Walking the Talk in Initial Teacher Education: Making Teacher Educator Modeling Effective

This self-study investigated student teachers' perceptions of teacher educators modeling practices within a large lecture class in an initial teacher education program. It also studied factors that affected student teachers' developing ideas and practice. Phase 1 collected data from student teachers through focus group interviews and course and teaching evaluations, as well as data from lecturers. Phase 2 collected further qualitative data from teacher educators to inform questions arising from Phase 1 findings. While student teachers' perceptions of critically reflective processes and teaching models modeled by lecturers were varied, they affirmed the positive value of lecturer modeling. Data highlighted gaps between lecturers' intentions and the student teachers' perceptions. Data confirm that effective modeling is difficult to achieve, particularly in large lectures. Student teachers were challenged by the demands of engaging critically with new content while also being attentive to modeling. Recommendations include explicitly unpacking our teaching practices, using training strategies to support student teachers in developing the ability to reflect critically, and increasing opportunities for student teachers to practice various teaching models and strategies.     

Contrasting Research Perspectives: What the evidence yields

This paper reviews pre-service elementary teachers' beliefs about mathematics and mathematics teaching and, learning from an earlier study of the mathematics methods course of a teacher education program, then overviews the data triangulation, and discusses the inconsistencies and contradictions in the data. Thus, the study offers further insight into the complexities of pre-service teachers' unwavering conceptions and their acquisition of innovative pedagogy. Questions emerged about the inconsistencies between what was said and what was done. For example, why were the pre-service teachers' responses in surveys and interviews inconsistent with their instructional behavior? Explanations to this and other questions are offered to shed some light on two of the most unsettling features of teacher education: changing pre-service teachers' beliefs and their learning of mathematics pedagogy.     

Teachers' approaches to teaching and responses to student evaluation in a problem‐based medical program

Teachers' approaches to teaching may influence the way they interpret and respond to student evaluations. In this article we explore the relationship between teachers' approaches to teaching and responses to qualitative student feedback in a problem‐based medical program. We asked all lecturers and theme session presenters in 2003 who had received student feedback comments in the past 2 years (N=121) to complete anonymously the Approaches to Teaching inventory (16 items) and an Approach to Feedback Inventory (14 items). Results were that most teachers report making changes to their teaching in response to students' suggestions at least sometimes. The types of change(s) teachers make are consistent with their approach. Teachers strong on a conceptual‐change student‐focussed (CCSF) approach are more responsive to feedback and positive about strategies for improving their teaching. To encourage teachers to use student feedback as a guide to improving their teaching, institutions may need to provide a systematic program of teacher education that focuses on teachers' conceptions, approaches and supports observation of exemplary practice.     

Student teachers in the contact zone: developing critical intercultural ‘teacherhood’ in kindergarten teacher education

This paper reports on the results of a narrative-grounded investigation ofstudent teachers' intercultural experiences and learning during their teaching practice. Our interest is in the meaning of the intercultural contact zone and how education for diversities is conceptualised and reflected upon in Finnish teacher education. Critical event narratives were collected from 10 kindergarten student teachers' teaching practice portfolios where the focus was on observing and reflecting on diversities in education. Theoretically, the study relies on Pratt's theory of contact zone. The methods and conditions for supporting student teachers' understanding of diversities in teacher education are discussed.     

From Behind the Pupil's Desk to the Teacher's Desk: A qualitative study of student teachers' professional learning in Hong Kong

This paper presents a qualitative study of student teachers' school-based learning in a teacher education program for secondary school teachers in Hong Kong. Learning to teach is examined through the lens of a personal-professional conceptualization of learning. An in-depth study of two cases of student teachers' professional learning is reported. Research methods used include interviewing, tape-recording supervisory meetings, field observation and document analysis. Through an inquiry into the individual's interaction with pre-training influences, the teacher education program and the teaching practice context in the two cases, this study extends our understanding of student teachers' professional learning in terms of the formation of the teaching self and the process of framing in the action and socio-professional contexts of teaching practice.     

Prospective teachers' initial conceptions about pupils' understanding of science and mathematics

Earlier reports have shown that prospective teachers' conceptions about teaching science to a high degree are resistant and do not change substantially during the teacher‐training programme. In our investigation we elucidate the prospective teachers' initial conceptions about pupils' understanding of science and mathematics. We applied ‘The Lesson Preparation Method' and used a phenomenographic approach in order to reveal the range of conceptions that the prospective teachers hold. A third of the prospective teachers did not consider pupils' conceptions when planning lessons. The rest of the 32 participants expressed awareness; some of the prospective teachers even referred to subject‐specific teaching experience. Also regarding the prospective teachers' conceptions about pupils' knowledge and beliefs, as well as about pupils' difficulties, there was a significant diversity. By raising these issues about pedagogical content knowledge the prospective teachers' conceptions can be extended and developed during the education.     

The Pedagogy of Assignments in Social Justice Teacher Education

This article examines the pedagogy of assignments in social justice teacher education programs. Employing a programmatic view, this study aims to understand the collective representation of social justice provided by assignments across multiple courses. Findings come from a qualitative case study of two social justice programs. Drawing on concepts from sociocultural theory and a theory of justice, this study reveals that the conceptions of justice assignments that were emphasized varied from a focus on the individual needs of students to an emphasis on the sociopolitical conditions of schooling. When assignments drew on teachers' field placement experiences, they overwhelmingly stressed an individualistic notion of justice. The diversity among students in teachers' placements substantially shaped teachers' opportunities to engage this notion. When assignments emphasized the sociopolitical conditions of schooling, they focused on general principles for teaching and were disconnected from teachers' field placement experiences. Implications for practice and research in social justice teacher education are considered.     

Broadening the lens: an investigation of student teachers' changing perceptions of pedagogy following a teaching placement in a primary school in mainland Europe

This paper presents the findings of an investigation of student teachers' changing perceptions of educational practice following a teaching placement in France, Germany, Spain and Italy. Up to 900 primary languages, student teachers annually have spent a 4-week teaching placement in a partner country as an integral part of their initial teacher education programme. The aims of the bilateral experience were to improve students' subject knowledge as well as to offer opportunities to enhance their professional understanding through comparing practice in two distinct cultural settings. This study draws from both qualitative and quantitative data gathered from 122 postgraduate certificate in education student teachers who were following the primary language route at Canterbury Christ Church University and Liverpool Hope University. The findings show that through reflection and analysis of the differences and commonalties in the diverse cultural contexts, students develop a greater understanding of their professional role and a deeper insight into their own values and beliefs about pedagogy. Their acceptance of taken-for-granted norms is challenged during the bilateral placement, as they encounter new approaches to differentiated learning, teaching and learning strategies and teacher/pupil relationships, thus enhancing their levels of critical engagement with educational practice.     

Teachers' conceptions of student learning and own learning

New learning theory, underpinning the idea of teaching for self-directed learning, provides new conceptions of learning: the self-regulation of learning, the construct-character of knowledge, the social nature of learning and a dynamic model of intelligence. What conceptions teachers hold may be related to their tolerance of uncertainty. We constructed a Learning Inventory and administered this to teachers in Dutch senior secondary education, where an innovation is heading for more independent learning. We found empirical confirmation of the five dimensions underlying teachers' conceptions of learning, both for student learning and for their own learning. Tolerance of uncertainty explained the other four dimensions in conceptions of student learning, but not in teachers' conceptions of their own learning. Teachers generally endorse the process-oriented conceptions, although some differences are noted between teachers' conceptions of student learning and their own learning.     

Examining the Challenges Early Childhood Teacher Candidates Face in Figuring Their Roles as Early Educators

Federal, state, and local policy makers' high-stakes standards-based accountability reforms are transforming the early childhood teacher education process. These reforms affect how early education teacher candidates figure their role as teachers. By employing Holland, Lachicotte, Skinner, and Cain's conception of figured worlds to analyze the findings of a qualitative case study, this article examines how three early childhood teacher candidates' figured conceptions of themselves as early educators evolve in high-stakes classrooms and teacher education environments. It also investigates how these candidates see themselves addressing these reforms in their own classrooms. Such a study not only further details the impact reforms have on preservice teachers' conceptions of teaching, but it also provides a chance for early childhood teacher educators to consider strategies they might employ to assist their candidates in developing a figured conception of teaching that addresses these reforms in an developmentally appropriate manner.     

Pre-service education and attitudes towards inclusion: the role of the teacher educator within a permeated teaching model

This study examines the role of teacher educators working within a permeated teaching model in Northern Ireland, and student teachers' attitudes towards special educational needs (SEN) and inclusion. A cohort of 125 student teachers representing eight subject areas responded to a survey exploring attitudes towards issues relating to inclusive education. Interviews conducted with the subject teacher educators examined their beliefs about inclusion, personal efficacy and the extent to which the outworking of a permeated model was an effective method of programme delivery. The findings indicate that while student attitudes towards the philosophy of inclusion were generally positive, those of the teacher educators were not necessarily reflected in the views of their subject group. The research evidenced a lack of uniformity in approach in promoting inclusion and inclusive practices across subjects, suggesting that the use of a permeated model did not always provide equity of student experience when selection of course content was the choice of the individual subject tutor. Teacher educators identified lack of personal knowledge, time restrictions within the pre-service programme and lack of resources as the main barriers to effective practice in supporting student teachers' learning in SEN and inclusion.     

Patterns of development in second-career teachers' conceptions of teaching and learning

This study was aimed at deepening our understanding of second-career teachers' conceptions of teaching and learning. Initial conceptions held by 207 candidates entering an alternative teacher education programme were explored using a semi-structured questionnaire covering background characteristics and four themes concerning teaching and learning. A limited number of distinct conceptions could be identified and related to respondents' background characteristics. After the first semester of the programme, three patterns of development were found in a subset of 69 participants: growth, consolidation and regression. Pedagogical implications for fostering growth in second-career teachers are discussed.     

Patterns of development in second-career teachers' conceptions of learning and teaching

This study was aimed at deepening our understanding of second-career teachers' conceptions of teaching and learning. Initial conceptions held by 207 candidates entering an alternative teacher education programme were explored using a semi-structured questionnaire covering background characteristics and four themes concerning teaching and learning. A limited number of distinct conceptions could be identified and related to respondents' background characteristics. After the first semester of the programme, three patterns of development were found in a subset of 70 participants: growth, consolidation and regression. Pedagogical implications for fostering growth in second-career teachers are discussed.     

Fast Kids,Slow Kids,Lazy Kids: Framing the Mismatch Problem in Mathematics Teachers' Conversations

Abstract

This article examines the social nature of teachers' conceptions by showing how teachers frame the “mismatch” of students' perceived abilities and the intended school curriculum through conversational category systems. This study compares the conversations of 2 groups of high school mathematics teachers addressing the Mismatch Problem when implementing equity-geared reforms. Although East High teachers challenged conceptions that were not aligned with a reform, South High teachers reworked a reform mandate to align with their existing conceptions. This research found that the teachers' conversational category systems modeled problems of practice; communicated assumptions about students, subject, and teaching; and were ultimately reflected in the curriculum. Because East High teachers supported greater numbers of students' success in advanced mathematics, this study considers the relation between teachers' understandings of student learning and the success of equity-geared math reforms. In addition, this study contributes to the understanding of how teacher conceptions of students are negotiated and reified in context, specifically through interactions with colleagues and experiences with school reform.     

Continuity and Discontinuity Between Training and School Experience: Follow-up Studies of Former Students of the Institute of Education

The present report is based on three pilot projects that aimed to explore and describe teachers' perceptions of their training and the transition experience of teachers in the shift from being a student on a teacher training programme to being a full-fledged teacher in the primary or secondary school. The three studies were prompted by the concern for a possible lack of fit, even under the best circumstances, between pre-service training and the work of a full-time teacher in a typical school. In the main, then, this report focuses on the continuity between campus-based training and teaching practice and full-time teaching experience.     

Teacher–Student Relationship Quality and Children's Bullying Experiences With Peers: Reflecting on the Mesosystem

Drawing from social–ecological systems theory, the authors argue that -current research on childhood bullying would benefit from analyses that consider the -mesosystem—specifically, how teacher–student relationships can influence -children's bullying experiences. The authors provide two theoretical conceptions for how children's peer interactions are implicitly shaped by teacher–student relationship quality: attachment and social referral. Implications for practice, with an emphasis on developing teachers' social–emotional competencies to strengthen positive teacher–student relationships, are proposed.     

The influence of core teaching conceptions on teachers' use of inquiry teaching practices

This article investigates three teachers' conceptions and use of inquiry‐based instructional strategies throughout a professional development program. The professional development program consisted of a 2‐week summer inquiry institute and research experience in university scientists' laboratories, as well as three academic year workshops. Insights gained from an in‐depth study of these three secondary teachers resulted in a model of teacher conceptions that can be used to direct future inquiry professional development. Teachers' conceptions of inquiry teaching were established through intensive case–study research that incorporated extensive classroom observations and interviews. Through their participation in the professional development experience, the teachers gained a deeper understanding of how to implement inquiry practices in their classrooms. The teachers gained confidence and practice with inquiry methods through developing and presenting their institute‐developed inquiry lessons, through observing other teachers' lessons, and participating as students in the workshop inquiry activities. Data analysis revealed that a set of four core conceptions guided the teachers' use of inquiry‐based practices in their classrooms. The teachers' conceptions of science, their students, effective teaching practices, and the purpose of education influenced the type and amount of inquiry instruction performed in the high school classrooms. The research findings suggest that to be successful inquiry professional development must not only teach inquiry knowledge, but it must also assess and address teachers' core teaching conceptions. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 44: 1318–1347, 2007     

A NEW LOOK AT PRESERVICE TEACHERS' CONCEPTIONS OF CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION: UNCOVERING COMPLEXITY AND DISSONANCE

This article examines preservice teachers' conceptions of classroom management and organization in light of their training and beliefs about good teaching. Students in their final year of a 5-year program discussed their definitions and conceptions of classroom management, organization, and rule systems through an open-ended questionnaire. Researchers analyzed responses using a grounded approach. Findings revealed a portrait of student perceptions more complex than those in previous studies, with conceptions often changing according to the nature of the question asked. Respondents exhibited a preoccupation with behavior management previously recognized in other studies; however, findings also revealed underlying conflicts between respondents' theoretical orientations and conceptions of management, a lack of attention to developing student independence, and a conceptual schism between organization and management. Findings suggest a need for teacher educators to clarify the role of management, clarify relationships between organization and management, and help students to bridge specific theory–practice gaps.