
Hilda Borko
Charles E. Ducommun Professor in the Graduate School of Education
Web page: http://web.stanford.edu/people/hildab
Bio
My research explores teachers’ instructional practices, the process of learning to teach, the impact of teacher professional development programs on teachers and students, and the preparation of professional development leaders. My current projects include partnerships with local school districts to improve teaching and professional development in mathematics and science, and to build capacity within the school districts to prepare and support professional development leaders, with a focus on enduring robust learning opportunities for all students.
Boards, Advisory Committees, Professional Organizations
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Professor, School of Education, Stanford University (2007 - Present)
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Professor/Associate Professor, School of Education, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO (1991 - 2007)
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Associate Professor, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education, University of Maryland, College Park, MD (1985 - 1991)
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Associate/Assistant Professor, Division of Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA (1980 - 1985)
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Educational Evaluator, System Development Corporation, Santa Monica, CA (1978 - 1980)
Professional Education
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Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles, Educational Psychology (1978)
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M.A., University of California, Los Angeles, Philosophy of Education (1973)
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B.A., University of California, Los Angeles, Psychology (1971)
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Teaching Credential, University of Southern California, California State Elementary Teaching Credential, specialization in Mental Retardation (1972)
Research Interests
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Math Education
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Professional Development
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Science Education
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Teachers and Teaching
Current Research and Scholarly Interests
Toward a Scalable Model of Mathematics Professional Development: A Field Study of Preparing Facilitators to Implement the Problem-Solving Cycle
The Problem-Solving Cycle (PSC) model of mathematics professional development encourages teachers to become part of a collaborative and supportive learning community. As they participate in the PSC, teachers think deeply about both mathematics content and instruction, and they explore their instructional practices with their colleagues through the use of video and other classroom artifacts. One iteration of the PSC consists of three interconnected professional development workshops, all organized around a rich mathematical task. During Workshop 1, teachers collaboratively solve the mathematical task and develop plans for teaching it to their own students. Shortly after the workshop, the teachers implement the problem with their own students and their lessons are videotaped. In Workshop 2 teachers explore the role they played in implementing the problem. In Workshop 3 teachers critically examine students’ mathematical reasoning.
The Problem-Solving Cycle model provides a structure for mathematics teachers to work together and share a common mathematical and pedagogical experience. Our previous research suggests that it is a promising model for enhancing teachers’ knowledge and supporting changes in classroom practice.
In our current project, initiated in Fall 2007, we are working with a group of middle school mathematics teachers in a large urban district to foster their leadership capacity, and specifically to prepare them to facilitate the Problem-Solving Cycle. We will provide 2½ years of preparation and support for teachers who have been designated as “mathematics instructional leaders.” These instructional leaders will in turn implement the PSC with the mathematics teachers in their schools. We will document the range and quality of the instructional leaders’ implementation of the PSC. We will also analyze the impact of the professional development process on the mathematical knowledge and classroom teaching of the instructional leaders and the mathematics teachers with whom they work. In addition, we will analyze the impact on their students’ mathematics achievement. By the conclusion of the project, we anticipate that the participating schools will have the infrastructure and capacity to carry out the PSC indefinitely, using their own resources. In addition, the project will produce a highly refined set of PSC facilitation materials—with a strong emphasis on supporting a linguistically and culturally diverse student population—that can be widely disseminated.
2022-23 Courses
- Introduction to Research in Curriculum and Teacher Education
EDUC 424 (Spr) - Introduction to Research-Practice Partnerships
EDUC 352A (Aut) -
Independent Studies (7)
- Directed Reading
EDUC 480 (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum) - Directed Reading in Education
EDUC 180 (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum) - Directed Research
EDUC 490 (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum) - Directed Research in Education
EDUC 190 (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum) - Honors Research
EDUC 140 (Aut, Win) - Master's Thesis
EDUC 185 (Aut, Win, Spr) - Supervised Internship
EDUC 380 (Aut, Win, Spr, Sum)
- Directed Reading
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Prior Year Courses
2021-22 Courses
- Introduction to Research in Curriculum and Teacher Education
EDUC 424 (Spr) - Introduction to Research-Practice Partnerships
EDUC 352A (Aut)
2020-21 Courses
- Boost Youth College Readiness through Effective Mathematics Tutoring
EDUC 129 (Win) - Introduction to Research in Curriculum and Teacher Education
EDUC 424 (Spr) - Introduction to Research-Practice Partnerships
EDUC 352A (Aut)
2019-20 Courses
- Boost Youth College Readiness through Effective Mathematics Tutoring
EDUC 129 (Win) - Introduction to Research in Curriculum and Teacher Education
EDUC 424 (Spr) - Introduction to Research-Practice Partnerships
EDUC 352A (Win)
- Introduction to Research in Curriculum and Teacher Education
Stanford Advisees
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Doctoral Dissertation Reader (AC)
Kristin Keane -
Doctoral Dissertation Advisor (AC)
Kelly Boles -
Master's Program Advisor
Tom Cheng, Urina Kim, Masaki Nakamura, Fabiana Paixão, Henry Summ, Yehao Wang -
Doctoral Dissertation Co-Advisor (AC)
Matthew Wilsey -
Doctoral (Program)
Kelly Boles, Victoria Delaney, Faith Kwon, Jim Malamut, Matthew Wilsey
All Publications
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Middle School Science Teachers' Conceptions of Assessment Practice Throughout a Year-long Professional Development Experience
EDUCATIONAL ASSESSMENT
2020; 25 (2): 136–58
View details for DOI 10.1080/10627197.2020.1756255
View details for Web of Science ID 000534633500003
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Impacts of a Practice-Based Professional Development Program on Elementary Teachers' Facilitation of and Student Engagement With Scientific Argumentation
AMERICAN EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH JOURNAL
2019
View details for DOI 10.3102/0002831218812059
View details for Web of Science ID 000454887800001
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The role of video-based discussion in model for preparing professional development leaders.
International journal of STEM education
2017; 4 (1): 29
Abstract
This paper describes the Problem-Solving Cycle model of professional development and the Mathematics Leadership Preparation model of PD leader preparation. These models form the backbone of our current research-practice partnership project in which we are working with a large urban district to adapt these models to develop district capacity to support the implementation of a middle school mathematics curriculum aligned with Common Core State Standards (CCSS). We highlight the central role of video in the Problem-Solving Cycle and our approach to preparing teacher leaders to use video-based discussions to understand student thinking and instructional practices.The first phase of the research was designed to identify how the models were adapted to support the district goals for implementing their new CCSS mathematics curriculum and to understand the reasons for the adaptations. The analysis of multiple data sources revealed two overarching categories of adaptations that we made to refine the models to better support the district goals: addressing district priorities and addressing teacher leaders' limited experience. We made adaptations such as incorporating the district curriculum, addressing the needs of English learners, integrating the teacher leaders' learning of the Problem-Solving Cycle model into the leadership preparation session, increasing the emphasis on what it means to be an instructional leader, strengthening the role of modeling and debriefing activities to support leadership development, scaffolding the selection of video clips, and incorporating the use of rehearsals and debriefing activities to support leadership development.The implications of this work illustrate the need for researchers to be responsive to the context of their school partners if they expect their work to be meaningful. Using the frame of design-based implementation research proved to be an effective strategy for working with the district STEM leadership team and teacher leaders to adapt the Problem-Solving Cycle and Mathematics Leadership Preparation models to support district implementation of a new curriculum that necessitates shifts in teacher practices and for determining how to make video-based discussions more productive activities in the models.
View details for DOI 10.1186/s40594-017-0090-3
View details for PubMedID 30631685
View details for PubMedCentralID PMC6310394
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Evidence of Middle School Science Assessment Practice From Classroom-Based Portfolios
SCIENCE EDUCATION
2017; 101 (2): 209-231
View details for DOI 10.1002/sce.21256
View details for Web of Science ID 000394903000002
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The role of video-based discussion in model for preparing professional development leaders
International Journal of STEM Education
2017; 4 (1)
View details for DOI 10.1186/s40594-017-0090-3
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Measuring instructional practice in science using classroom artifacts: lessons learned from two validation studies
JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE TEACHING
2012; 49 (1): 38-67
View details for DOI 10.1002/tea.20447
View details for Web of Science ID 000298262500002
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Teachers, Teaching, and Teacher Education: Comments on the National Mathematics Advisory Panel's Report
EDUCATIONAL RESEARCHER
2008; 37 (9): 565-572
View details for DOI 10.3102/0013189X08328877
View details for Web of Science ID 000207715100002