Learning by doing: preservice teachers as reading tutors

This phenomenological study describes how secondary mathematics preservice teachers (PSTs) in a teacher residency program designed and implemented project-based learning (PBL) units. The Six A’s, a framework used to evaluate the rigor and relevance of PBL units, helped capture the research question: What are the successes and challenges PSTs experience as they implement PBL units for the first time? This qualitative study illustrates how PSTs engaged students in relevant learning, wrestled with sustaining the rigor, and included the community to be partners in the projects. Findings indicate that high-quality implementation of PBL instruction requires involving the community, facilitating mathematical learning, and transforming the learning environment. PSTs recognized that a PBL approach requires a shift from traditional teaching practices and reconceptualizing both what it means for teachers to teach mathematics and for students to learn mathematics. This study contributes to the scarce body of knowledge on how teacher residency programs can utilize PBL as an instructional model to prepare PSTs for PBL environments.

Download Full-text

An Adapted Measure of Teacher Self-Efficacy for Preservice Teachers: Exploring its Validity Across two Countries

Zeitschrift für Pädagogische Psychologie ◽

10.1024/1010-0652/a000125 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 28 (3) ◽

pp. 83-92 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Author(s):

Franziska Pfitzner-Eden ◽

Felicitas Thiel ◽

Jenny Horsley

Keyword(s):

Preservice Teachers ◽

Self Efficacy ◽

Confirmatory Factor Analyses ◽

3 Dimensional ◽

Multiple Group ◽

Three Samples ◽

Confirmatory Factor ◽

Teacher Self Efficacy ◽

Dimensional Assessment ◽

Metric Measurement

Teacher self-efficacy (TSE) is an important construct in the prediction of positive student and teacher outcomes. However, problems with its measurement have persisted, often through confounding TSE with other constructs. This research introduces an adapted TSE instrument for preservice teachers, which is closely aligned with self-efficacy experts' recommendations for measuring self-efficacy, and based on a widely used measure of TSE. We provide first evidence of construct validity for this instrument. Participants were 851 preservice teachers in three samples from Germany and New Zealand. Results of the multiple-group confirmatory factor analyses showed a uniform 3-factor solution for all samples, metric measurement invariance, and a consistent and moderate correlation between TSE and a measure of general self-efficacy across all samples. Despite limitations to this study, there is some first evidence that this measure allows for a valid 3-dimensional assessment of TSE in preservice teachers.

Download Full-text