LESSON STUDY IN A METHODS COURSE: CONNECTING TEACHER EDUCATION TO THE FIELD

2012 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Usha Kotelawala
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Lesson Study ◽  
Methods Course

scholarly journals From Talk to Experience: Transforming the Preservice Physics Methods Course

2010 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom Russell ◽  
Shawn M. Bullock
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Lesson Study ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teacher Education Program ◽  
Preservice Teacher Education ◽  
Methods Course ◽  
Pedagogical Approach ◽  
Self Study ◽  
Physics Curriculum

This report of a collaborative self-study describes and interprets our pedagogical approach at the beginning of a preservice physics methods course and outlines the strategy that we used to create a context for productive learning. We focus on our attempt to engage teacher candidates in dialogue about learning physics and learning to teach physics by engaging them in brief teaching experiences in the first month of a preservice teacher education program, before the first practicum placement. Self-study methodologies are used to frame and reframe our perceptions of teaching and learning as we enacted a pedagogy of teacher education that was unfamiliar both to us and to our teacher candidates.Keywords: self-study of teacher education practices, lesson study, teacher education, physics, curriculum methods

Digital tools to promote remote lesson study

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joanna C. Weaver ◽  
Gabriel Matney ◽  
Allison M. Goedde ◽  
Jeremy R. Nadler ◽  
Nancy Patterson
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Lesson Study ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Digital Tools ◽  
Teacher Education Programs ◽  
Education Programs ◽  
Teacher Isolation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Using Data

PurposeThe authors propose that a digital instructional delivery format of lesson study (LS) may have the potential to amplify particular aspects of traditional, face-to-face LS.Design/methodology/approachThis is a qualitative case study, using data triangulation, member checking and an inductive approach to open-coding utilizing grounded theory to identify codes and themes.FindingsDigital tools promoted LS and learning, allowing for rigorous collaboration, synchronous observations, data collection and feedback, leading to deeper understanding.Research limitations/implicationsDigital tools used in the online LS process changed how instructional planning can be researched, analyzed and written collaboratively and impacted the fluidity of a lesson, the ease of observation and reflection, student engagement and the researchers' and students' ability to share ideas in real time.Practical implicationsLS can be integrated into online teacher education programs to engage students in online learning and promotes engagement, peer interaction and student voice. The use of these digital tools is not restricted just to remote instructional contexts.Social implicationsLS reduces teacher isolation, builds a collaborative community of teachers and increases instructional motivation. Educators across schools, universities or districts can integrate online LS into remote teacher education programs and online courses.Originality/valueThis study is original work that has not been published elsewhere.

Finding Possibility in Pitfalls: The Role of Permeable Methods Pedagogy in Preservice Teacher Learning

2016 ◽  
Vol 118 (7) ◽  
pp. 1-42
Author(s):  
Heather Hebard
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Preservice Teachers ◽  
Teacher Candidates ◽  
Teacher Candidate ◽  
Methods Course ◽  
Sense Making ◽  
Opportunities To Learn ◽  
Field Placement ◽  
Pedagogical Tools ◽  
Field Placements

Background/Context Tensions between university-based teacher preparation courses and field placements have long been identified as an obstacle to novices’ uptake of promising instructional practices. This tension is particularly salient for writing instruction, which continues to receive inadequate attention in K–12 classrooms. More scholarship is needed to develop a theory and practice of methods education that accounts for these tensions. Purpose This study investigated how opportunities to learn to teach writing in preservice preparation mediated teacher candidates’ learning. The investigation's aim was to add to our knowledge of how teachers learn and the factors that impact this learning to offer implications for improving teacher education. Participants and Settings Participants included literacy methods course instructors from two post-baccalaureate, university-based, K–8 teacher certification programs and participating candidates enrolled in these courses (N = 20). Settings included methods course meetings and participating candidates’ field placements. Research Design This comparative case study examined opportunities to learn and preservice teachers’ uptake of pedagogical tools across two programs. A cultural–historical theoretical lens helped to identify consequential differences in the nature of activity in preservice teachers’ methods courses and field placement experiences. Data included instructor interviews, methods course observations, teacher candidate focus groups, and field placement observations. Patterns of field and course activity in each program were identified and linked to patterns of appropriation within and across the two cohorts. Findings In one program, methods course activity included opportunities to make sense of the approaches to teaching writing that teacher candidates encountered across past and current experiences. The instructor leveraged points of tension and alignment across settings, prompting teacher candidates to consider affordances and variations of pedagogical tools for particular contexts and goals. This permeable setting supported candidates to develop habits of thinking about pedagogical tools, habits that facilitated uptake of integrated instructional frameworks. In the other program, methods activity focused almost exclusively on the tools and tasks presented in that setting. This circumscribed approach did not support sense-making across settings, which was refected in the fragmented nature of teacher candidates’ pedagogical tool uptake. Conclusions Findings challenge the notion that contradictions in teacher education are necessarily problematic, suggesting instead that they might be leveraged as entry points for sense-making. In addition, permeability is identified as a useful design principle for supporting learning across settings. Finally, a framework of pedagogical tools for subject-matter teaching may provide novices with a strong starting point for teaching and a scaffold for further learning. “I felt at the beginning of the school year that writing was not going to be a strong point for me…. Maybe part of it was the way [my cooperating teacher] modeled it for me; it was just free flowing, kind of … jumping from thing to thing [each day]…. It wasn't like the way [our methods instructor] had modeled for us … [using] four-week units.” –Sheri, teacher candidate, Madrona University

Whiteness as Property in Science Teacher Education

2018 ◽  
Vol 120 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-38
Author(s):  
Felicia Moore Mensah ◽  
Iesha Jackson
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Teacher Preparation ◽  
Science Teacher ◽  
Science Teachers ◽  
Elementary Science ◽  
Teacher Educators ◽  
Science Teacher Education ◽  
Methods Course ◽  
Teachers Of Color ◽  
Science Teacher Educators

Background/Context The disparity between the race and ethnicity of teachers and students is expected to increase as our nation and classrooms continue to become more racially, ethnically, linguistically, and economically diverse. It is extremely important to think about not only the educational needs of such a diverse student population within schools but also who will teach these students. However, when looking at subject-matter specificity for the retention of Teachers of Color, such as science teachers, the picture becomes extremely serious when we understand teachers’ paths into and out of science and teaching. Purpose The purpose of the study is to analyze the experiences of preservice Teachers of Color (PTOC) enrolled in an elementary science methods course as they gain access to science as White property. Our analysis provides evidence that PTOC can break the perpetual cycle of alienation, exclusion, and inequity in science when they are given opportunities to engage in science as learners and teachers. In addition, we also offer insights regarding the role science teacher educators may play in preparing teachers and especially TOC for urban schools. Setting/Research Design The context of this study was a graduate-level preservice elementary science methods course at a large urban university in New York City. Multiple data sources included pre-post surveys, semester observation journals, final course papers, and a post-course questionnaire. Utilizing constructivist grounded during the initial phase of analysis and themes from critical race theory (CRT), our unique voices of color and positionalities allowed us to interpret the data from a CRT perspective and arrive at findings relevant to making science inclusive to PTOC. Conclusions/Recommendations In order to push the field of science teacher education toward social justice issues of access, opportunity, and enjoyment, efforts must focus on increasing representation of Teachers of Color in science education. The transformation of science teacher education to grant equitable learning experiences for Teachers of Color is needed. Further research on the experiences of science Teachers of Color, as well as Faculty of Color and their relationship with students, is highly encouraged. Both teacher preparation and science education must be open to interrogate and reveal structural forms of race, racism, and power that manifest through curriculum, structure, and pedagogy that cause alienation and exclusion for Teachers of Color. Therefore, we encourage science teacher educators to examine their own course curriculum, structure, and pedagogy through self-study and refection. Overall practices in teacher preparation must empower rather than impede progress toward important goals of CRT, and this may be achieved through building stronger relationships with PTOC and Faculty of Color across teacher preparation courses in support of these goals.

scholarly journals Modeling Active Engagement Pedagogy through Classroom Response Systems in a Physics Teacher Education Course

2013 ◽  
Vol 1 (5) ◽  
pp. 523-542 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marina Milner-Bolotin ◽  
Heather Fisher ◽  
Alexandra MacDonald
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Education ◽  
Pedagogical Content Knowledge ◽  
Content Knowledge ◽  
Methods Course ◽  
Active Engagement ◽  
Future Teachers ◽  
Pedagogical Content ◽  
Classroom Response Systems ◽  
Response Systems ◽  
The Impact

One of the most commonly explored technologies in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education is Classroom Response Systems (clickers). Clickers help instructors generate in-class discussion by soliciting student responses to multiple-choice conceptual questions and sharing the distribution of these responses with the class. The potential benefits of clicker-enhanced pedagogy include: increased student engagement, reduced anxiety, continuous formative assessment, and enhanced conceptual understanding. Most studies, however, investigate the effects of clicker-enhanced instruction in large undergraduate STEM courses. The impact of this pedagogy on learning in small secondary or post-secondary classrooms is still relatively unexplored. The context of this study is a secondary physics methods course in a Teacher Education Program at a large Canadian university. One of the course assignments required future teachers to develop multiple-choice conceptual questions relevant to the secondary physics curriculum. This study investigates the impact of modeling clicker-enhanced active engagement pedagogy on future teachers’ Content Knowledge, Pedagogical Knowledge, and Pedagogical Content Knowledge, as revealed by this assignment. The results of the study indicate that: (1) modeling clicker-enhanced pedagogy in a physics methods course increases future teachers’ interest in active learning; (2) clicker-enhanced pedagogy is a powerful vehicle for developing Pedagogical Content Knowledge of future physics teachers; (3) clicker-enhanced pedagogy is a useful tool for teacher educators for identifying and addressing the gaps in the Content Knowledge of future teachers. This study sheds light on developing future teachers’ capacities to design and implement instruction that is driven by conceptual questions in the presence or absence of technology and the impact of this process on their Pedagogical Content Knowledge and attitudes about conceptual STEM learning.

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