Building professional community and supporting teachers as learners

Much of what happens in the name of in-service education falls well short of conditions necessary for significant changes in teaching practice or the implementation of policy. This chapter is directed to teachers looking for something more satisfying than the usual short course mode of in-service education where teachers play the role of passive audience to someone else’s agenda for change. We want to share some of our recent experiences in using cases and case methods for professional development. These experiences indicate that case methods can provide a valuable means for building the kind of professional communities and networks that many now identify as essential to effective professional development (Fullan, 1994, 1995; Lieberman, 1988, 1992).