The student hat: a practice-based professional learning approach building epistemic empathy with student experiences¶

Theory · All theories
Evidence · 1 claim (1 for) · 2 studies (1 review, 1 qualitative), q1 · 0 of 2 report an effect size

Description¶

The student hat is a professional learning approach in which teachers engage in curriculum activities as they believe their students would, attending to students' ideas, experiences, interests, and cognitive and affective responses. The review reports that "Lowell asserts that doing science in the student hat is a unique approach because it attends to the ideas, experiences, and interests of students, as well as their cognitive and affective responses". Its rationale is to support teachers' understanding of student-perceived coherence, better enabling teachers to address and adapt to ideas students bring, making it potentially uniquely beneficial for storyline units. It contrasts with other practice-based PD activities such as analyzing video, analyzing student work, rehearsing teaching, and doing science in science hat.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Teachers must engage in curricular activities embodying how they believe their students would engage
• Facilitated professional learning sessions with dialogue and reflection

Constraints¶

• Teachers reported challenges separating their own knowledge from what students might know, perceiving the student hat as unrepresentative of real enactment, and feeling it limits thinking about teacher moves; some unintentionally broke from the role

Target Learners¶

• middle school science teachers learning to enact storyline curricula

Target Learning Objectives¶

• understanding student-perceived coherence
• epistemic empathy with student experiences
• planning and reflection on enactment

Claims¶

• Student Hat Planning Tools Support Sensemaking [+W]

Related Theories¶

• The OpenSciEd storyline instructional model: coherence from the students' perspective via four teaching routines

Examples¶

• OpenSciEd teacher supports: unit-specific PD themes and professional learning activities

Key Sources¶

• McElhaney, K. W., Mills, K., Kamdar, D., Baker, A., & Roschelle, J. (2023, March). A summary and synthesis of initial OpenSciEd research: Updated version [White paper]. Digital Promise. https://doi.org/10.51388/20.500.12265/171