Hilda Borko

Professional Title
Professor
Organization/Institution
About Me (Bio)
Hilda Borko is the Charles E. Ducommun Professor of Education in the Graduate School of Education at Stanford University. She received her BA in psychology, her MA in philosophy education, and her PhD in educational psychology from the University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Borko’s research explores teacher cognition and instructional practices, the process of learning to teach, the impact of teacher professional development programs on teachers and students, and educational Research-Practice Partnerships. Dr. Borko served as President of the American Educational Research Association (2003-2004) and as a member and chair of various committees for the American Educational Research Association, Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators, and Educational Psychology Division of the American Psychological Association. Dr. Borko is a member of the National Academy of Education where she served on the NAEd Board of Directors (2016-2020), and was chair of the National Academy of Education/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship Selection Committee (2010-2012). She was editor of the teaching, learning, and human development section of the American Educational Research Journal, interim editor (with Lorrie Shepard) of Educational Researcher, and editor of Journal of Teacher Education (with Jennie Whitcomb and Dan Liston). She is the 2014 recipient of the Excellence in Scholarship in Mathematics Teacher Education Award, Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators. Dr. Borko is principal investigator (with Janet Carlson) on “A Research-Practice Partnership to Develop Math Professional Development Leaders and Build District Capacity”, a Research-Practice Partnership to build and study a school district’s capacity to conduct school-based mathematics professional development; and “A Partnership to Adapt, Implement and Study a Professional Learning Model and Build District Capacity to Improve Science Instruction and Student” (with Jonathan Osborne) a Collaborative Research project in partnership with Craig Strang and Emily Weiss an Craig Strang at the Lawrence Hall of Science to adapt their previously designed professional learning model, build the capacity of teacher leaders and a program coordinator at a local school district to implement the adapted professional learning program, and study the process and outcomes of the project. Her recently completed projects include “Researching the Efficacy of the Science & Literacy Academy Model” (with Jonathan Osborne), a Collaborative Research project in partnership with Craig Strang and Emily Weiss at the Lawrence Hall of Science, to study the effectiveness of an innovative model of science PD developed by LHS, for improving discourse and inquiry in science classrooms and students’ science learning outcomes. With Jennifer Jacobs (University of Colorado, Boulder) and Karen Koellner (Hunter College), she also recently completed “Toward a Scalable Model of Mathematics Professional Development: A Field Study of Preparing Facilitators to Implement the Problem-Solving Cycle,” a NSF-funded research project to field-test their Problem-Solving Cycle professional development program for middle school mathematics teachers.
Stanford University
10/01/2017

This project will work in partnership with the Santa Clara Unified School District (SCUSD) to adapt a previously designed Professional Learning (PL) model based on the District's objectives and constraints to build the capacity of teacher leaders and a program coordinator to implement the adapted PL program. The project is examining the sustainability and scalability of a PL model that supports the development of teachers' pedagogical content knowledge and instructional practices. The project is contributing knowledge about how to build capacity in districts to lead professional learning in science that addresses the new teaching and learning standards and is responsive to the needs of their local context.

University of Cincinnati (UC)
08/15/2010

Twelve fifth and sixth grade science teacher specialists and their students in a high needs district in Ohio are engaged in a design-based research project within a three-year professional development effort with faculty in several departments at the University of Cincinnati to study how the engineering design process can be used effectively as a pedagogical strategy in science instruction to improve student interest, learning and skill development.

Stanford University
01/01/2015

This project will work with middle school mathematics teachers in San Francisco Unified School District to develop their capacity to conduct professional development for the teachers in their schools. A central goal of this project is to develop models and resources for effective professional development and preparation of professional development leaders in mathematics with special attention to students who are English language learners.

Stanford University
08/15/2012

This project is studying three models of professional development (PD) to test the efficacy of a practicum for grade 3-5 in-service teachers organized in three cohorts of 25. There will be 75 teachers and their students directly impacted by the project. Additional impacts of the project are research results and professional development materials, including a PD implementation guide and instructional videos.

University of Colorado Boulder
10/01/2007

The study includes two and a half years of preparation and support for all the mathematics instructional leaders (ILs) within a large urban school district with a substantial minority student enrollment. These ILs will implement the Problem-Solving Cycle model with the mathematics teachers in their schools. Researchers will analyze the preparation and support that ILs need, the quality of their implementation, and the impact of the PD process on ILs, teachers, and students.