When theory meets practice: What student teachers learn from guided reflection on their own classroom discourse

Drawing on extant theorizing and research on reflective teaching, this paper discusses the impact of an innovative methods course designed around the activity of student teachers’ reflections on their own classroom discourse, for their understandings of the connections between theory and practice. Situated in the context of foreign language pre-service teacher education in Israel, and focusing on one aspect of a larger research study on the connections that student teachers make between theory and practice, this paper presents three exemplary cases of student teachers’ learning. The connections exhibited by these three student teachers between theory (principles of pedagogy) and practice (the classroom discourse patterns that characterized their teaching) were interpreted as: (1) understanding how practice fits theory; (2) connecting theory and practice to generate grounded theories of practice; and (3) developing practical theories. We discuss these findings as related to the idiosyncratic character of students teachers’ learning and to activities in teacher education that enhance reflection on the meeting between theory and practice.     

Teachers’ beliefs, instructional behaviors, and students’ engagement in learning from texts with instructional pictures

This study investigated the relations between teachers’ pedagogical beliefs and students’ self-reported engagement in learning from texts with instructional pictures. Participants were the biology, geography, and German teachers of 46 classes (Grades 5-8) and their students. Teachers’ instructional behaviors and students’ engagement in learning from texts with instructional pictures were assessed by means of student ratings. Teachers’ beliefs about using texts with instructional pictures in their teaching were assessed by a self-report questionnaire. Results showed that the more teachers believed that students should be taught clear strategies on how to learn from texts with instructional pictures the more engagement was reported by their students. A multilevel mediation model showed that the association between teachers’ beliefs and students’ self-reported engagement was mediated by teachers’ perceived instructional behavior.     

Understanding how a case-based assessment instrument influences student teachers’ learning approaches

In order to stimulate student teachers to thoroughly comprehend the main variables influencing their work, teaching and assessment strategies in teacher education have changed significantly. One of the changes in the assessment of student teachers in teacher education programs is the use of case-based assessment instruments. Such instruments evaluate the extent to which student teachers are able to handle authentic problems. It is expected that implementing this mode of assessment will stimulate student teachers to adopt a deep approach to learning. In this study we examine student teachers’ learning approaches in the context of case-based assessment. Hereto, we investigated the direct effects of the student teachers’ general beliefs on the cognitive demands of assessment on their learning approaches. Also the student teachers’ perceptions of the cognitive demands of the case-based assessment instrument were considered as a mediating variable. The present study is conducted in the Netherlands, in the third year of a 4-year initial teacher training program for primary education. A case-based assessment instrument, called the OverAll Test, was implemented as the major determinate of the third-year final examination grade of the student teachers.     

The development of learning patterns of student teachers: a cross-sectional and longitudinal study

Research on learning pattern development during pre-service teacher education is scarce. In a cross-sectional (study 1) and longitudinal study (study 2) the development of learning patterns of student teachers is analysed. Participants in study 1 were 646 first-year and 350 third-year student teachers enrolled in an initial pre-service teacher education programme. 236 student teachers participated in study 2. Vermunt’s’ Inventory of Learning Styles was used to assess differences in learning patterns. By examining intra-individual changes in learning patterns we expected to find developmental trends within learning patterns. Results show that meaning oriented learning increases over time and undirected learning decreases. Some learning patterns are however more subject to change than others. The development of learning patterns was found to be relative and dependent on the learning pattern which students have already mastered in the first-year of a teacher education programme.     

Elementary school teachers’ motivation toward web-based professional development, and the relationship with Internet self-efficacy and belief about web-based learning

This study was conducted to explore the relationships between teachers’ motivation toward web-based professional development, Internet self-efficacy, and beliefs about web-based learning. By gathering questionnaire data from 484 elementary school teachers, this study indicated that the teachers’ Internet self-efficacy and behavioral beliefs about web-based learning were significant predictors for their motivation toward web-based professional development. The teachers with higher Internet self-efficacy and stronger beliefs about the positive consequences of web-based learning tended to express higher motivation toward web-based professional development.     

The multidimensionality of multicultural service learning: The variable effects of social identity, context and pedagogy on pre-service teachers’ learning

Multicultural service learning (MSL) seeks to develop pre-service teachers’ capacities and commitment to teach diverse student populations. We use multiple regression analyses of survey data collected from 212 pre-service teachers engaged in 22 MSL sites to assess the effects of pre-service teachers’ social identities, MSL contexts, and university pedagogy on pre-service teachers’ awareness of cultural bias, understanding of social inequality, and commitment to teaching diverse students. We find that pedagogical engagement positively contributes to all three outcomes. Pre-service teacher’s social identities and MSL contextual factors, however, have variable effects. We explore the pedagogical and research implications of this multidimensionality.     

Student teachers’ skills in the implementation of collaborative learning: A multilevel approach

This study explores the development of student teachers’ skills in implementing collaborative learning (CL) using a multilevel repeated measures design. Participants were 105 pre-service teachers that were trained in CL implementation. The results indicate that student teachers generally perform well in implementing CL. Further, it appears that these skills increase over time, although no linear growth can be found. Student teachers’ skills development appears to be positively connected with their general feeling of teaching efficacy. Surprisingly, training and students’ pedagogical knowledge have no significant impact.     

Teaching Science Inquiry in Urban Contexts: The Role of Elementary Preservice Teachers’ Beliefs

This paper reports on a study of elementary preservice teachers’ inquiry-based practices, their efficacy beliefs, and the role beliefs had on two preservice teachers’ practices in urban classrooms. Results show inquiry-based practices can be cultivated through field-based experiences and preservice teachers’ efficacy beliefs, as it relates to practice in urban settings, are malleable. Specifically, personal efficacy beliefs about teaching science improved or were sustained for one cohort of preservice teachers. However, beliefs about students’ ability to learn science, that is outcome beliefs, were less stable. The results of two case studies show that science content knowledge was a factor in preservice teachers’ inquiry-based practices. However, why preservice teachers’ beliefs about student learning declined is less clear. More research is needed, along with follow-up data on teacher induction, to learn how preservice teachers’ beliefs impact urban students’ science education.     

Co-constructing efficacy: A “communities of practice” perspective on teachers’ efficacy beliefs

Teachers’ efficacy beliefs are critical to improving student learning, but we have yet to fully understand how these beliefs develop. The prevailing model of teachers’ efficacy development emerges from cognitive theories, but sociocultural theories may add insights to modeling the impact of teachers’ school contexts. This case study takes a “communities of practice” approach to explore the connections between teachers’ evidence-based decision-making practices and their efficacy beliefs. Findings, based on interviews with four teachers, indicate that teachers co-construct their efficacy beliefs in shared practices, suggesting the usefulness of communities of practice theory to more fully understand teachers’ efficacy belief development.     

Guided work-based learning: Sharing practical teaching knowledge with student teachers

Building quality work-based learning opportunities for student teachers is a challenge for schools in school-university partnerships. This study focused on the guidance of student teachers by means of a mentoring approach aimed at sharing practical knowledge, with student teachers’ learning needs as an emphasis. The approach was built on collaborative lesson planning, enactment, and evaluation.The study followed three triads (student teacher, mentor, school-based teacher educator) and examined participants’ appreciation of the effectiveness of the approach and their perception of relevant conditions. The approach was considered effective: deeper conversations appeared and new issues emerged earlier than in regular mentoring conversations.     

Studying learning processes of student teachers with stimulated recall interviews through changes in interactive cognitions

This article describes a qualitative study into student teachers’ learning processes through changes in their interactive cognitions. First, theoretical propositions about the relation between learning to teach, professional development, and practical knowledge are defined. Next, the procedure to grasp interactive cognitions as part of practical knowledge is explained. On three moments during teaching practise, students were video-recorded while teaching and then audio-taped during a stimulated recall interview. Changes in students’ interactive cognitions are understood as indicators for learning and professional development. The results show substantial differences between students. The significance of the findings for teacher education research is illustrated.     

Understanding affordances and challenges of three types of video for teacher professional development

Although researchers have reported positive effects on teacher learning from observing published video, teachers’ own video, and their colleagues’ video, very few professional development programs have integrated all three types of video to improve teacher learning. In this study, we examined the affordances and challenges of the three types of video when they were used in a Problem-Based Learning professional development program, drawing upon multiple data sources from 26 K-12 science teachers. We present a case study to illustrate how one teacher might learn from each type of video, and conclude with recommendations for using video in professional development.     

Differences in teachers’ comments on classroom events as indicators of their professional development

This study aims at identifying indicators of schoolteachers’ professional development by learning teachers’ perceptual and thinking capabilities of classroom events as reflected in their comments. The analysis of comments produced by novice and expert teachers on videotaped lesson activities, based mainly on the grounded theory strategy, revealed that expert teachers are more sensitive towards certain instructional events and to general teaching strategy used by the model teacher than novice teachers. The findings of this study might be useful for promoting student teachers’ professional sensitivity towards relevant features of classroom instruction and atmosphere in pre-service teacher education programs.     

Variation in the effectiveness of instructional interactions across preschool classroom settings and learning activities

This exploratory study examined the extent to which the effectiveness of instructional interactions varies among classroom social settings (i.e., large group, free choice, meals, and routines), learning activities (i.e., shared reading, literacy, math, science, social studies, and esthetics), or their combination. Participants were 314 preschool teachers primarily serving children from low-income backgrounds. Instructional interactions were measured in multiple cycles across one day of classroom observation as teachers engaged in a variety of settings and learning activities. Linear mixed models indicated that the effectiveness of teachers’ instructional interactions was generally higher in the large group setting than in free choice, meals, and routine settings. When considering settings and learning activities in combination, teachers displayed the most effective global instructional interactions when leading science activities in large group or free choice settings, and the most effective literacy-focused interactions during large group literacy activities.     

Great expectations: Teacher learning in a national professional development programme

This paper reports findings from an evaluation of a national continuing professional development (CPD) programme for teachers in England. Data showed that the localised implementation, opportunities for interactive learning, and ‘collective participation’ were positive factors. Research participants reported difficulties, however, in ‘cascading’ knowledge to colleagues and in sustaining and developing their learning. It is argued that these limitations were rooted in an inconsistent theory of learning that underpinned the programme and a failure to conceptualise teachers as ‘lead learners’ in schools. Wider implications for the design of teachers’ professional development are considered.     

Exploring the relationship between certification sources,experience levels,and classroom management orientations of classroom teachers

Teachers continue to report that classroom management is one of their greatest challenges in the classroom. Classroom management involves teacher's efforts to oversee classroom activities such as learning, social interaction, and student behavior. In this study, we examined the relationship between sources of teachers’ certification (traditional or alternative), teachers’ experience levels (experienced or novice), and teachers’ classroom management orientations (interventionist, non-interventionist, or interactionalist). We discovered that neither source of certification nor experience level alone impacts a teachers’ classroom management orientation. However, teachers with traditional certification and many years of experience exert significantly less control over classroom activities and students’ behaviors than do their colleagues with other educational and experimental backgrounds. Potential causes and ramifications of these findings are discussed.     

Developing prospective elementary teachers’ abilities to identify evidence of student mathematical achievement

This study investigated the effects of a classroom intervention on prospective elementary teachers’ ability to evaluate evidence of student achievement of mathematical learning goals. The intervention was informed by a framework for teacher education which aims to provide prospective teachers (PTs) with the skills needed to systematically learn from their own teaching practice. Prospective teachers (N = 160) participated in an intervention aimed at addressing their misconceptions about evidence of student learning. Results revealed that after the intervention, PTs were less likely to consider teacher behaviors to be evidence of student learning and more likely to discount student responses that were irrelevant to a specified learning goal. However, PTs were still likely to take procedural fluency as evidence of conceptual understanding and may have become overly skeptical of student understanding. Implications of the study suggest new ways of developing prospective teachers’ ability to systematically study and improve their teaching.     

Making learning visible in kindergarten classrooms: Pedagogical documentation as a formative assessment technique

This study investigated interactions between pedagogical documentation—a formative assessment technique and instructional intervention designed to increase student learning by recording children’s experiences—and kindergarten children, families and teachers in the UAE. The study sample comprised six teachers in six kindergarten classrooms, 141 kindergarten children and 67 parents. The major data-gathering techniques were participant observation, semi-structured individual interviews, focus group interviews and parent questionnaire. The results revealed that pedagogical documentation has the potential to improve children’s learning, contribute to teachers’ awareness of learning processes and help parents gain a better understanding of learning processes in their children’s education.     

Self-regulation in Higher Education Teacher Learning

Various studies have focused on self-regulated student learning. However, little attention has been given to the self-regulation processes in teacher learning. In this study, we focus on the work-related learning processes reported by experienced higher education teachers. The aim of this study was to discover whether teachers actively self-regulate their learning experiences (as their students are expected to do) and to examine how this regulation takes place in the workplace. We tested some generally held assumptions and conceptions regarding teacher learning. Fifteen experienced college teachers, from three different colleges in The Netherlands, participated. Two semi-structured interviews and a (digital) diary study were used as the primary data collection methods. We collected 86 examples of teacher learning episodes. These were analysed using a phenomenographic method. The results show that our teachers’ learning experiences are not as self-regulated, planned, reflective, or spiral as some assume. Sometimes, the teachers’ learning was planned (self-regulated), but mostly it occurred in a non-linear (both external and self-regulated) or spontaneous (externally regulated) way. We conclude that our teachers do not always self-regulate their learning, but they mostly do self-regulate their teaching practice (with learning as a result).     

Concept maps of Korean EFL student teachers’ autobiographical reflections on their professional identity formation

This study utilizes a concept mapping method to explore the underlying structure and dimensionality of Korean student teachers’ autobiographical reflections on their professional identity formation. Participants consist of 90 students enrolled in bachelor’s and master’s degree programs in English teacher education. The study results imply core concepts (backgrounds for career pursuit, conceptualizations of a good English teacher/teaching, and confidence/aspirations) that constitute professional identity development of Korean EFL student teachers. Dimensionality analysis suggests that the impetus for guiding student teachers’ professional development is their knowledge and experiences related to teacher qualities and teaching practices.