School-Based Teacher Learning

Abstract

The theme of this issue of Journal of Teacher Education (JTE) focuses on theory, people, processes, and outcomes related to teacher learning in school-based settings. Teacher educators and researchers agree that externally driven, isolated workshops and conferences have produced little impact on inservice teacher learning and change (Gallimore, Emeling, Saunders, & Goldenberg, 2009; Hawley & Valli, 1999). In contrast, when professional development is school-based and embedded in the daily work of teachers, learning is more likely to occur (Desimone, 2009; Garet, Porter, Desimone, Birman, & Yoon, 2001). Similarly, teacher education rooted solely in university coursework has had minimal impact on preservice teacher (PST) learning. School-based approaches have been extended to PST learning with an increased focus on field experiences as a valuable element of PST education (American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education [AACTE], 2010). However, more research is needed to understand how multiple variables work together in these settings to affect teacher learning (Opfer & Pedder, 2011). Of particular interest is the role of the school workplace in both inservice and PST learning and the interplay between the two. The call for manuscripts for this issue recognized that much of what teachers learn about teaching and learning occurs in school-based contexts and that opportunities for teacher learning occur along the professional continuum, from preservice field experiences to a multitude of opportunities for inservice teachers to engage in job-embedded learning. In addition, school-based teacher education is supported by various types of teacher educators, including mentors, university supervisors, peers, instructional coaches, administrators, district-level supervisors, university faculty, and other professional development providers. The articles published in this issue focus on what teachers and PSTs learn in school-based settings; theories, concepts, frameworks, approaches, and models that are powerful in explaining and guiding teacher learning in school contexts; and how school-based teacher educators work together to affect their own and others' learning. Highlights of the Theme Issue The first two articles address the relationship between PST learning in field schools and learning in subsequent school settings as beginning teachers, but from very different perspectives. Both consider the context of the use of value-added to student achievement measures (VAM) to determine effectiveness of teacher preparation programs (TPPs). JTE has published theme issues and articles related to the use of value-added models to determine the effectiveness of TPPs (Volume 63:5), with mixed reactions. Although researchers provide some support for the potential of the approach to provide feedback to policymakers and educators on the achievement of students taught by teachers in different TPPs (Gansle, Noell, & Bums, 2012; Plecki, Elfers, & Nakamura (2012), the potential of using VAM for teacher preparation is diminished by the complexity and limitations of the approach (see Floden, 2012; Goldhaber & Cowan, 2014; Henry, Kershaw, Zulli, & Smith, 2012; Lincove, Osbome, Dillon, & Mills, 2014). Ronfeldt and Strom provide additional perspectives on the topic in this issue. Matthew Ronfeldt, author of Field Placement Schools and Instructional Effectiveness, investigates whether and how schools serve as organizations for teacher learning. More specifically, he examines the relationship between teachers' inservice instructional performance measured by VAM and characteristics of field placement schools where they did their student teaching. Do teachers who were interns in schools characterized by greater collaboration, effectiveness in raising student achievement, and less school turnover perform better in their initial positions? His findings indicated that math teachers who had previously learned to teach in field placements with better achievement and more collaboration were better at raising students' math achievement. …