The purpose of this ethnographic study of a five-week long Summer Institute of the South Coast Writing Project was to develop grounded theoretical constructs about how what counted as teacher professional development was socially constructed and situationally defined by the members of this writing project culture. This dissertation builds on research that views classrooms as cultures (Collins & Green, 1990; 1992; Green, Kantor, & Rogers, 1991) and extends the research on the social construction of knowledge (Brilliant-Mills, 1993; Floriani, 1993; Heras, 1993; Lin, 1993; Santa Barbara Classroom Discourse Group), by conceptualizing teacher professional development as a process that occurs as teachers interact with others and materials over time (Marshall, 1995).

By conducting an interactional ethnographic study of the Summer Writing Project Institute utilizing an interactive-responsive approach (Spradley, 1980; Zahaerlick & Green, 1991) for collecting and analyzing the data, this study explored how discourse practices form the basis for teacher professional development. Analysis made visible the way the continuity of events and the social interactions that made up these events provided members with opportunities for professional development.

The analyses presented further suggested that only by focusing on professional development over time can researchers begin to understand the intertextual and intercontextual nature of professional development. These constructs provide the base for a professional development continuum, which is not only longitudinal and lateral, but as analyses showed, circular, because of the reflexive nature of social interaction. It was through talk that opportunities for development were created, roles and relationships were established, and what counted as professional development in this community was defined.

This study contributes to the understanding of how those interested in providing transformative professional development opportunities for teachers can construct these opportunities over time and how these opportunities shape and are shaped by the discourse system of the culture. Implications for theory and research on professional development are discussed.