ABSTRACT
In this chapter I examine what it means for teachers, administrators, and mentors to confront the complex realities they face as educators and to collaborate in developing thoughtful programs of professional development. Of particular importance is an understanding of ‘development’ in the conceptualization of these programs, and their impact on personal and organizational identity. I use an ecological framework and principles from systems theory, cultural-historical activity theory, and constructive developmental psychology to create a perspective that permits the operationalization of the aphorism, ‘Think globally, act locally.’ I draw on my work with an alternative high school in the United States to show how we approached the task and I describe in some detail the learning lab – a structured process of collaboration between university and school personnel that emerged as part of a formal school–university partnership. The lab provided a coherent context for personal and professional reflection and collaborative action around specific problems of practice. A significant characteristic of this approach is that it balances the perspectives of research and practice, thereby illuminating the tensions that often arise between professors and teachers, permitting a context for both parties to make important discoveries about teaching, learning, and self.
