About Our Research Practice Partnerships

Improving Practice Together was a research-practice partnership (RPP) among (1) a professional learning team from the Lawrence Hall of Science at the University of California, Berkeley; (2) a Research and Evaluation team from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Education and Lawrence Hall of Science; and (3) teachers and administrators from Santa Clara Unified School District (SCUSD) in California. This six-year partnership (2017-2023) supported the district in teaching scientific argumentation in elementary school by developing sustainable teacher leadership. The goal of the project was to produce a scalable professional learning (PL) model that can be continually adapted to district objectives, while also examining how such RPPs can support improvements in classroom practices. The Lawrence Hall of Science PL team designed and implemented professional learning activities. SCUSD leaders coordinated the program within the district and co-constructed the professional learning experiences to address the needs of their district. The research team designed, implemented, and managed the overall research study to understand the partnership, modifications to the model, and impacts on classroom practices. All members of the partnership were committed to an iterative and collaborative approach to adapting the professional learning experiences, informed by feedback from data collected during PL sessions.

Learn more about how our three-way research practice partnership addresses the needs and interests of each partner. For a discussion about this video, see here.