 7(2), July 2025, e2518, https://doi.org/10.30935/ijpdll/17479
Submitted: 25 November 2024, Published: 02 December 2025
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ABSTRACT

Effective professional development plays a crucial role in teacher growth, retention, and mitigating factors leading to teacher burnout. This paper explores the impact of a professional development opportunity that resulted from a cross-disciplinary collaboration between school districts and two entities at a western university in the USA. The professional development opportunity outlined in this paper connected middle and school science teachers to a local and timely scientific concept, engaged them with interactive workshops, and provided them with all the necessary resources (e.g., lesson plans and related instructional materials) needed to implement content and pedagogy in teachers’ classrooms. Program evaluation results indicated a high level of satisfaction from participants regarding course content, activities, and resources.
Keywords: professional development, secondary in-service teachers, science

CITATION (APA)

Gupta, U., Goldsmith, M. M., Burbank, M. D., & Buening, S. (2025). Linking cutting-edge scientific content and educator professional development: A collaborative approach to supporting science teachers. International Journal of Professional Development, Learners and Learning, 7(2), e2518. https://doi.org/10.30935/ijpdll/17479

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