Examining science teachers' engagement in professional development: A multimodal situated perspective

Abstract Research indicates many professional development (PD) programs fail to promote a significant change in science teaching, despite the resources invested them. While previous research addresses this problem through aspects of policy making, design, and teachers' identity, we suggest focus on engagement learning during PD sessions. Engagement is critical for processes outcomes affects learning, and, hence, their teaching. Yet little explores learning. Most researchers approach from psychological perspective, using self‐report tools, usually questionnaires. To enable more complete understanding teacher PD, offer novel multimodal contextual perspective engagement, one that perceives as embodied, situated, local, dynamic. We present situated analytical tool referring expected behavior specific contexts, defined by norms situation its participants. develop apply it, used video‐recorded sessions Israeli elementary middle school teachers, focusing our analysis 10 teachers over 21.5 h. map relation requested action, to: (1) five levels determined behavior; (2) different modalities—verbal, body posture gestures, gaze, facial expressions; (3) duration. demonstrate potential framework advance interactions comparing: two same activity; three activities: whole‐class game playing, inquiry‐into‐practice. The reveals differences within between well activities, alignment modalities. discuss theoretical practical implications these findings how may be applied research.