scholarly journals Meeting the Black Swan

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-33
Author(s):  
Kari Smith ◽  
Marit Ulvik ◽  
Elizabeth Curtis ◽  
Ainat Guberman ◽  
Lut Lippeveld ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Professional Learning ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Teacher Educator ◽  
Black Swan ◽  
Good Teaching ◽  
Steep Learning Curve ◽  
Ict Competence ◽  
Technical Issues ◽  
Summer Academy ◽  
Future Practice

In the 2018 International Forum for Teacher Educator Development (InFo-TED) Summer Academy, we, seven teacher educators from Belgium, England, Israel, Norway, and Scotland, became interested in strengthening our ICT competence. At an international conference in June 2019, we presented our personal stories about how we used ICT in our teaching, and what we wanted to learn more about. In June 2020 we wrote a new narrative describing our experiences with ICT which was forced upon us in the spring of 2020. In this narrative, we reflected on how we think our practice will change post-Covid-19. In this paper, we discuss our new narratives in relation to those we wrote in 2019. The two sets of stories were formed into seven vignettes seeking an answer to: 1) How did teacher educators (we) experience the Covid-19 which forced the need for change in working only online, and 2) How do we foresee that the current pandemic will change our future practice? The vignettes show we have had a steep learning curve regarding the technicalities of using ICT, exploring on our own as we were working from home. Moreover, we believe we will not return to pre-Covid-19 ways of teaching as we realise that ICT has not been fully exploited. Yet, we still need to find ways to combine ICT with our pedagogical visions as teacher educators. There are differences, benefits and disadvantages, related to our respective contexts, disciplines and competence. However, we found more similarities than differences. The latter is used to feed into each other’s professional learning. We all had to learn how to manage technical issues, and now we need to find ways to incorporate ICT critically and reflectively to model good teaching in teacher education. Covid-19 was a Black Swan which forced us to change. Now it is time to position ourselves as teacher educators in a changed reality.

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.

Unpacking dimensions of immersion teacher educator identity

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 218-243 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aisling Leavy ◽  
Mairéad Hourigan ◽  
T. J. Ó Ceallaigh
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Development ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Lesson Study ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Teacher Educator ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Professional Identities ◽  
Immersion Education ◽  
Complex Process ◽  
Study Methodology

Abstract Inadequate teacher preparation for immersion programs remains a challenge. While there is a significant dearth of research on teacher development in immersion education, research focusing on immersion teacher educators (ITEs) is even more scant. Using self-study methodology, this study explores the professional learning and experiences of three teacher educators (TEs) as they construct new professional identities as ITEs as part of engagement in Lesson Study. The paper particularly focuses on two Mathematics teacher educators (MTEs) who were newcomers to the immersion education setting. A community of practice (CoP) framework was utilised to provide insights into what Vygotsky (1987) terms the twisting path of all three TEs as they engaged in the CoP. Critical moments of defending content as priority, negotiating an integrated space, and becoming immersion-responsive were revealed. CoP played a vital role in facilitating new professional identities and illuminates in multiple ways the exclusive and complex process of becoming an ITE.

Teacher Educators’ Practice and Vision of Good Teaching in Teacher Education Reform Context in Ghana

2017 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 194-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kwame Akyeampong
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Education Reform ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Good Teaching ◽  
Teacher Education Reform ◽  
Primary Mathematics ◽  
Learner Centered ◽  
Learner Centered Pedagogy

Teacher education in sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) has been criticized for the lack of attention to learning to teach in real classrooms, which limits the opportunity for pre-service teachers to successfully introduce learner-centered pedagogy in African primary school classrooms. To address this problem, Ghana has implemented a teacher education reform since 2004 to incorporate practicum. However, the critical role of teacher educators has been overlooked by policymakers, and few studies have qualitatively investigated their practice and vision. The study draws on qualitative data from the Ghana component of the Teacher Preparation in Africa (TPA) research project to explore eight teacher educators’ practice and vision of good teaching of primary mathematics. The study found that teacher educators’ practice and vision of good teaching consist of the use of teaching and learning materials (TLMs) and small group activities following specific steps without understanding the principles of learner-centered pedagogy that could be applied in a variety of classroom contexts and mathematics topics. The study also identified the hierarchical relationship between teacher educators and school teachers as a major challenge for effective practicum, limiting the opportunity to transform teacher educators’ vision and practice of primary mathematics teaching. Recommendations for enhancing professional learning opportunities for teacher educators are offered.

The Professional Learning of Teacher Educators Leading International Professional Experience

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 497-510 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judy Williams
Keyword(s):  
Professional Learning ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Educational Experiences ◽  
Teacher Educator ◽  
Professional Relationships ◽  
School Staff ◽  
Professional Experience ◽  
Semistructured Interviews ◽  
The Impact

In this article, the professional learning of teacher educators leading international professional experience (IPE) is examined. There is a growing body of research on the learning of pre-service teachers who undertake a period of professional experience in international contexts, but much less is known about the experiences of the academics who lead these programs. This knowledge is important because the success of such programs for pre-service teachers depends largely on the quality of the planning, preparation, and leadership of these as educational experiences. Based on data collected in semistructured interviews with 10 teacher educators who have led IPE to a variety of global locations, this article outlines the professional learning gained from leading a group of pre-service teachers on 3-week IPEs. Findings include the importance of building professional relationships with others involved in the IPE, including the pre-service teachers, school staff, and communities, and the impact of the experience on the development of teacher educator identities and practice.

scholarly journals Finding Common Ground: A Synthesis of Science and Mathematics Teacher Educators’ Experiences with Professional Growth

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meredith Park Rogers ◽  
Amanda Berry ◽  
Konrad Krainer ◽  
Ruhama Even
Keyword(s):  
Science Teacher ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Professional Growth ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Common Ground ◽  
Teacher Educator ◽  
Future Research ◽  
And Mathematics ◽  
Science Teacher Educators ◽  
Mathematics And Science

AbstractThe seven articles that comprise this Special Issue examine the professional growth of mathematics and science teacher educators across different contexts and different foci of who is the teacher educator being studied. Despite these differences, a common thread running throughout these seven articles is the need for learning to be situated in collaboration with others. In this final article, we examine the contribution of these articles through two perspectives: that of the collaborative contexts supporting the professional growth of mathematics and science teacher educators, and the role of disciplinary knowledge as part of the purpose for teacher educators’ professional growth. We notice that collaboration can take on very different structures in supporting teacher educators’ professional learning due to the different purposes and roles of the teacher educators in the studies. We also notice that while collaboration figures as an important component in all of the studies, the disciplinary specific aspects of collaboration, i.e., how collaboration might be negotiated differently by teacher educators in mathematics and science, is still not well understood. Overall, these articles provide important insights that help to shed new light on the complex and multifaceted nature of teacher educators’ learning and growth and provide productive avenues for future research.

Learning opportunities experienced by mathematics teachers: unveiling actions and role of the teacher educator during a formative process

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 112-140
Author(s):  
Marcia Aguiar ◽  
Eduardo Goedert Doná ◽  
Vania Batista Flose Jardim ◽  
Alessandro Jacques Ribeiro
Keyword(s):  
Professional Learning ◽  
Mathematics Teachers ◽  
Classroom Practice ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Basic Education ◽  
Teacher Educator ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
Video Recordings ◽  
Teaching Algebra

Context: One of the research challenges related at the professional learning of mathematics teachers is to understand the importance of the role and actions of the teacher educator during a formative process. Objective: This research seeks to understand what the role was and how the actions of the teacher educator took place, in a process of continuing education with teachers of basic education, about the teaching of patterns and regularities, with a view to providing learning opportunities to the teachers involved. Design: It is a qualitative-interpretative study aligned to an intervention research. Settings and Participants: We developed the research in a formative process involving 33 mathematics teachers and future teachers, and 3 teacher educators. Data collection: We use data from audio and video recordings of planning and enacting of the formative process, and protocols from teachers’ tasks and planning from teacher educators. Results: We found that teacher educators, since planning the formative process, sought to provide opportunities for participating teachers professional learning, since he/she structured the process through professional learning tasks, using videos of mathematics lessons to highlight the classroom practice, as well as encourage discussions among teachers about patterns and regularities in and for the teaching of algebra. Conclusions: We identified that teacher educators played a mediating role in the orchestration of the discussions and an articulator between mathematics and didactics, thus providing opportunities for professional development and the learning of teaching algebra.

scholarly journals Pakistani Teacher-educator Professional Learning Through an International Blended Course

Open Praxis ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 157
Author(s):  
Maria Antonietta Impedovo ◽  
Sufiana Khatoon Malik
Keyword(s):  
Professional Learning ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Teacher Educator ◽  
Teacher Professionalism ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Open Questions ◽  
The Face ◽  
Innovative Learning ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Blended Course

International teacher-educator learning supports a more complex vision of teacher professionalism for both developed and developing countries. The aim of this paper is the analysis of Pakistani teacher-educator professional learning after attending an international blended course, considering the impact of online and face-to-face participation and the main competencies involved in their professional learning. The blended learning course attended by the Pakistani Teacher-educators is part of an international project between Europe and Asia. The analysis is carried out using written traces in the online platform; 47 questionnaires at the end of the face-to-face training sessions in Pakistan and 10 deep-interviews with Pakistani educators; the written traces, open questions, and deep-interviews were qualitatively analyzed. Additionally, the educators’ technological, pedagogical and instructional design and interpersonal and intercultural skills were also analysed. The paper considers how international learning could affect the professional learning of teacher-educators in Global South and the centrality of the design of innovative learning courses for today’s environment of international globalization.

Mindfulness for teachers: notes toward a discursive cartography

2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-108
Author(s):  
Remy Low
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Teacher Educator ◽  
Entry Point ◽  
Historical Research ◽  
Educational Researcher ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Discursive Formation ◽  
Heuristic Device

Purpose For the interested teacher, teacher educator and educational researcher seeking an entry point into how mindfulness relates to teachers’ work, the burgeoning and divergent appeals for the relevance of mindfulness to teachers can be bewildering. The purpose of this paper is to offer teachers, teacher educators and educational researchers a conceptual framework for understanding the different orientations and sources of mindfulness as it has been recommended to teachers. Design/methodology/approach Using Foucault’s (1972) concept of “discursive formations” as a heuristic device, this paper argues that mindfulness as pitched to teachers can be helpfully understood as arising from three distinct orientations. Findings Statements about mindfulness and its relevance to teachers emerge from three distinct discursive formations – traditional, psychological and engaged – that each constitute the “problem” faced by teachers respectively as suffering, stress or alienation. Specific conceptions of mindfulness are then advanced as a solution to these problems by certain authoritative subjects and institutions in ways that are taken as legitimate within each discursive formation. Originality/value Apart from offering a historical and discursive mapping of the different discursive formations from which mindfulness is pitched to teachers, this paper also highlights how each of these orientations impies a normative view of what a teacher should be. Suggestions for further historical research are also offered along the lines of genealogy, epistemology and ontology.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document