Intimate Scholarship in Research: An Example From Self-Study of Teaching and Teacher Education Practices Methodology

2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 153-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Lynn Hamilton ◽  
Stefinee Pinnegar
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Teacher Educator ◽  
Learning From Experience ◽  
Self Study

Using self-study of teaching and teacher education practices (S-STEP) research as an example, we explore intimate scholarship and the ways it captures particular lives and experiences within the educational world. To do that we define, explore, and consider how teachers and teacher educators can use this personal and vulnerable scholarship. We provide an example as evidence of ways that intimate scholarship in the form of S-STEP supports learning from experience. We assert that positioning researchers to examine what we know about teaching and being a teacher educator is profitable for the larger research conversation.

scholarly journals Design Principles for the Professional Development of Teacher Educators: Illustrations of Narration, Dialogue and Self-study

2020 ◽  
pp. 47-54
Author(s):  
Bregje de Vries ◽  
◽  
Anja Swennen ◽  
Jurriën Dengerink ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Teacher Education ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Teacher Educator ◽  
Development Program ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Design Principles ◽  
Development Programs ◽  
Self Study ◽  
Inquiry Dialogue

Teacher education has been recognized increasingly as a profession that fundamentally differs from teaching pupils in schools. This has resulted in teacher educator development programs which address the uniqueness of the profession. In this article we depart from this recognition of teacher education as a profession outlining the specifics of teacher education, and we describe a professional development program for teacher educators run in the Netherlands. We describe its building blocks and three design principles – narrative inquiry, dialogue and self-study – and illustrate their value by examples of evaluations taken from the program.

Missing a S-STEP? How self-study of teacher education practice can support the language teacher education knowledge base

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan Madigan Peercy ◽  
Judy Sharkey
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Knowledge Base ◽  
Teacher Learning ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Teacher Educator ◽  
Language Teacher Education ◽  
Language Teacher ◽  
Education Practice ◽  
Self Study

Inspired by the recognition of teachers and teacher learning in the knowledge base and the calls for greater attention to the pedagogies and development of teacher educators, in this brief essay we posit that a deeper understanding of the teacher educator as scholar, as practitioner, as researcher, is critical to the LTE knowledge base.

scholarly journals Towards an Understanding of the Work of Teacher Education Professoriate in India

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-114
Author(s):  
Rajashree Srinivasan
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Professional Development ◽  
Teacher Education ◽  
Education System ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Teacher Educator ◽  
School Education ◽  
Work Identity ◽  
Education In India ◽  
New Vision

Reforming the teacher education system has been a key government policy towards improving school education in India. While recent curriculum and governance reforms articulate a new vision of teacher education that underscores a symbiotic relationship between teacher education and school education, it fails to engage enough with the most important participant of the teacher education system—the teacher educator. Changes to curriculum and governance process in the absence of a pro-active engagement of teacher educators with the reforms can do little to influence the teacher education processes and outcomes. The work of pre-service teacher educators is complex because their responsibilities relate to both school and higher education. The distinctiveness of their work, identity and professional development has always been marginalized in educational discourse. This article analyses select educational documents to examine the construction of work and identity of higher education-based teacher educators. It proposes the development of a professional framework of practice through a collective process, which would help understand the work of teacher educators and offer various possibilities for their professional development.

scholarly journals Critical Self-Reflection as Disruption: A Black Feminist Self-Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-38
Author(s):  
Benikia Kressler
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Teacher Educator ◽  
Junior Faculty ◽  
Junior Faculty Member ◽  
Self Reflection ◽  
White Middle Class ◽  
Self Study ◽  
Educators Of Color

As the PK-12 student population grows more diverse, the teaching population steadfastly continues to be white middle-class women (NCES, 2016). Critical teacher educators understand the importance of preparing pre-service teachers to become culturally responsive and sustaining (CR/S) practitioners by engaging in culturally relevant education (CRE). Critical teacher educators, particularly those of color from historically marginalized groups, can be important advocates in the struggle to strengthen the teaching candidate pool of CR/S practitioners. Building a cadre of teachers, who are poised to decolonize minds and spaces, sustains the work of many teacher educators of color. However, the acts of teaching and learning in most institutions of education are inundated with oppressive norms such as white privilege, xenophobia and anti-blackness. It is this reality in which I, a Black female junior teacher educator, attempt to disrupt normative teaching practices within a special education course. This self-study examined insight derived from a focus group as well as from my self-reflections conducted over the course of two semesters (Spring 2018 to Fall 2018). Using a qualitative methodological approach, the findings indicated tensions between my vulnerable position of being a junior faculty member and my desire to dismantle normative deficit practices through critical self-reflection.    

scholarly journals Practice-Focused Research in Initial Teacher Education

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane Abbiss ◽  
Eline Vanassche
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Teacher Education ◽  
Student Teachers ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Teacher Educator ◽  
Initial Teacher Education ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Educational Systems ◽  
Theoretical Contribution

A review of the field of practice-focused research in Initial Teacher Education (ITE) reveals four broad genres of qualitative research: case studies of teacher education programs and developments; research into student teacher experience and learning; inquiry into teacher educators’ own learning, identity, and beliefs; and conceptual or theory-building research. This is an eclectic field that is defined by variation in methodologies rather than by a few clearly identifiable research approaches. What practice-focused research in ITE has in common, though, is a desire on the behalf of teacher educator researchers to understand the complexity of teacher education and contribute to shifts in practice, for the benefit of student teachers and, ultimately, for learners in schools and early childhood education. In this endeavor, teacher educator researchers are presented with a challenge to achieve a balance between goals of local relevance and making a theoretical contribution to the broader field. This is a persistent tension. Notwithstanding the capacity for practice-focused research to achieve a stronger balance and greater relevance beyond the local, key contributions of practice-focused research in ITE include: highlighting the importance of context, questioning what might be understood by “improvement” in teacher education and schooling, and pushing back against research power structures that undervalue practice-focused research. Drawing on a painting metaphor, each genre represents a collection of sketches of practice-focused research in ITE that together provide the viewer with an overview of the field. However, these genres are not mutually exclusive categories as any particular research study (or sketch) might be placed within one or more groupings; for example, inquiry into teacher educators’ own learning often also includes attention to student teachers’ experiences and case studies of teacher education initiatives inevitably draw on theory to frame the research and make sense of findings. Also, overviewing the field and identifying relevant research is not as simple as it might first appear, given challenges in identifying research undertaken by teacher educators, differences in the positioning of teacher educators within different educational systems, and privileging of American (US) views of teacher education in published research, which was counteracted in a small way in this review by explicitly including voices located outside this dominant setting. Examples of different types of qualitative research projects illustrate issues in teacher education that matter to teacher educator researchers globally and locally and how they have sought to use a variety of methodologies to understand them. The examples also show how teacher educators themselves define what is important in teacher education research, often through small-scale studies of context-specific teacher education problems and practices, and how there is value in “smaller story” research that supports understanding of both universals and particularities along with the grand narratives of teacher education.

Exploring Freirean Culture Circles and Boalian Theatre as Pedagogies for Preparing Asset-Oriented Teacher Educators

2019 ◽  
Vol 121 (6) ◽  
pp. 1-38
Author(s):  
Jamy Stillman ◽  
John Luciano Beltramo
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Role Play ◽  
Teacher Educator ◽  
Contingent Work ◽  
Conditions For Learning ◽  
Critical Pedagogies ◽  
Field Notes ◽  
Educator Development ◽  
Audio Video

Background/Context Teacher educator development remains an undertaking that is both understudied and underavailable as an explicit professional path, despite scholarship suggesting that teacher education's transformative potential hinges on teacher educators’ pedagogical work. Purpose, Practice, & Participants This article reports on a qualitative study that explored the development of teacher educators who expressed deep commitments to educational equity for minoritized youth. Fifteen current and prospective teacher educators participated over three years in situated adaptations of two critical pedagogical approaches: Freirean culture circles, where participants engaged in critical dialogue around conflicts encountered in their teacher education work that involved issues of inequity, particularly deficit-based ideas of P–12 students and their families, and Boalian theatre (or teatro), interactive role-play where participants dramatically re-enacted these conflicts and imagined potential responses to them. This study examines the ways in which these critical pedagogical spaces facilitated participants’ development as asset-oriented teacher educators. Research Design & Data Collection This research represents an ethnographic self-study, as the authors engaged in culture circles and teatro as participant-researchers. To study these spaces of critical teacher educator development, the authors collected ethnographic data, which included semistructured interviews with each participant, field notes, and audio/ video recordings of dialogue and role-play, as well as participant written reflections. Findings/Results Through their engagement in culture circles and teatro, participants came to recognize some of the micro-pedagogies of asset-oriented teacher education, grappled with the relational dimensions of teacher learning, became familiar with possible tools of asset-oriented teacher education, and interrogated the social, political, and historical dimensions of the work. In doing so, they understood each area as linked both to specific settings and individuals and as connected to more common dilemmas that may play out across teacher education contexts. Conclusions/Recommendations While cautioning against widespread, mechanistic implementation, the authors recognize culture circles and teatro as offering special promise for the development of asset-oriented teacher educators. In particular, findings suggest that these critical pedagogies support the conditions for learning—particularly spaces that center participants’ identities and experiential conflicts—that can cultivate complex understandings about, and tools for engaging, the contingent work of asset-oriented teacher education. Such spaces seem particularly well equipped to cultivate critical understandings deemed essential for transforming the field of teacher education.

scholarly journals The Challenges Facing the Foreign Language Teacher Educator: A Proposed Teacher Education Model for EFL

1970 ◽  
Vol 16 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Carol Goldfus
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Procedural Knowledge ◽  
Mother Tongue ◽  
Teacher Educator ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Interdisciplinary Approach ◽  
Declarative Knowledge ◽  
Language Teacher ◽  
The One

As a result of the multi-cultural classroom in the 21st century, language teacher educators face new challenges; for example, young learners and those with language-based difficulties. In order to respond to these evolving needs, a new professional approach that combines theoretical knowledge with practical application is proposed. This approach targets what it is that teachers should know about literacy acquisition in at least two languages - a mother tongue and, in this case, English. The contribution of this proposed model to language education is to produce a teacher with declarative knowledge and research tools on the one hand, as well as the ability to cope with a heterogeneous classroom in a multicultural society on the other. This paper also intends to show how pre-service teacher education would benefit from an interdisciplinary approach with a combination of declarative knowledge and procedural knowledge with all teaching being ‘science-based practice’.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/nelta.v16i1-2.6125 NELTA 2011; 16(1-2): 1-12

scholarly journals Reflective self-study for an integrated learning approach to early childhood mathematics teacher education

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Makie Kortjass
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Early Childhood ◽  
Student Teachers ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Mathematics Teacher Education ◽  
Learning Approach ◽  
Early Childhood Mathematics ◽  
Study Research ◽  
Self Study

Background: This article gives an account of what I learned through the process of a self-study research project. Self-study teacher research allows teacher educators and teachers to improve their learning, plan new pedagogies and impact students’ learning.Aim: The aim of this self-study research was to improve my own practice in early childhood mathematics teacher education through interaction and collaboration with others, such as colleagues and students.Setting: As a South African university-based teacher educator, I piloted an integrated learning approach (ILA) in the teaching and learning of early childhood mathematics in a selected undergraduate programme.Methods: I began by tracking my personal development in mathematics education and in so doing was able to recognise my personal learning of mathematics as a child growing up in an African township context. I then worked with a class of 38 student teachers to create collages and concept maps to explore their understandings and experiences of ILA.Results: Through this project, I discovered that colleagues in the role of critical friends provided essential feedback on my work in progress. I also learned that student teachers need to be equipped with knowledge and hands-on experience of how integration can take place in teaching and learning early childhood mathematics. I realised that it was essential to constantly reflect on my own personal history and my professional practice to explore new ways of teaching mathematics.Conclusion: Teacher educators may consider engaging in self-study research that includes art-based self-study methods to reflect on their practices and see how they change for the benefit of their students and ultimately for the benefit of the learners.

scholarly journals Re-imagining mentoring as a dynamic hub in the transformation of initial teacher education

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 248-260 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel M. Lofthouse
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Teacher Educator ◽  
Deep Understanding ◽  
Practical Experience ◽  
Initial Teacher Education ◽  
Experienced Teacher ◽  
Content Type ◽  
School Based

Purpose Teacher education in many countries is under reform with growing differences in its form and function. This is indicative of the ongoing negotiations around the place of theory, research and practice in teachers’ professional learning. However, the demand for mentoring of trainee teachers during often extended and multiple school-based placements is a relative constant. Indeed, with the trend towards greater school-based professional experience mentoring practices become ever more critical. The paper aims to discuss this issue. Design/methodology/approach This is a conceptual paper written from the perspective of an experienced teacher educator in England, drawing on both practical experience and a body of associated research. It can be conceptualised as related to cases of practice, linked to episodes of practitioner research grounded in the ethics of the improvability of practice, the desire to meet the needs of the professional communities and a deep understanding of the demands and cultures of their workplaces. Findings Mentoring can be re-imagined as a dynamic hub within a practice development-led model for individual professional learning and institutional growth. Acting on this conceptualisation would allow mentors, trainees and other supporting teacher educators to contribute to the transformation of professional learning practices and educational contexts. Originality/value This paper goes beyond offering merely helpful guidance to participants and stakeholders in mentoring, or stipulating standards to be achieved, to considering what might be described as a hopeful or transformational stance in relation to mentoring. Teacher educators can continue to bring value to the transformation of teacher education through a focus on mentoring as an educative process.

scholarly journals TESL Teacher Educators' Professional Self-Development, Identity, and Agency

2018 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 140-155
Author(s):  
Bedrettin Yazan
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Teacher Educator ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Identity And Agency ◽  
Self Development ◽  
Writing Assignment ◽  
Professional Self ◽  
Langue Seconde

Using the concepts of identity and agency, this Perspectives article discusses my recent efforts of self-development when designing an identity-oriented Teaching English as a second language (TESL) teacher education course around teacher candidates’ semester-long autoethnography writing assignment called “critical autoethnographic narrative” (CAN). It specifically unpacks the ways I negotiated and enacted my identities of teacher educator and researcher of teacher education while I was incorporating identity as the main goal in teacher candidates’ learning. In closing, this article offers recommendations for TESL teacher educators who consider designing identity-oriented courses and suggests some future research directions. À l’aide des concepts de l’identité et de l’agentivité (ou capacité d’agir), cet article de Perspectives illustre mes récents efforts d’autoperfectionnement alors que je concevais un cours de formation d’enseignantes et enseignants d’anglais langue seconde axé sur l’identité, et ce, autour de l’imposition d’un projet d’écriture autoethnographique d’un semestre appelé « exposé autoethnographique critique » à des candidates et candidats à l’enseignement. L’article révèle spécifiquement la façon dont je suis parvenu à négocier et faire valoir mes identités de formateur d’enseignants et de chercheur en éducation d’enseignants alors que je faisais de l’identité le principal objectif de l’apprentissage des candidats et candidates à l’ enseignement. En terminant, cet article offre des recommandations à l’intention des formateurs d’enseignantes et enseignants d’anglais langue seconde qui songent à concevoir des cours axés sur l’identité, et ce, en plus de proposer des orientations futures en matière de recherche.

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