Becoming a Teacher Educator

Pete Boyd University of CumbriaJean Murray University of East London

Kim Harris University of WorcesterClaire Smith Leeds Trinity University College

The Guidelines on the ESCalate website: http//escalate.ac.uk/3662

Teacher Education Advancement Network www.cumbria.ac.uk/TEAN/TeanHome.aspx

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Teacher education as a field Janus-faced – facing both the world of the university and

of the school …. But located in HE, with all its structures and imperatives Policy driven and fast changing 25 (+) years of change The world of regulation & quality assurance in teacher

education Differentiations of universities and colleges across the

HE system & their varying investments in teacher education

Conventional academic work / roles / values and teacher educators’ work / roles / values - a different kind of academic

Leah 10 years in teacher

education. After working on PGCE Primary

programmes, she has now completed her PhD,

built up a portfolio of journal publications, academic books and

research grants. Has now gained a post as a

Reader

Clive5 years in teacher education. Works on PGCE Secondary

maths, a range of Enhancement Courses and CPD including the Masters. Also works as a maths consultant locally and nationally.

Strong profile in Knowledge Exchange activities.

Jane15 years in teacher

education. After working on the PGCE and under-graduate SEN courses at her

university for 10 years, she now leads an international SEN

specialist course in Malaysia. Writes

extensively on SEN for professional audiences.

James After a successful

career as a secondary school deputy head, now

works part-time in HE and part-time in schools. History

specialist. Works on various Exam Board

and Advisory bodies.

Exploring Academic Work contexts: making induction work for you

Induction provision – HR & HE Post Grad Cert in HE? Valuations of activities within your Department?

Priorities? Your probation requirements? Personal priorities Opportunities and creativity in teacher education work:

reconstructing / re-developing identities

Workplace Learning: GuidelinesWorkplace learning framework

1 Role design2 Organisational learning3 ITE pedagogy4 School-based role5 Formal Courses6 Scholarship and research

Boyd, P., Harris, K. & Murray, J. (2007)

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http//escalate.ac.uk/3662

• Close collaborative working• Colleagues mutually supportive• An explicit focus on learning at work• Opportunities beyond departmental priorities • External opportunities, time to think differently• Support to integrate off the job learning into practice • Able to participate in more than one working group• Opportunities for boundary crossing • Support for local variation in ways of working

(adapted from Hodkinson & Hodkinson, 2005)

Expansive workplace environments:

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Restrictive workplace environments:

Learning is part of intensive work pattern, with little structured space for reflection

Fast transition from novice to expert expected Induction is focused around / conflated with monitoring

(meeting the letter of probationary requirements) No clear ‘curriculum’ for workplace learning One size fits all induction provision Work is largely solitary and / or without collegial support Mentoring / coaching is not focused on the developing

needs of the individual

Becoming: reconstructing identity

Exposure to the ‘paradigmatic trajectories’ of experienced members provides a model that is a key influence on the learning of newcomers…

(Wenger, 1998: 156)

What identity ‘models’ exist within your department?

To what extent do you cross boundaries and emphasise different aspects of your identity?

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Pedagogy of Teacher EducationConsider one of your recent successful taught sessions with your student teachers: write on a post-it one or two key aspects of your approach to teacher education…

As a group sort out the post-its to find common issues and create a poster entitled ‘principles for effective teacher education’...

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L2Teach, L2L, Teach2L

Student teachers are ‘learning to teach’ but also ‘teaching to learn’ Loughran, 2006

Maybe they are also learning to learn?

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Conceptions of learning to teach

Cascading expertisetransmission

Enabling student’s growth as a teacherapprenticeship

Developing student teachingemulation but personalised

Student as teacher and learnerconceptual change, critical thinking

Taylor, 2008

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College sessions: what might be?Learning to teach…

Workplace learning: what works? Teaching to learn…

Subject discipline / vocational area: what might students learn?

What are students / pupils in my setting and courses learning?

Congruent teaching: how are we, as student teachers, being taught?

How am I teaching my students / pupils and how are other teachers teaching?

Pedagogy of the subject discipline: how might I teach the subject?

How are students ./ pupils in my setting and courses

learning?

Explicit modelling: how is the teacher educator questioning and developing their own practice?

How am I developing my own practice?

Metacognition: how are we, as student teachers, learning?

Using metacognition: How are my students / pupils learning to learn?

Teacher education: a complex, layered pedagogy

Boyd, in progress

Seven Principles: learning to teach…

1. Involves conflicting and competing demands2. Requires the student to create knowledge3. Requires a shift in focus from curriculum to

learner4. Is enhanced by (student) teacher research5. Requires collaborative learning6. Requires meaningful partnership7. Is enhanced through modelling by teacher

educatorsKorthagen, Loughran & Russell (2006)

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What do teachers know and do?

What do you want your student teachers to know and be able to do?

Being

Knowing Doing

Developing Teacher Knowledge

Pedagogicalknowledge

Practice andIdentity as a teacher

Curriculum subjectknowledge

Educational setting within the system

Society & community

Informed by:

Shulman (1986); Wenger,

1998; Peressini

et al.(2004)Rapidly

changing policy frame

High levels of accountability

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Using ‘modelling’ in teacher education

What does modelling mean to you? To what extent do you use it within your teaching of student teachers?

Summarise your group’s understanding of ‘modelling’ as a strategy within the context of teacher education.

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Congruent teaching and modelling

Congruent teaching... Stepping out and thinking aloud... Building links to learning theory... Helping student teachers to reflect...

(Loughran & Berry, 2006; Swennen, Lunenberg, & Korthagen, 2008)

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Scholarship and research: definitions and expectations

The key characteristic of university teaching and knowledge exchange activity is that it is underpinned by scholarship & engagement with research

There are contractual obligations and expectations from your department and institution

The influence of national research audits and universities’ participation in them – overt & tacit valuation of research & researchers and the impact on the field of teacher education

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Scholarship and research: creativity and opportunities

• Outcomes: your workplace & your personal trajectory / aims

• Centre areas of interest / relevance (but also consider zeitgeist)

• Coherence & planning; including serendipity & seizing the moment

• Synergy with teaching / role – researching close to home – research-informed teaching

• Formal courses & qualifications and less conventional routes

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Scholarship and research: networking

Individual endeavours (the loneliness of the long distance researcher)

Possible collaborators – somos mas! - close to home, other institutions

Research apprenticeships Creating your research & scholarship network(s) –

personal and collective (e.g. BERA, UCET, ASE….) Spotting & making the most of opportunities

Resources and sources of support

British Education Index British Educational Research Association (BERA) Current Education and Children's Services Research Education Evidence Portal (eep) Eppi Centre, Institute of Education, University of London ESCalate : The Higher Education Academy : Education Subject

Centre advancing learning and teaching in education Teaching and Learning Research Programme Teacher Education Advancement Network TEG Teacher Training Resource Bank (TTRB) (no longer funded)

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T E GThe Teacher Education Bibliography page: http://www.tlrp.org/capacity/rm/wt/teg/

The on-line resource

The TEG database

Currently consists of 473 citations Citations have been classified by the TEG group in various ways.

To search these citations various filters can be applied to the list of citations

The list of citations is organised alphabetically by author name

T E G

TEG Online search accessible via the TLRP website at:

http://www.tlrp.org/capacity/rm/wt/teg/

T E G

Developing your own research

Generativity: a previous study in teacher education (or a relevant study in another area of education) which you feel may offer insights into your research theme (substantive, theoretical, methodological).

The what, how and why of this study.

Creativity: previous research which you feel offers new and creative starting points for thinking about teacher education research.

The what, how and why of your new study.