Making the Most of the Unknown Language Experience: Pathways for reflective teacher development

ABSTRACT

The applied science view of teacher learning has been criticised as leaving teachers unprepared to face the messy complexity of educational problems. A reflective approach based on an epistemological view of practical rationality has been recommended instead. In this paper the authors reflect on their experience as teachers of an English didactics course based on a psychopedagogical content knowledge approach in a teacher education programme at the University of Aveiro, Portugal. They consider the applied science paradigm and the reflective approach views as complementary rather than dichoto‐mous and stress the role of cognitive flexibility in preparing teachers to cope with novel situations.     

Pre-service teachers undertaking classroom research: developing reflection and enquiry skills

This paper reports on the development of reflectiveness and research skills in eight pre-service teachers, through their participation in a funded research project to develop the handwriting of children with literacy problems. The project aimed to analyse the reflections of the trainee teachers participating in an authentic research study and to consider what this reflection on practice might offer to the education of teachers in the current UK training context. The context for the paper was a project which engaged pre-service trainee teachers in researching the proposition that automaticity in handwriting plays a role in facilitating composing processes and that the automaticity of early writers can be trained. Some outcomes of the project for pupils are reported. The focus in the present paper is, however, on the participating trainee teachers and the paper suggests that conducting research was a significant learning event for these pre-service teachers and that, through working together, they were able to analyse their development as researchers and their learning during the research process. At a time when the English government views teacher training as a method of school improvement and the effectiveness of training is measured through its immediate impact on pupil outcomes, this study offers an example of how shared research can offer positive learning outcomes for pupils, develop the reflective thinking of pre-service teachers through researching a real problem, and develop links across a range of school and university settings.     

How front-end loading contributes to creating and sustaining the theory-practice gap in higher education programs

In this paper, I show how Mead’s theory of emergence can prove explanatory in how the theory-practice gap is co-created and sustained in front-end loading university programs. Taking teacher education as an exemplar, I argue that trainee teachers encounter different and oft-times conflicting environmental, social and cultural conditions in the two ‘fields of interaction’ of their training program, namely, the on-campus pre-service program and the in-school experience. The argument draws on interview and focus group data collected via a study of first-year graduate teachers of an Australian pre-service teacher education program. My conclusions are two-fold. First, I argue that role taking and self-regulated behaviour within the two environmental fields of interaction in front-end loading programs inhibit the trainee professional from exercising the power of agency to implement theory learned at university in practice in the workplace. Second, I conclude that Mead’s theory of emergence proves effective in predicting the obduracy of the gap between theory and practice in front-end programs.     

反思性教师培训中的问题及其对策的思考

反思性教师培训由于其能够使教师获得新的教学观念及持续的专业发展而被国际教育界广为推崇。对由于教师反思视野狭隘、反思深度不够与意志不坚等原因，教师在参与反思性教师培训的过程中出现的“反思虽行，观念不改”、“视野封闭，观念难新”、“观念虽新，能力不变”等问题进行了分析，并针对以上问题提出了若干相应的策略。     

职前教师本体性反思能力培养的必要性与可能性

培养职前教师的反思能力已经成为世界各国教师教育的一项重要任务。然而,许多教师职前培养计划更多地关注职前教师工具性反思能力的培养,而忽视本体性反思能力的培养。这在一定程度上造成了在职前阶段所形成的反思能力很难成为促进教师发展的持久动力。因此,对在职前教育阶段培养职前教师工具性反思能力的局限性和培养其本体性反思能力的必要性与可能性进行探讨就显得很有必要。     

Making connections: a conference approach to developing transformative environmental and sustainability education within initial teacher education

Abstract

Children today face significant challenges in response to living in a globalised world and the predicted environmental threats to the planet. However, implementing environmental and sustainability education (ESE) within schools can be complex and is often ignored within initial teacher education (ITE). In response, this project aimed to evaluate pedagogies for developing transformative learning for ESE within the context of university-based ITE. We ran a conference for trainee teachers informed by critical, participatory and arts-based pedagogic approaches. Alongside this, we undertook an interpretive case study, collecting data through questionnaires, focus groups and in-conference spoken reflection. Findings suggest trainee teachers gained a more nuanced understanding of the value and nature of ESE, as well as more affective and informed engagement with it, across the conference. Implications for ESE within ITE focus around the potential of pedagogies which provide affective experiences, in particular participatory and arts-based pedagogical approaches, for inspiring and empowering trainee teachers to enter into schools and develop their own ESE practice as classroom teachers.     

荷兰现实主义教师教育实习模式探究

教师的教育实习,作为联系教师教育中的理论学习与未来教学实践的重要纽带,是教师教育课程中的必要组成部分,也是教师的专业社会化与专业发展的关键阶段。荷兰乌特勒支大学的"现实主义"教师教育实习模式,以傅乐的教师关注理论为基础,重视教育实习与理论学习的紧密融合,大学与中小学指导教师的合作督导,以及实习教师的反思能力的培养等,这些对我国的教师教育实习都会有所启示与借鉴。     

Students’ conceptions of knowledge,the role of the teacher and learner as important factors in a didactic school reform

In the first part of this paper, conceptions of trainee teachers are defined, together with their importance for the process of teacher education. Many studies concerning teacher conceptions and models of teacher development show that the conceptions of instruction, knowledge, and teacher and learner roles are a key part of the teacher’s professional equipment. They affect his/her thinking, experiences and actions, and thus directly determine the quality of instruction and the teacher’s professional growth. The Slovene school system has been undergoing many changes in the past decade. The success of the reforms largely depends on the way teachers perceive knowledge and other basic educational categories. The purpose of the present study was to identify the conceptions of knowledge, teacher and learner roles held by the student teachers in primary education at the beginning of their professional training. Numerous categorizations of these conceptions were reviewed to form a four‐tiered hierarchic taxonomy of conception categories, ranging from teacher and content centred to learner and learning centred. The study shows that trainee teachers largely hold conceptions typical of the transmission model of education. The key question arising from this is how to shift the students’ conceptions towards a modern, cognitive‐constructivist model of education, which is an important basis for the didactic reform of the Slovene school system.     

Becoming Science Teachers: an evaluation of the initial stages of primary teacher training

This 3‐year evaluation study explores the development of trainee primary teachers’ attitudes toward the teaching and learning of science during the early stages of their professional education. We demonstrate that science is, for many students, a potentially problematic area of the curriculum in which their past learning experiences are particularly prominent in the development of negative attitudes and feelings of apprehension towards the subject. Through a combination of questionnaire data and reflective writing, origins of attitude development and the impact of both course provision and teaching practice are explored at depth. A dichotomy between student expectation and experience of science teaching is demonstrated and the implications of this are examined with respect to the nature of teacher education, course provision and primary partnership initiatives currently being developed between higher education and primary schools.     

A closer look at the role of mentor teachers in shaping preservice teachers' professional identity

This paper focuses on the extent to which mentoring relationships played a role in creating changes in the professional identity of seven preservice teachers. Semi-structured interviews, observations and reflective journals were used to document the changes experienced by participants as they went through their two placements during their one-year teacher education course. The data indicated that when the mentoring relationships were positive and expectations were met, preservice teachers felt more confident as a teacher. However, for some participants, who experienced a partially negative mentoring relationship, their confidence declined and they felt they did not improve. Implications for practice are discussed.     

Implementing a new science National Curriculum for England: how trainee teachers see the How Science Works strand in schools

This article reports empirical work conducted by three university teacher education providers into how a major revision of the science curriculum in England, the How Science Works strand, has been translated into practice for 14–16 year olds in schools. Data were collected from pre-service teachers about their understanding, experiences, perceived challenges and resourcing of How Science Works during their final school experience. The results indicate that implementation of How Science Works in schools lies on a spectrum between two extremes referred to as creative implementation and restricted implementation; a recognition that success with this new approach requires a fuller engagement in higher order thinking skills; and that the importance of differentiation is paramount if all pupils are to connect with the new curriculum. The article concludes that support is needed for major transitions in pedagogy with both serving and trainee teachers. This needs to start with teacher education and encompass teacher development, with greater involvement both in school and university programmes.     

Measuring the Reflective Attitude of Prospective Mathematics Teachers in The Netherlands

With a view to reflective teacher education an instrument was developed to determine prospective teachers’ preferences for different ways of learning. The instrument was used for assessing the relationship between these preferences and other student characteristics, such as age, gender and previous schooling. Moreover, changes in reflective attitudes during teacher education were measured. A conclusion is that more attention should be given to differences in learning orientations.     

Student Teachers in Primary Schools: the views of mentors and headteachers

Four year initial teacher education courses have recently undergone radical reform, in particular in relation to the time that students spend in schools. Through the introduction of mentorship programmes, teachers have become very much more involved in training the students whilst they are in school. How do teachers view the changes that have been introduced? Do they agree with the principles and models that guided the developments? Headteachers and class teachers who acted as mentors for students from the University of Reading have supplied some answers. They are very committed to the model of student learning upon which the mentorship programme is built, the belief that schools and the university must work in partnership to implement and further develop the mentorship programme and the view that schools need to adopt a whole school approach to their involvement in initial teacher education. These findings indicate that the teachers agree with the underlying principles that guided the development of the mentorship programme in which they are involved and they are supportive of the resulting changes to school experience.     

Possible influences of Arabic-Islamic culture on the reflective practices proposed for an education degree at the Higher Colleges of Technology in the United Arab Emirates

This article critically examines the compatibility of United Arab Emirates culture and values with the assumptions of reflective practice currently being written into a new teacher education degree programme. The curriculum that is being developed relies heavily on the notions of reflective practice as a method of professional development. The local culture, political and public institutions are thoroughly inculcated with Arab-Islamic values that may not accord with the assumptions underlying such practices. The author’s concerns are discussed about the trainee teachers’ lifestyle and experiences that may hinder engagement in their own learning processes, as well as the Arab-Islamic codes of behaviour that may pose serious obstacles to the implementation of reflective strategies, especially interactions between men and women and between superior and subordinate within educational settings. The author concludes that reflection, as conceived and implemented in the West, may not be in the best interests of the student teachers if they wish to teach in local schools.     

Developing a university contribution to teacher education: creating an analytical space for learning narratives

What might a distinct university contribution to teacher education look like? This paper tracks a group of prospective teachers making the transition from undergraduate to teacher on a one-year school-based postgraduate course. The study employs a practitioner research methodological framework where teacher learning is understood as a process of developing and evaluating self-representations. Students persistently revised a story of ‘Who I am becoming’, referenced to evolving notions of pedagogic subject knowledge. University sessions provided a platform for students to share and discuss their experiences in schools and reflect upon the research process as it occurred. Our findings suggest this approach enables student teachers to account for their learning in more nuanced and sophisticated ways where time for university-based reflection is restricted. The theoretical perspective draws on the psychoanalytic theory of Jacques Lacan. Subjectivity is conceptualized not as fixed but persistently re-produced in an increasingly analytical developmental perspective. Data comprise reflective and analytical material produced by students at successive stages of the course, where this material provides temporal reference points for them in tracking and asserting their own development. The paper provides a methodological framework for teacher education informed by critically reflective constructions of the process through which individuals become teachers.     

Exploring the potential of the European Portfolio for Student Teachers of Languages (EPOSTL) as a reflective tool in initial primary teacher education

Although primary teachers in the Republic of Ireland are generalist teachers, language teaching of both Irish and English, as well as the development of literacy skills across the curriculum is an integral part of their daily professional practice. This paper presents an analysis of the European Portfolio for Student Teachers of Languages (EPOSTL) with a view to considering its potential as a reflective tool in the initial primary teacher education (IPTE) in the Republic of Ireland. The creation and structure of the EPOSTL within a European language policy landscape is delineated, and thematic analysis is presented, focusing on three of the EPOSTL’s main theoretical and conceptual underpinnings: (a) teacher autonomy, (b) reflective practice and, (c) self-assessment. The role of primary teachers as language teachers within a new framework of plurilingualism is highlighted. In order to consider the suitability of the EPOSTL as a reflective tool in teacher education, IPTE educational policy documents are examined to uncover converging discourses with the underlying themes of the EPOSTL. The EPOSTL emerges as a good conceptual fit with IPTE policy. It presents as a reflective tool with the potential to promote a transformative and integrated approach to language teacher education in and across Institutes of Education at a time of sociolinguistic and curriculum change in Irish primary schools.     

Using a video-based curriculum to develop a reflective stance in prospective mathematics teachers

Although video cases are increasingly being used in teacher education as a means of situating learning and developing habits of reflection, there has been little evidence of the outcomes of such use. This study investigates the effects of using a coherent video-case curriculum in a university mathematics methods course by addressing two issues: (1) how the use of a video-case curriculum affects the reflective stance of prospective teachers (PTs); and (2) the extent to which a reflective stance developed while reflecting on other teachers’ practice transfers for reflecting on one’s own practice. Data sources include videotapes of course sessions and PTs’ written work from a middle school mathematics methods course that used a video-case curriculum as a major instructional tool. Both qualitative and quantitative analytical methods were used, including comparative and chi-square contingency table analyses. The PTs in this study showed changes in their level of reflection, their tendency to ground their analyses in evidence, and their focus on student thinking. In particular, they began to analyze teaching in terms of how it affects student thinking, to consider multiple interpretations of student thinking, and to develop a more tentative stance of inquiry. More significantly, the reflective stance developed via the video curriculum transferred to the PTs’ self-reflection in a course field experience. The results of this study speak to the power of using a video-case curriculum as a means of developing a reflective stance in prospective mathematics teachers.

Enthusiasm vs. experience in mentoring: a comparison of turkish novice and experienced teachers in fulfilling supervisory roles

his study investigates how trainee teachers perceive their supervising teachers’ supervisory competency. Through a questionnaire that was specifically developed for this study and which contained open-ended questions, student teacher candidates were asked to comment on their supervising teachers’ competency in preparation for supervision, instructional planning and reflection, and collegial supervision and effective mentoring. Data for this study was gathered from 690 student teachers who were in their last year in college pursuing a teaching credential. The results indicated that the student teachers rated their supervising teachers’ competency in supervision as poor to partially competent. Although there is no significant relation found between the gender and fulfillment of supervisory duties, the main significant finding was between supervising teachers’ experience in teaching and completion of the supervisory role. The results showed that the younger or less experienced supervising teachers demonstrated better supervisory skills. Furthermore, our results indicated that although experience is important, it should not be the only criterion for selecting supervising teachers for supervisory duty.