Barbara Brown

Professional appointment:  Associate Professor

Professional profile: Barbara Brown is an Associate Professor in the Werklund School of Education at the University of Calgary. Her research program aims to advance the fields of learning sciences and school leadership by investigating how technology-enhanced learning environments and leadership practices can support teaching and learning in K-12 schools and postsecondary contexts. Her work is grounded in participatory methodologies with a focus on instructional design, policy implementation, and impact of digital pedagogies on teacher education, teacher leadership, and online learning. A signature contribution of her research program is an innovative model of design-based professional learning (DBPL), underpinned by research-practice partnerships that support teacher learning and leadership. She served as associate dean, teaching and learning for five years and has been recognized with multiple awards in teaching, leadership and service. 

Areas of scholarship: 

• Action research, design-based research, case studies, and mixed-methods approaches in educational contexts

• Design-based professional learning interventions

• Research–practice partnerships with school practitioners, school systems and ministries

• Teacher leadership in K-12 schools

• Policy implementation - professional practice standards and ICT 

• Technology-enhanced learning, digital pedagogies, and instructional design in K-12 and higher education, online learning, open education, generative artificial intelligence (AI) in education

Teaching foci:  

• Teacher Education

• Design-Based Professional Learning

• Design-based Research

• Trends in Digital Learning

• Learning Sciences

Selected publications: 

Friesen, S. & Brown, B. (2024). Knowledge brokering pivotal in professional learning: Quality use of research contributes to teacher-leaders’ confidence. Frontiers in Education, 9, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2024.1430357

Friesen, S.& Brown, B. (2023). Engaging in educational research-practice partnerships: Guided strategies and applied case studies for scholars in the field. Routledge. 

Brown, B., & Friesen, S. (2023). An examination of teacher leaders and a shared leadership approach: Contributions to school improvement in a school district. Asia Pacific Journal of Educators and Education, 38(2), 249–273. https://doi.org/10.21315/apjee2023.38.2.13

Friesen, S. & Brown, B. (2022). Teacher leaders: Developing collective responsibility through design-based professional learning. Teaching Education, 33(3), 254-271. https://doi.org/10.1080/10476210.2020.1856805 

Brown, B. (2021). Research-practice partnerships in education: Benefits for researchers and practitioners. Alberta Journal of Educational Research, 64(4). 421-441. https://doi.org/10.11575/ajer.v67i4.70073  

Degrees:  

PhD, University of Calgary

M.Ed., University of Alberta

BEd. University of Lethbridge

Email address: babrown@ucalgary.ca 

ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6862-4157