Balancing fidelity with agency: professional development of highly accomplished teachers

Highly accomplished teachers (HATs) demonstrate skilled and sophisticated practice, spending less time on classroom management issues and more time engaging student learning. Literature on professional development (PD) often assumes success should be measured by teachers adopting the PD, paying insufficient attention to teacher agency. This study investigated nine HATs who participated in a PD program. We identified a continuum of ways they applied, adapted, and amplified the PD ideas in their contexts. We argue that features of PD models such as linearity and implementation fidelity do not recognize how HATs assert agency. The design, implementation, and evaluation of PD programs need to address how HATs are likely to respond; balancing fidelity with agency.