The Impact of a Pedagogy of Teacher Education Seminar on Educator and Future Teacher Educator Identities

Educators require support as they move from classroom to higher education settings. This collaborative self-study provides insight into one such support space, a doctoral seminar titled Pedagogy of Teacher Education, and how our identities as educators and future teacher educators developed through participation in the course. Several important themes emerged as we negotiated and adopted new identities as educators, and future teacher educators and researchers. These themes include our development of a collaborative mindset, a teacher educator-researcher perspective, and a critical self-awareness. The findings draw on our professional and personal histories to explore the prominent features that influenced and shaped our identities as educators and future teacher educator-researchers. In sharing our development as educators and future teacher educators, this article provides insights into the ways in which doctoral students in education begin to develop their identities and pedagogies through guided support from more experienced teacher educators.     

Understanding the Complexity of Becoming a Teacher Educator: Experience,belonging, and practice within a professional learning community

This article reports a literature review of self-studies by beginning teacher educators examining their experiences of the transition from classroom teaching to teacher educator. The authors conclude that becoming a teacher educator involves several complex and challenging tasks: examining beliefs and values grounded in personal biography, including those associated with being a former schoolteacher; navigating the complex social and institutional contexts in which they work; and developing a personal pedagogy of teacher education that enables construction of a new professional identity as a teacher educator. This research provides beginning teacher educators with a reference point for understanding their personal and professional transition to university-based teacher education. It also provides teacher education faculty and administrators with key information about how the transition from teacher to teacher educator can be supported and enhanced within professional learning communities.     

Becoming a Teacher Educator: A Self-Study of the Use of Inquiry in a Mathematics Methods Course

This article details the self-study of a beginning teacher educator in her first experience in teaching a mathematics methods course. The transition from teacher to teacher educator is explored through the experience of a course focused on inquiry. Inquiry is embedded within the course from two perspectives: mathematical inquiry and teaching as inquiry. The framework of teaching as inquiry is an important part of both the self-study and the mathematics methods course. Implications of the transition from teacher to teacher educator as well as the role of inquiry in mathematics teacher education are discussed.     

A Topography of Collaboration: Methodology,identity and community in self-study of practice research

Through the use of the metaphoric tool of topography, two educational researchers explore the development of their understanding of collaboration in self-study of teacher education practices research. The researchers communicate their perceptions through the presentation of four topographic moments. Each topographic moment is represented by a poem and the analysis of the poem. The four moments explored include the self in collaboration, the positioning of the self and the other on the landscape of collaboration, the way in which collaboration impacts research methodology, and the role of representation and community. The poems stand as landscape markers used to metaphorically capture and communicate the authors' understandings. The way in which collaboration influences the layers of methodology contributes to the identity of teacher educator/researchers and establishes a community of scholarship in self-study research.     

Spatialised metaphors of practice: how teacher educators engage with professional standards for teachers

Pre-service teacher educators, both nationally and internationally, must negotiate a plethora of expectations including using Professional Standards to enhance teacher quality. In Australia, the recent Teacher Education Ministerial Advisory Group (TEMAG) report highlighted weak application of Standards in Initial Teacher Education (ITE). However, recent reports suggest that many education stakeholders feel positive about the implementation of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APSTs). This study responds to these differing viewpoints by exploring how teacher educators in a large metropolitan university in Australia account for the use of Standards in their work. Discourse analysis techniques in conjunction with socio-spatial theory make visible particular metaphors of practice as teacher educators negotiate the real-and-imagined spaces of regulated teacher education programmes. The findings highlight the importance of investigating the utility of Standards in the lived experiences of teacher educators, as they are responsible for preparing quality, classroom ready graduates.     

Developing a Vision of Teacher Education: How my classroom teacher understandings evolved in the university environment

Drawing on my experiences as a former classroom teacher making the transition to teacher education, this study examines how my vision of teacher education developed over the course of my first three years as a graduate teaching assistant in a social studies education program in the United States. A qualitative self-study methodology was used to identify and describe sources of tension and growth that contributed to the evolution of my classroom teacher understandings as I forged a distinct vision for teacher education. My vision of teacher education was informed by completing graduate coursework, engaging in the work of teacher education, interacting and collaborating with peers, and studying my practice as it developed and unfolded. Throughout the article, I discuss the potential of self-study methodology to encourage new teacher educators to examine both the features and motivations behind their practice, as well as the effects of this examination on the development of a vision of teacher education.     

Responding to the Challenges Posed by Summative Teacher Candidate Evaluation: A collaborative self-study of practicum supervision by faculty

In our pre-service department, university practicum supervisors are faculty members who offer academic, social, and personal support to teacher candidates during their year-long program. Their role is described as one designed primarily to provide formative assessment and feedback to improve classroom practice and reflection on practice. This collaborative self-study describes how two new faculty members responded to the challenges posed by the teacher candidate evaluation process. Methods used included formal tape-recorded discussions during meetings of the self-study group of newly hired faculty, email correspondence, field notes, feedback from public forums about our work, and teacher candidate insights concerning the practicum evaluation process conducted by faculty. New strategies were developed to address the tensions associated with using summative evaluations in a formative framework and to improve practice during faculty practicum supervision.     

Challenges in Enacting Core Practices in Language Teacher Education: A Self-Study

In this study, I explore my practices as a teacher educator in one course both before and after returning to the K–12 classroom to teach secondary language learners for one academic year. By examining the intersection of self-study and practice-based teacher education, I illustrate how I used self-study as a mechanism for innovation and change and focus on the challenges I encountered in implementing the use of practice-based education in my work as a teacher educator. Qualitative data analysis revealed that in redesigning my approach to my course, I stopped short of my goals to make the course more practice-centered. Although I provided students with many opportunities to practice planning, I did not provide enough focused opportunities to practice implementation and to participate in giving and receiving feedback. I learned that engaging teachers in practice-based teaching requires teacher educators to be both specific and deliberate in setting their own purposes for establishing the centrality of practice in their courses and to explain these clearly to teacher candidates. Further work in which teacher educators study their use of practice-based pedagogy would benefit from using a self-study lens. Other researchers are urged to add to the limited body of research about the use of practice-based pedagogy with teachers of language learners, particularly English language learners.     

Teacher collaborative inquiry in the context of literacy education: examining the effects on teacher self-efficacy,instructional and assessment practices

This case study research reports on elementary (grade 8) and secondary school (grade 9) teachers’ participation in job-embedded, professional learning and engagement in collaborative inquiry. Teachers constructed an inquiry-oriented media literacy unit following the collaborative inquiry model. The current study sought to investigate how collaborative inquiry influenced their self-efficacy in literacy instruction, instructional and assessment practices. Qualitative data sources included researchers’ anecdotal notes, teacher interviews, and professional learning blog conversations. Inductive analyses of the data generated six major themes comprising enhancements to teachers’ literacy instructional and assessment practices, which were evident in their adoption of the backward-design model, use of success criteria, and greater emphasis on diagnostic and formative assessment. With respect to teachers’ self-efficacy, data analyses also revealed increased levels of intrinsic motivation, professional satisfaction, and reflective practice. This study provides evidence for the transformative potential and characteristics of school-based teacher collaborative inquiry and the resultant impacts on teacher learning.     

Developing an appreciation of what it means to be a school-based teacher educator

The nature of partnership between schools and higher education institutions is changing in many countries, with experienced teachers taking on more responsibility for teacher education whilst remaining in their school as teachers, rather than entering the higher education sector to become teacher educators. This research considers the perspectives of these school-based teacher educators (SBTEs) in England, exploring the impact that this role has on them, their student-teachers and their schools. Some benefits and challenges that they face in the dual role of teacher and teacher educator are revealed. The research takes an interpretive perspective, listening to the meanings being constructed by the participants through use of a questionnaire, semi-structured interviews and a focus group of student-teachers who learned from these SBTEs. Possible impacts on student-teachers’ learning and implications for the development of high-quality teacher education are examined.     

Facilitating Professional Development during International Practicum: Understanding our Work as Teacher Educators through Critical Incidents

This collaborative self-study details the experiences of an Australian teacher educator and a Canadian teacher educator, who led teacher candidates on international practicum placements to the Cook Islands and Kenya respectively. Focusing on critical incidents, they collaboratively analyzed dilemmas that occurred when providing professional development sessions for local teachers during these placements. These dilemmas required the teacher educators to think deeply about their beliefs and practices in these contexts. Findings from the study included the teacher educator’s tendency to make assumptions about good teaching and learning practices that were reflective of their personal pedagogical values and beliefs; their discomfort with their perceptions of some neo‐colonial practices within these international practicum sites and uncertainty about how to navigate the resultant tensions; and, the need to view the work of teacher educators though a new cultural lens when working in transnational contexts. Implications for teacher educators working with local hosting teachers during international placements include the need to understand and acknowledge the complexity of this dimension of teacher educators’ work, and for teacher educators to engage in parallel learning journeys with the teacher candidates they accompany. This involves critically reflecting on the experiences, assumptions, and beliefs that they bring to their new contexts, as well as adopting a global perspective and a deep consciousness of how one is perceived by others who are culturally, racially, or linguistically different.     

Evidence of efficacy of the Integrated Literacy Study Group professional learning program to enhance reading instruction for students with emotional and behavioral disorders

This article reports on a pilot study of the Integrated Literacy Study Group, a digitally delivered professional learning intervention to prepare elementary school teachers to provide evidence-based reading instruction and behavioral strategies to students with or are at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders. Using broadcast methods, we recruited 72 teachers across five states in the western United States to participate in the randomized controlled trial. Intervention teachers, relative to controls, made significant gains in self-efficacy and use of the reading and behavioral strategies learned in the professional learning program. Students with or at risk of emotional and behavioral disorders served by participating teachers made significant improvements in academic competence and engagement. Teacher professional learning can improve teacher knowledge of evidence-based reading and behavioral strategies for students with (or at risk for) emotional and behavioral disorders, teacher self-efficacy, and teacher practice, with positive impacts on student early literacy and academic competence.     

对当前我国教师教育中存在的“钟摆”倾向的反省

教师学习是教师基于发展这一目的而对外在教育经验、观念的吞吐、适用和整合活动。在当前,一种以教师个体、经验、实践为本的教师学习观大有主宰我国教师教育主流之势,导致了"钟摆"倾向的产生。教师的发展需要教育理论,需要教师教育者,需要接受学习。从内因与外因间的互动转生关系出发,重建"教师学习"概念,是我国教师教育实践走出钟摆困境的应然出路。     

Adaptive capacity in the Pacific region: a study of continuous professional development for in-service teachers in Kiribati

This study of I-Kiribati secondary school teachers used a project-based approach to investigate the notions of school-based and collaborative learning as a suitable model for in-service teacher continuous professional development (CPD). The design and methodology adopted by the study framed the argument that since collaborative behavior is integral in Kiribati and Pacific community daily life it could be a suitably applied in the workplace to promote effective learning. At the same time the study was designed to investigate a system of learning for teachers in Kiribati that would address their needs, in particular being school-based. The study revealed that cultural influences in Kiribati such as: the role of leaders, respect for elders and secret knowledge have a strong influence on teacher behavior both inside and outside the classroom. The recommendations concur with research literature that suggests developing effective policy and practices in the Pacific region must be driven by and strongly reflect cultural practices, values and beliefs. Importantly, the notion that some cultural practices may conflict when applied in different settings provides an added dimension to the body of literature.     

Culturally Responsive Pedagogy in Higher Education: A Collaborative Self-Study

In this article we discuss findings from a collaborative self-study of how seven teacher educators define, enact, and navigate their roles as culturally responsive educators across various programs within a higher education institution. All participants conducted an individual interview with another team member and engaged in prolonged team meetings in order to understand and conceptualize culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP). Findings include the participants' difficulty with defining CRP in higher education; the importance of modeling and building relationships with students when enacting CRP; tensions related to students and institutions; and professional and personal opportunities to continuously evolve. The findings begin to fill in a void for an articulated framework of CRP beyond P-12 classrooms and illustrate the type of support and professional development higher education institutions need to provide for teacher educators to actualize this work.     

Enriching a collaborative teacher inquiry discourse: exploring teachers’ experiences of a theory-framed discourse in a Singapore case of lesson study

This paper explores how a learning theory enriched a collaborative teacher inquiry discourse where lesson study was adopted as the educational action research model to promote teacher professional development. Four Grade 9–10 biology teachers in Singapore drew from variation theory to collaboratively plan and teach new genetics content as part of teacher research. As a researcher-facilitator, I have drawn from the teachers’ experiences of infusing variation theory into their teaching practice, of developing their own theories of teaching and learning, and of developing student-focused pedagogies to highlight the roles variation theory played. These included providing concrete examples of patterns of variations teachers could use, increasing the teachers’ attention and sensitivity to students, and developing the teachers’ theoretical lens in their approach to teaching. Reflecting on the teachers’ experiences, I made an appeal for teachers’ development of theoretical lenses in teacher inquiry, and bridging of theory and research to teaching practice.     

What’s in a name: dimensions of social learning in teacher groups

Induced by a literature review, this paper presents a framework of dimensions and indicators highlighting the underpinning aspects and values of social learning within teacher groups. Notions of social networks, communities of practice and learning teams were taken as the main perspectives to influence this social learning framework. The review exercise resulted in four dimensions: (1) practice, (2) domain and value creation, (3) collective identity and (4) organization. The indicators corresponding to these dimensions serve as the foundation for understanding social learning in practice. The framework of dimensions and indicators can be of assistance for researchers as well as teacher groups that aim to assess their views on social learning and analyse whether these views fit the learning goals of the group or that adjustments are required. In this way, learning processes within groups of teachers can be improved.     

Self-study of a Professional Organization in Pursuit of a Shared Enterprise

This study examines the work of the Self-Study of Teacher Education Practices special interest group of the American Educational Research Association from the perspectives of its members with a focus on its development, scholarship, mentorship, practice, and community, and with the major goal of informing its future work. The nested multi-layered research design, framed in sociocultural theory, was enacted in collaboration with an internationally and multidisciplinary diverse group of members over a two-year period. A five-phase research process entailed use of multiple data sources and methods, and researchers with multiple levels of analysis and interpretation. Findings indicate that a sense of community, a nexus of personal and professional development, and collective shaping and engagement are important components for growth despite challenges encountered. The study may be useful to other professional organizations interested in self-review and the sustainability of their organization.