Facilitating Demonstration and Simulation in Practice-based Professional Development

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This paper examines the learning process of facilitators engaging in a practice-based professional development (PD) called StoryCircles facilitator training. We observed the language used by facilitators when engaging in a demonstration1) of practice in which another facilitator leads a group of secondary mathematics teachers engaged in StoryCircles PD to consensus. Subsequently, facilitators simulate the role of teachers in StoryCircles PD to anticipate challenges they, as facilitators, may face. By analyzing facilitators' collective dialogue across the different practice-based approaches within the StoryCircles facilitator training, we highlight the adoption of others' roles within the PD context and facilitators' understanding of their own roles as a result. Findings indicate that the demonstration of a facilitator's practice was a context in which facilitators developed an understanding of their own responsibilities. Meanwhile, simulating the participants' practices allowed facilitators to better understand the role of the facilitator from the demonstration of practice, as they navigated the potential tensions arising from teachers adopting practices that facilitators deemed less desirable. This paper highlights how such situated practice-based learning experiences may be associated with facilitators' perceptions of their roles within the StoryCircles framework, offering insights into the intricacies of PD facilitator training and practice.