Transforming critical and participative teacher research into communicative action: a possible direction for teacher professional learning

ABSTRACT

This paper is an account of how a group of Japanese English language teachers, who questioned current teacher professional education and English language education reforms, learnt to challenge the dominant discourse and find ways of conducting more democratic teacher professional education. It describes how those teachers, including the author, generated a collective theory on communicative competence through the process of their inquiry. It explains how they came to appreciate the action research methodology used for this study, grounded in reflective practice, which in turn helped to develop the author’s understanding of second person action research. It also tells how the teachers learnt to take the initiative in communicating the thinking which informed their practices to others and began to engage in ‘communicative action’ As a result of these outcomes, the paper suggests a potential new form of teacher professional learning aimed towards more democratic relationships between participants. It is hoped that the implications of the research findings could contribute to broader discussions about policy pertaining to teacher professional development.     

Prospective and Mentor Teacher Perspectives on Co-learning Events

One response to the disconnect between principle-based university methods courses and practice-oriented elementary school classrooms has been to create co-learning spaces by bringing prospective teachers (PSTs), practicing mentor teachers (MTs), and teacher educators together to explore key ideas related to teaching and learning. The purpose of this study was to examine MTs’ and PSTs’ perspectives on their experiences in co-learning events designed to maximize co-construction of knowledge that might lessen the gap between theory and practice. Findings from the analysis of interviews with 16 PSTs and 22 MTs included numerous benefits of co-learning events, including opportunities for (a) MTs to learn about PSTs’ world and build relationships; (b) PSTs to learn from MTs’ practical knowledge; and (c) to foster diverse perspectives and mutually beneficial collaboration. Participants also described tensions related to positioning MTs and PSTs in collaborative roles. Implications for the design of co-learning events in teacher education are discussed.     

Preparing physical education preservice teachers to design instructionally aligned lessons through constructivist pedagogical practices

Examining how teacher education influences preservice teachers' (PSTs) application of content knowledge, decision making when planning for teaching, creation of innovative teaching practices and design of aligned instruction, has significant implications for understanding learning to teach. The purpose of this study was to explore the extent to which the constructivist pedagogies (e.g., interactive community discussions, problem solving, group challenges) employed by teacher educators through the implementation of a rich task (Macdonald, Hunter, & Tinning, 2007) assisted PSTs in their understanding and construction of knowledge about instructional alignment. Data collection employed rich tasks and focus-group interviews with a sample of 31 physical education teacher education (PETE) PSTs enrolled on a one-year Graduate Diploma Physical Education program. Data were analysed inductively (Patton, 1990) using the constant comparative method (Rubin & Rubin, 1995). Results revealed that PSTs varied in their articulation of the various elements of instructional alignment that were captured in the rich task. Through the use of such constructivist strategies as problem solving, group discussions, and critical friends, PSTs understood and valued the process of instructional alignment as they moved from feelings of fear and apprehension to being confident in their own development. Areas of strength and deficiency that were noted in the PSTs' attempts to design instructionally aligned lessons will guide the teacher educators in revising program components and their own practice.     

The centrality of Aboriginal cultural workshops and experiential learning in a pre-service teacher education course: a regional Victorian University case study

This paper discusses a cross-cultural pedagogical approach, couched in a theory–practice nexus, used at a Victorian regional university to guide non-Indigenous pre-service teachers’ (PSTs) engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives and cultures. We have drawn on qualitative and statistical data, and current issues in Australian and international literature, to explore the relevance and success suggested by data from this cross-cultural pedagogical approach, in particular the notion of teacher ethnicity in racialised spaces. In doing so, we have addressed recent sentiments about a lack of quantitative and qualitative research that explores inclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content and discussions of ways in which tertiary educators construct and influence teachings about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. It is anticipated that this paper will generate further dialogue and research-based evidence on ways in which other tertiary education providers may draw on cross-cultural theories to guide inclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content and perspectives in PST education courses.     

Learner engagement under the ‘regulatory gaze’: possibilities for re-positioning early childhood pre-service teachers as autonomous professionals

In a climate of increasing regulation within early childhood education and care services, and the greater re-positioning of professionals within public sectors, this article seeks to extend the literature surrounding risk and regulation in early childhood. In efforts to ‘push back’ against the ‘regulatory gaze’ in the early childhood education and care sector, we investigate the role that learner engagement in initial teacher education can play in empowering early childhood pre-service teachers (PSTs) as professionals. This question is explored in the reporting of the findings from an action research study which redesigned a semester-long teacher education topic to draw on the students’ self-knowledge, applied experience and content choice, to go beyond the meeting of minimum credential requirements. Data were derived from sequential student evaluations and topic coordinators’ reflections. Subsequent analysis highlights significant insights in relation to student-teachers’ understanding of professionalism and their role within the ECEC sector. The implications of this re-positioning of PSTs’ developing sense of professionalism amidst increasing regulation are discussed.     

An exploration for a critical practicum pedagogy: dialogical relationships and reflections among a group of student teachers

Student teachers’ potential to change and reflect on their activities can be positively influenced by the opportunities created in teacher education programs. This paper explores an educative opportunity with the researcher and his practicum advisees by facilitating a continuum of reflective school‐based activities through a dialogical relationship. The opportunities were sought through the researcher’s personal action research project during a practicum assignment at Haramaya University, Ethiopia, in the 2005/06 academic year. The action research was an exploratory practicum pedagogy in which the researcher, as a teacher educator practitioner, and eight student teachers as pedagogical and research participants, seized opportunities of collaboration and dialogical relationships. In the process, the participants examined pedagogical issues which emerged out of continuous and intimate discussions. Furthermore, the process affirmed the possibility of engaging educatively in contexts where resources are inadequately provided.     

Where are the “People Like me”?: A Collaborative Autoethnography of Transnational Lives and Teacher Education in the U.S.

ABSTRACT

Global multicultural teacher education courses and programs have made claims to offer Prospective Teachers (PSTs) a global understanding of diversity and multiculturalism. However, there is very little research that has examined the classroom experiences of PSTs and teacher educators. Drawing on a collaborative autoethnography, this article explores the ways our transnational identities shaped our experiences (as a PST and a teacher educator) in a global teacher education course focused on diversity and multiculturalism. We were guided by the following research question: How do we, as South Asian transnational migrants, experience the curriculum of a global multicultural education course in the United States? We found that the curricular nationalism within multicultural education courses often negates any critical engagement with the influence of transnationalism on immigrants and their educational experiences. Transnational migrants are expected to translate their experiences, cultural practices, and life ways to fit into the container of the U.S. nation-state. Furthermore, there was a visible absence of narratives and research about transnational lives and identities in the course curriculum. As teacher education programs prepare PSTs to enter classrooms with growing immigrant populations, it is important that we attend to this glaring gap in both practice and research.     

Use of self-determination theory to support basic psychological needs of preservice science teachers in an environmental science course

In this paper, we examine how the basic psychological needs of preservice science teachers (PSTs) were supported in a series of environmental science course activities informed by self-determination theory (SDT). We collected qualitative data about the PSTs’ sense of competence, autonomy, and relatedness through interviews, group discussions, assignments, and reflection papers. Data were analyzed in relation to the instructional design features of the course; namely, collective construction of ideas, student guided discussions, real life connection, and consistent group dynamics. Findings illustrate primary support for cognitive features, including, how course activities supported a sense of confidence in action, sense of self-initiation, awareness of personal role in the system, and awareness of environmental actions. Overall, results suggest that SDT can be effectively utilized as a framework for environmental education in courses designed to foster environmental self-determination and long-lasting pro-environmental behaviors.     

A portrait of academic life:

The process of constructing A Portrait of Academic Life web resource has included careful evidence gathering and analysis of student performance necessary to assess learning and give useful feedback to increase the students’ ability to use information effectively in education. The students, too, develop self-assessment and reflective skills as they create online research portfolios. The online resources model new technologyenhanced strategies for teaching and learning that support standards-based teacher education programs in higher institutions. Other artifacts contained in A Portrait of Academic Life include digital video vignettes of students actively completing course assignments and reflecting on the learning process, and instructor reflections on teaching strategies to improve learning outcomes. As a culminating course activity, students showcase their online research portfolios at a gallery walk. The students were tremendously excited to present the wealth of information they have so carefully collected using the powerful technology tools available for their use in the teacher education program at Towson University. The innovation and originality presented in the form of student online research portfolios offered fresh perspectives to the honored guests. Likewise, it will enormously help students and faculty to see examples of the process of transforming traditional research papers into rich, informative online research portfolios.     

What they notice in video: a study of prospective secondary mathematics teachers learning to teach

Most teacher preparation programs have embraced the use of video as an effective methodology for developing teachers’ noticing skills. This study focused on learning about what secondary mathematics prospective teachers (PSTs) were able to notice when viewing video of their own co-teaching, particularly in a microteaching setting that consisted of peers. PSTs documented their observations on an observation tool while re-watching their video and then identified and ranked their top three observations. The ranked noticing statements were analyzed based on a grounded theory approach. Overall, PSTs’ ranked observations were more likely to attend to students and had a strong focus on mathematics and student learning. Ranked observations equally demonstrated both broad and specific understanding of video moments and often made suggestions that something they noticed could be improved in the implementation stage, versus improvements in planning or changes in themselves. Results support PSTs’ use of video for developing noticing skills in teacher education programs.     

Bridging understanding between preservice teachers and diverse students through service-learning

This study examines the effectiveness of service-learning as a pedagogical approach that seeks to bridge the gap of understanding between predominantly White undergraduate preservice teachers (PSTs) and diverse students at a local elementary school. Analysis of ‘before’ and ‘after’ reflective papers and surveys from 23 PSTs enrolled in an entry-level education course as well as reflective letters from 41 fourth-grade students, revealed that prior to the project, PSTs feared that students’ language barriers or home circumstances might prohibit them from understanding or valuing the concepts introduced through the project. In PST ‘after’ reflections, PSTs expressed their new realizations that teaching is complex and requires careful preparation, that the children were ‘less different’ and more engaged than they expected, and that they can make a difference in children’s lives. Benefits to the children include development of new and usable social skills and an increase in their interpersonal confidence.     

Reflective Classroom Practice: case studies of student teachers at work

Abstract

This paper addresses the nature of reflective classroom practice in a setting where action research has been undertaken by both the student teachers and the teaching practice supervisor. It is based on a cross‐case study of the processes through which student teachers learn to teach. Specifically, the analysis focuses on how student teachers reflect on their experiences in learning to teach. The data are based on student teachers’ reported thoughts about their learning over a period of one year. The results contribute to the understanding of reflective classroom practice by highlighting first student teachers’ perceptions about learning to teach and second their reviews on classroom practice. The discussion also adds to the literature on teacher development taken from the novice‐expert research tradition. Accordingly, implications for curriculum development in teacher education are drawn.     

The battle for rap: problems and possibilities in teacher education

This qualitative study examined preservice teachers’ (PSTs’) ideas and beliefs regarding the use of rap for instructional purposes in P-12 classrooms, and the ways in which they proposed to use rap in the teaching of middle and high school social studies. Participants included the instructor of a social studies methods course, and thirteen PSTs enrolled in the course. The findings suggest that PSTs view rap as a phenomenon that must be approached in a careful manner, and that is best suited to content areas other than social studies. The findings also suggest that PSTs’ proposed uses of rap represent P-12 education as an uncritical, teacher-centric endeavor which serves to perpetuate the status quo.     

The Relationship between Pre-service Mathematics Teachers’ Focus on Student Thinking in Lesson Analysis and Lesson Planning Tasks

This study explored whether pre-service teachers’ (PSTs’) lesson analysis skills during a teacher education course in the country of Turkey were related to their skills of lesson planning. PSTs’ lesson analysis skills during fieldwork were assessed by their attention to and interpretation of student thinking and learning, and how it is influenced by the teachers’ instructional decisions. The PSTs’ lesson analysis scores were significantly and positively correlated with scores in lesson planning task focusing on student thinking. The findings contribute to the literature on whether PSTs’ lesson analysis skills may be transferred to one of the core activities of teaching.     

Learning in the practicum: engaging pre-service teachers in reflective practice in the online space

It is argued that online discussion is a useful tool for creating opportunities for learning in teacher education. In a project designed to improve the practicum in rural areas, researchers placed pre-service teachers (PSTs) in two different moderated online discussion forums: an unstructured personal blog space and a structured threaded discussion forum where discussion topics guided them to reflect on their practicum experiences in relation to theoretical components of their studies. Findings indicated a marked difference in the contributions made to each form of online discussion with significantly greater participation in the unstructured blog format. Using Kreber and Cranton’s hierarchy of reflection, analyses of both forums found that PSTs rarely engaged in high-level reflection. Examination of lecturer involvement in the forums suggests that their contributions did not sufficiently encourage PSTs towards optimum critical reflection. These results leave the researchers considering ways in which the practicum experience can better promote reflective practice in this crucial, component of teacher education.     

Action research in initial teacher education: an explorative study

The aim of the study was to describe students’ and teacher educators’ practical experience with action research and to identify a number of special points for consideration (opportunities and limitations) which could play a role in putting research into practice in concrete terms in the courses. Students and teacher educators on three Dutch initial teacher education programmes which treat action research as both a means of professional development and a necessary professional qualification were involved. These were programmes for specific teaching levels and subjects in Dutch schools. Four special points for consideration are identified: action research and the educational core qualifications of the profession; difference between action research by student teachers during their initial education and experienced teachers in their own workplace; students’ mixed experiences and perceptions of research; and embedded research‐based activities in the programme. The authors conclude that action research should be considered from different perspectives: as a professional approach, a body of skills that is needed to make the connection between knowing that and knowing why; and as a way of improving practice by systematically building up practice‐based knowledge.     

‘You never know what research is like unless you’ve done it!’ Action research to promote collaborative student-teacher research

In contrast with its high level of popularity in both research and practice for in-service teacher development, teacher research has received much less attention in pre-service language teacher education as a reflective learning approach, particularly in China’s context. Action research, as a major form of teacher research, has rarely been employed by teacher educators. This action research study undertaken by a teacher educator aimed to address this dual gap by examining the effect of collaborative research experience undertaken by a cohort of English as a foreign language pre-service teachers in China. Triangulated research methods were employed to gather two sets of data respectively reflecting the student-teachers’ views of their collaborative research and the teacher educator’s perceptions of the action research. It was found that both groups highly endorsed their research experience. Meanwhile, issues also arose in terms of the sustainability of such research experiences for both groups. The study highlights the necessity of incorporating collaborative student-teacher research and teacher educators’ action research into pre-service teacher education programmes, which entails the need to transform the existing foundationalist teacher education paradigm into a post-foundationalist paradigm, and to recognize teacher educators’ action research on pertinent issues in teacher education.     

Shifting Pre-Service Teachers’ Beliefs About Mathematics Teaching: the Contextual Situation of a Mathematics Methods Course

For pre-service teachers (PSTs) who have been exposed to traditional approaches, teacher education courses can be a revelatory experience in their development as educators. This study explores if Canadian upper elementary/lower secondary (grades 4–10) PSTs change their beliefs about mathematics teaching as a result of taking a mathematics methods course and how the course influenced these beliefs. Surveys were used to measure participants’ mathematics beliefs, and results show that PSTs’ beliefs moved to favor reform-based approaches. Qualitative data complemented the survey results, suggesting that experiencing new approaches and having the opportunity to apply them into practice are important to their development as mathematics teachers.