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.     

Using action research in middle level teacher education to evaluate and deepen reflective practice

The study examined the role of action research in promoting critical reflective thinking among twenty preservice teachers engaged in a year-long middle level program. Data from collaborative discussions, final written documents, presentations, and follow-up surveys revealed that conducting action research (a) engaged them in inquiry into their own practice, (b) was a means to reflect upon and determine ways to change their teaching practices, and (c) promoted critical reflection in a collaborative learning environment. Results underscore the importance of preservice teachers critically reflecting to gain insights into teaching and student learning as they are engaged in action research.     

Understanding our learners and developing reflective practice: Conducting action research with English language learners

This paper examines the ways in which action research projects can be used to socialize teachers to the teaching of English language learners (ELLs) as well as help these teachers develop reflective practice. Drawing on surveys, action research projects conduced with ELLs and reflection papers as data, the study explored the teachers' statements about the impact of the course work and the projects on their teaching and their beliefs about teaching ELLs. Students stated that they felt they had grown as teachers, were more reflective, and more confident about teaching in general, and teaching ELLs in particular.     

The influence of experience on student teachers' beliefs about inclusion

Abstract

Teacher beliefs influence the implementation of inclusion practices in the classroom. Therefore, the importance of developing positive beliefs during the preservice years cannot be overstated. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of professional experiences on students’ beliefs about inclusion. This qualitative study was comprised of a series of interviews (group and individual) and analysis of reflective writings for six student teachers. Findings indicated that experiences both professional and personal contribute to the development of the students’ beliefs about inclusion. If these experiences were positive, the preservice teachers were more positively disposed to the concept of inclusion. Therefore, teacher training programs are afforded the opportunity to influence preservice teachers’ development of positive beliefs about inclusion which may ultimately affect the inclusion process.     

Developing a communal identity as beginning teachers of mathematics: Emergence of an online community of practice

The aim of this study is to investigate how a community of practice focused on becoming a teacher of secondary school mathematics emerged during a pre-service teacher education programme and was sustained after students graduated and began their first year of full-time teaching in schools. Bulletin board discussions of one pre-service cohort are analysed in terms of Wenger’s (1998) three defining features of a community of practice: mutual engagement of participants, negotiation of a joint enterprise, and development of a shared repertoire for creating meaning. Emergence of the online community was associated with our own role in facilitating professional dialogue, the voluntary and unstructured nature of participation, initial face-to-face interaction that created familiarity and trust, and the convenience of using email rather than logging on to a website. The study shows that the emergent design of the community contributed to its sustainability in allowing the pre-service and beginning teachers to define their own professional goals and values.

Deferred creativity: Exploring the impact of an undergraduate learning experience on professional practice

This paper explores the impact of an art-based learning experience on former Education students' professional practice. Feedback from trainee teachers indicated that the true value of the creative process was only realised after they had graduated – what I have come to term ‘deferred creativity’. The findings suggest that focusing on the development of their own creative characteristics, skills and attitudes helped students to become more creative practitioners. By drawing on the reflections of our alumni, we can help future students to develop the key creative competencies and skills required for 21st century life.     

Features and strategies of supervisor professional community as a means of improving the supervision of preservice teachers

This article explores whether features associated with effective professional communities among K-12 teachers are relevant and sufficient for improving the practice of supervisors in teacher education programs. Interview and observational data from nineteen supervisors in one teacher education program illuminate what supervisors want in order to improve their professional practices and how their needs could be met through ongoing collaboration. The article proposes five features of professional communities that can help supervisors improve their work: norms promoting collaboration; trust and familiarity; activities deprivatizing practices; access to logistical information and shared expectations about the role of supervisors; and time for collaboration.     

Microblogging about teaching: Nurturing participatory cultures through collaborative online reflection with pre-service teachers

Reflection is a cornerstone of most teacher education programs, but common practices have long been individualistic and this has become increasingly evident in an era when young people are participating in online cultures more than ever. Informal participation in digital affinity spaces could provide insights for more formal learning environments. We encouraged collaborative reflection among 77 middle/secondary pre-service teachers using the closed social networking site Edmodo. While there were obstacles and ambiguities, findings indicated that our pre-service teachers found the site highly usable, appreciated the choice and influence afforded them through the medium, and grew as teacher-candidates from peer-to-peer interactions.     

Exploring diversity through ethos in initial teacher education

This paper considers whether there is value in introducing student teachers to schools of different ethos as part of their initial teacher education. A 2-year study of undergraduate post-primary student teachers at a university college in Northern Ireland reveals that encounters with schools of different ethos can help student teachers to understand differences between schools and their visions of education, as well as correcting misunderstandings and challenging stereotypes. It is argued that as a result of experiencing diverse examples of ethos, student teachers may also be helped to understand the complexity of schools as organisations and to position themselves and their professional practice within wider debates about the aims of education and schools as communities of practice.     

Appreciated but constrained: reflective practice of student teachers in learning communities in a Confucian heritage culture

This study aimed to understand the reflective practice of 23 Chinese student teachers in learning communities (LCs) during their practicum in a Confucian heritage culture. The reflective levels of the student teachers and the factors that mediated the effects of LCs on their reflective practice were explored using journals and post-journal interviews. The results showed that the majority of the student teachers reflected on their teaching at surface and pedagogical levels, and only a few of them critically reflected on their teaching in LCs. Although the student teachers acknowledged the positive roles of LCs in terms of collective wisdom, constructive suggestions from peers and peers’ emotional support in their reflective practice, they believed that some Confucian-based cultural factors, such as reliance on authority, giving/saving face, and maintaining harmonious social relationship, constrained their reflective practice, particularly when they had to make decisions or were confronted with conflicting views.     

Evaluation of reflective practice in teacher education

Teacher education based on ‘reflective practice’ consists of observing, analysing and reflecting on teacher performance in order to improve professional practice. This article presents the results of an evaluation of a programme on mathematics teaching carried out using reflective practice. It was targeted at 284 teachers in various stages of the education system, using an approach that combines quantitative (surveys) and qualitative (interviews and reports) methods. While the study shows that the education programme generates high levels of satisfaction, pedagogical appropriateness and learning, its achievements in effectiveness are moderate. Although, in general, what is learned through teacher education is implemented in the classroom, it is done so in an isolated fashion, in other words, individually and without becoming a part of the culture of the school. The results show little evidence of its impact on student learning. The article offers proposals for improving the education programme, while, at the same time, analysing the usefulness of the approach and evaluation tools employed.     

What and how do student teachers learn during school-based teacher education

This study looks at how student teachers learn to teach during school-based teacher education. It explores the changes that occurred in the practical theories of the student teachers and how the student teachers made these modifications. Eight student teachers were closely monitored during their training. The study's findings show that all student teachers developed broad, well-structured practical theories that focused on pupils' learning processes. Their learning processes displayed considerable individual variation. As a result of these findings, several questions have been formulated for further research concerning the impact of learning style on learning outcomes and learning in a work-based context.     

Student teachers in the classroom: their perceptions of teaching practice

This paper examines student teachers’ perceptions of the course of school experience in a teacher education programme in Turkey. Data were obtained through interviewing student teachers in Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Turkey. In order to analyse the data, Strauss and Corbin’s grounded theory methodology was adapted. The analysis revealed that although the current teacher education programme put emphasis on effective practical training, in some circumstances student teachers feel that their chances of gaining real teaching experiences are minimal. The study suggests that there is a need for further strengthening the existing school–university partnership in teacher education.     

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.     

Reflective practice in the transition phase from university student to novice graduate: implications for teaching reflective practice

Reflective practice is widely taught within higher education and is regarded as beneficial to developing graduates' ability to practise effectively within professional environments. In spite of widespread acceptance of the merits of reflective practice, a comprehensive understanding of teaching reflective practice remains incomplete and contested. This paper reports on a study undertaken to explore physiotherapy students' experiences and perceptions of learning reflective practice in order to critically and meaningfully inform current teaching practice. The findings identified that students and graduates conceptualised reflective practice in terms of the challenges they faced in the concrete tasks of daily novice practice. They used methods of reflection that were embedded in the context of their daily practice with particular emphasis on using social and collective opportunities for reflection. The preferred methods of reflective practice used by students and graduates contrasted with traditional approaches to teaching reflective practice. This study supports rethinking approaches for teaching reflective practice to incorporate approaches that are embedded within real and daily practice experiences.     

Communities of practice in higher education: professional learning in an academic career

This article focuses on the life history of a university academic, and the ways in which he learned in different communities of practice during his career. This account raises questions about the applicability of situated learning theory to a knowledge-based organisation, and argues that both the external context and the individuals within the community impinge on learning. It suggests that the role of academic staff developers may vary depending on the CoP and should include developing networks, facilitation, providing relevant expertise, improving harmony within CoPs and harnessing the benefits of internationally dispersed CoPs.     

Practising what I preach: Modelling reflective practice to student teachers

This study explores the relationship between a teacher educator's explicit modelling of reflection on practice and student-teachers' developing use of reflection on practice. In this case, the teacher educator attempted to offer his student-teachers opportunities to see, hear and understand the thinking that underpinned his pedagogy so that they might better understand and develop their reflective skills in their own teaching practice. Through a framework developed from the work of Dewey (1933) a theoretical perspective on reflection was designed and applied to the student-teachers' thoughts as displayed through their journal writing and interviews. This paper demonstrates that modelling is an important aspect to enhancing student-teachers' learning about teaching and learning.     

Contextualising practice: Hallmarks of effective teachers of writing

This study identifies practices of effective teachers of writing. Three schools with significantly higher achievement in an area that underperforms nationally were identified and within them teachers whose students exhibited superior progress were selected. Multiple data collection methods included lesson observation, analysis of the classroom environment, teacher and student interviews and teacher documentation. Common was a commitment to formative assessment practices and classroom environments supportive of student literacy learning. Hallmarks of teachers whose students showed a greater awareness of their learning were a sense of purpose and meaningfulness; of coherence or connectedness and of being consistent and systematic. This paper argues that student achievement in writing is likely to be higher when teachers exhibit strength s in these hallmarks.