Apprenticeship Of Observation Research Articles

ENHANCING ESL NOVICE TEACHERS’ PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT: ROLES OF PEERS IN OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING THROUGH PEER MENTORING

The transition from pre-service training to real-world classrooms can be daunting for novice English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers. A qualitative multiple-case study approach was employed to determine the impact of peer mentoring on ESL teachers’ professional development through mutual classroom observations. Specifically, peer mentors’ guidance on novice ESL teachers in developing effective instructions was appraised by applying Lortie’s (1975) apprenticeship of observation. The data were collected through interviews with three novice ESL teachers from public primary schools who participated in peer mentoring partnerships, classroom observations, and participants’ personal journal entries. Thematic analysis was performed, which demonstrated that peer mentoring facilitated a) enhanced instructional practices, b) a shift in the novices’ mindset and c) a collaborative interaction in the professional learning community. The findings posited that peer mentoring provided an alternative observational learning approach for novice ESL teachers in terms of effective instructional strategies from colleagues while obtaining specific feedback on professional development. Resultantly, a nuanced comprehension of the approach employed by novice ESL teachers to enhance instructional expertise via peer support was provided. Practical implications were contributed to existing ESL training programs, novice ESL teachers, and educational institutions.

“I want kids to have the same feeling as I do towards physical activity”: Acculturation of British preservice physical education teachers

The purpose of this study was to describe the acculturation of six British physical education (PE) preservice teachers (PSTs). The research questions we sought to answer were: (a) What were the PSTs’ values, beliefs, and perspectives regarding PE? and (b) What factors shaped the PSTs’ values, beliefs, and perspectives during their acculturation? We collected data with three types of formal interviewing and employed standard interpretive techniques to reduce the data to themes. Key findings were that the PSTs aspired to a career teaching secondary PE, possessed a balanced orientation to teaching curricular PE and coaching extracurricular sport, and espoused a mostly traditional multi-activity curriculum that was dominated by sport. The main attractors to a career in PE were the opportunity to maintain a connection with sport and working with youth. The key shaper of the PSTs’ perspectives was their apprenticeships of observation. These findings should aid sport pedagogy faculty in their efforts to produce stronger initial teacher education programs.

To PETE, or Not to PETE, That Is the Question: The Influence of Occupational Socialization on Physical Education Teacher Education Recruitment and Retention

Purpose: A reduction in physical education teacher education (PETE) enrollments has been evident over the past decade. As a result, many institutions have eliminated their PETE programs, and the recruitment and retention of preservice teachers has been a significant area of concern and research. The study’s aim was to investigate how occupational socialization influenced PETE recruitment and retention at one mid-sized public research university in the southeastern United States. Method: Participants were 16 individuals who were undergraduate students or recent graduates. Data were collected through autobiographical essays and interviews. Results: Participants were organized into five categories: (a) PETE precandidacy, (b) currently enrolled in PETE, (c) recent PETE graduate, (d) seriously contemplated PETE but never enrolled, and (e) withdrew from PETE. Participants acted as pursuers, latecomers, and lamenters. The factors influencing PETE recruitment were (a) apprenticeship of observation, (b) the family business, and (c) job satisfaction, with the factors influencing retention being (d) a loss of enthusiasm. Discussion/Conclusion: The data from this study both support and contradict prior research into PETE recruitment and retention. These findings would be of interest to PETE faculty, program coordinators, and other administrators who are responsible for the recruitment and retention of students.

Excursions as an Immersion Pedagogy to Enhance Self-Directed Learning in Pre-Service Teacher Education

Pre-service teacher education should be underpinned by pedagogies that would enhance self-directed learning. Future teachers need to create contexts in the classrooms that would enable learners to, as self-directed learners, identify individual learning goals for themselves, search for appropriate resources, and monitor and assess their own learning. Self-directed learning is essential to adequately prepare learners for a complex and changing world. This paper focuses on the affordances of a first-year student teacher excursion to scaffold learning and the development of a professional identity, and to address the ‘apprenticeship of observation’ that could prevent optimal learning. Pre-service teachers often enter the Bachelor of Education degree with a naïve understanding of the teaching profession. Furthermore, they come from school contexts that often do not enhance self-directed learning. The faculties of education from three different universities have engaged in excursions for first-year student teachers, where the student teachers, as Homo ludens (the playing human), engage in problem-based and cooperative learning activities, exploring the complexities of the teaching profession. Social constructivism underpins the excursion. Findings over 17 years (2007–2023) across three universities—the University of Johannesburg, North-West University and the University of the Western Cape—show that such immersion pedagogy is a high-impact educational practice, in which student teachers learn from practice. The findings show that the excursion provides pre-service teachers with a more nuanced understanding of the teaching profession, enhanced sensitivity to diversity, social justice and inclusivity, an understanding of the value of reflection, and a sense of belonging as a student in the higher education sector. The findings also highlight the affordances of excursions to enhance self-directed learning, an important attribute to ensure continued professional development. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, higher education institutions had to rethink teaching and learning, and this article also explores the transformation of face-to-face excursions to virtual online excursions.

How Personal, Experiential, and Contextual Factors Mediate EFL Teachers’ Conceptions of Assessment: A Narrative Study

Abstract While prior research suggests that teachers’ conceptions of assessment (CoA) are influenced by their personal characteristics, experiences, and specific sociocultural contexts, how these factors influence teachers’ CoA is still underexplored. This narrative study explores what teachers’ CoA are, as well as how influential factors mediate their CoA by drawing on data from narrative frames with 48 high school EFL teachers in China. Findings reveal that teachers commonly endorsed the improvement-oriented purpose of assessment. A range of factors is found to have exerted influences to different degrees on these conceptions, including personal factors (i.e., teachers’ agency in assessment), experiential factors [i.e., (anti-)apprenticeship of observation about assessment], and contextual factors (i.e., exam-oriented culture). These findings are discussed in terms of how teachers negotiate the improvement- and accountability-oriented purposes of assessment, as well as how teachers’ CoA are shaped by teacher agency, emotional experiences as assessees, and the exam-oriented culture. This paper concludes with implications for research on teachers’ CoA and policy, practice, and professional development of teacher assessment literacy.

The core-peripheral belief dynamic and its impact on teaching speaking in English as a foreign language (EFL) in grade 8 in the Faroe Islands

The objective of this qualitative parallel case study was to elicit the teacher cognition of grade 8 teachers in the Faroe Islands about teaching speaking in English as a foreign language (EFL). Teacher cognition and actions were studied in context based on data from semi-structured interviews, mixed questionnaire and observations. Manual thematic analysis through using a priori and post priori codes was adopted to parse data and establish the influence of teacher cognition on teaching in the classroom and identify any common trends among participants. The results show that teacher cognition has a marked influence on teaching speaking. Congruence between cognition and teaching is apparent, with some instances of incongruence. Congruence between teacher cognition and teaching speaking rests on two factors – the marked influence of ‘apprenticeship of observation’ i.e., the influence of teachers’ personal experiences from years of education that shapes their thoughts and teaching and teacher understanding of teaching speaking as ‘doing’ speaking i.e., providing opportunities for students to speak in the classroom. Incongruence stems from the core-peripheral belief dynamic, where the predominance of core beliefs over peripheral beliefs affects the efficacy of teaching speaking.

The core-peripheral belief dynamic and its impact on teaching speaking in English as a foreign language (EFL) in grade 8 in the Faroe Islands

The objective of this qualitative parallel case study was to elicit the teacher cognition of grade 8 teachers in the Faroe Islands about teaching speaking in English as a foreign language (EFL). Teacher cognition and actions were studied in context based on data from semi-structured interviews, mixed questionnaire and observations. Manual thematic analysis through using a priori and post priori codes was adopted to parse data and establish the influence of teacher cognition on teaching in the classroom and identify any common trends among participants. The results show that teacher cognition has a marked influence on teaching speaking. Congruence between cognition and teaching is apparent, with some instances of incongruence. Congruence between teacher cognition and teaching speaking rests on two factors – the marked influence of ‘apprenticeship of observation’ i.e., the influence of teachers’ personal experiences from years of education that shapes their thoughts and teaching and teacher understanding of teaching speaking as ‘doing’ speaking i.e., providing opportunities for students to speak in the classroom. Incongruence stems from the core-peripheral belief dynamic, where the predominance of core beliefs over peripheral beliefs affects the efficacy of teaching speaking.

Using life-history narrative writing to examine EFL preservice teachers' preconceptions of teaching and teachers and their initial motivation to undertake teacher education

PurposeThis study examines EFL preservice teachers' life-history narrative. The objectives of the examination were to identify the preconceptions of teaching and teachers that the preservice teachers brought to teachers college, the sources and biographical origins of these preconceptions, and to what extent, if any, the preconceptions influenced their initial motivation to enroll in a teacher education program.Design/methodology/approachUsing a life-history narrative as the method, the authors aimed at capturing and describing the critical moments in the preservice teachers' educational histories, the people involved in those moments (Clandinin and Conelly, 2000) and the sociocultural factors that might have influenced their preconceptions of teaching and the work of teachers as well as their decision to undertake teacher education.FindingsThe narrative analysis of the autobiographies has revealed that the preservice teachers still viewed teaching and teachers from altruistic perspectives. These preconceptions were based on the apprenticeship of observation and highly influenced by significant moments, the people they interacted with throughout their life and educational history and the sociocultural value of teaching and teachers in Indonesia. These preconceptions have influenced their genuine motivation to undertake teacher education and their commitment to the teaching profession. Several pedagogical implications for teacher education are also presented.Originality/valueThe authors’ study contributes to the scholarly conversations about the critical roles of life-history examination in the understanding of preservice teachers' motivation to undertake teacher education.

Learning to Teach: Narratives and Counter-narratives about Preservice Teachers

The present article analyzes two critical frameworks within teacher education and how they construct preservice teachers and their learning within teacher education. These frameworks of 'Apprenticeship of Observation' (AoO) and 'Ambitious Practice' (AP) present opposing narratives about preservice teachers. While AoO directs our attention to preservice teachers' belief, AP emphasizes on developing professional practices that are core to the work of teaching. Teacher educators draw on these frameworks and narratives to inform their work with preservice teachers . Each framework has its unique stance on preservice teachers and makes noteworthy contributions that expand the field teacher education and evolve our thinking as teacher educators

Understanding the Lived Experience of Online Learners: Towards a Framework for Phenomenological Research on Distance Education

Not all instructors in higher education enter the classroom with teaching experience, but all have observed teaching in higher education from the perspective of a student. This “apprenticeship of observation” that Lortie (1975) wrote about decades ago at least gives instructors the opportunity to empathize with their students, an important disposition for successful instructors. As more and more instructors are being asked to teach via distance education, they are being asked to do so with no online teaching experience and no or limited experience as an online student. One way, then, for them to develop empathy for online students and become a better online instructor would be to read systematic explications of the lived experiences of online learners. Phenomenology as a research design is purposeful towards gaining an understanding of “lifeworlds.” There is a small but growing body of phenomenological research on distance education, but most of the work is thin, not consistent with core principles of phenomenological research, and not tailored to the uniqueness of the distance education environment. This article makes the case for more phenomenological research on distance education and works towards a framework for this kind of research.

Teacher Educators’ Apprenticeships of Observation and Community-Based Field Settings

This paper presents findings from a 2-year collaborative self-study examining four teacher educators’ (TEs’) experiences facilitating community-based field experiences in the United States and Canada. To examine our experiences working in these field settings we drew experiential learning theory (ELT) as well as the concept of apprenticeship of observation. Facilitating preservice teachers’ (PSTs) learning in field settings outside traditional PK-12 contexts, such as museums and a construction site, prompted us to consider how apprenticeships of observation and ELT intersect when seeking to expand PST education to also include community-based field settings. Working in these community-based field settings also served to disrupt some of our own apprenticeships of observation. Finally, we noted that when working in these non-traditional field settings and utilizing the ELT framework, our experiences as TEs were neither sequential nor unidirectional.

An Investigation of Preservice Teachers’ Apprenticeship of Observation Through a Lens of Autobiographical Memory

Preservice teachers’ schooling during their “apprenticeship of observation” has long been a focus of attention in teacher education as it is seen as influential in the development of teacher beliefs and in limiting preservice teachers’ openness to alternative conceptions of teaching. Looking through the lens of autobiographical memory, the research engaged 42 preservice teachers in semi-structured interviews exploring their talk about secondary schooling experiences. This research found that the participating preservice teachers agentically constructed nuanced schooling memories. Rather than their experiences of schooling practices imposing conceptions of teaching on them, participants were selective in encoding and recalling practices congruent with their goal of becoming a teacher. While acknowledging the important contribution of the apprenticeship of observation construct, these research findings suggest that when viewed through the lens of autobiographical memory, the construct is more nuanced than commonly presented, and, thus necessitates further consideration by teacher educators.

Context, Communities, and Conflict: Novice Language Teachers in Malaysia

AbstractThis narrative inquiry focuses on two Malaysian novice English language teachers whose pre‐service teacher education had included two years of study abroad. The experiences of novice language teachers remain an under‐investigated area and this study furthers our understanding of that experience. Furthermore, while research on the effectiveness of pre‐service language teacher education has reported mixed results, accounts on the impact of studying abroad claim multiple benefits. Thus this study extends the literature on novice language teachers by adding a study abroad dimension. It asks what influences the teachers’ pedagogical decision‐making and how they now view their study abroad. In line with models of language teacher cognition, a dynamic interplay of influences on these novice teachers’ classroom practice emerges. These influences include their ‘apprenticeship of observation’, the national and local context, their professional learning, and support networks. Multiple layers of both context and community were found to influence the teachers. The study abroad experiences features in both positive and negative ways. It conveys status, and raises expectations, but is not always regarded as relevant to teaching in Malaysian primary schools. It can also, however, have an alienating effect. This is a previously unacknowledged effect of study abroad on language teachers.

A window to teachers’ ICT practices: Discerning between teaching and the complex science of pedagogy

Resumo Utilising Loughran’s notion of the complexity of teaching, this study set out to explore how teachers used information and communication technology (ICT) in their classroom practices. The study is grounded in qualitative research methods. Data capture included a mix of semi-structured interviews, observations and document analysis. Data was analysed using content analysis methods. Findings were fourfold. First, small pockets of innovative teachers changed their pedagogy. Second, teachers’ beliefs suggest (mis)understandings about their ICT induced teaching, which they perceived as changed pedagogy, but actually only their mode of curriculum delivery changed. Third, most teachers seemed to reposition their practice using technology to facilitate the demands of a scripted curriculum, thus merely changing their teaching practice. Fourth, teachers’ apprenticeship of observation is further perpetuated through pre-service training that does not promote pedagogical experiential change.

Revisioning Grammar Instruction through Collaborative Lesson Study: A New Apprenticeship of Observation

ABSTRACTA concern about grammar and usage instruction is the ineffectiveness of the frequently-used practice of worksheets and out-of-context application. In light of recent findings that applied grammar instruction can improve students’ writing, a need for research on increasing teachers’ pedagogical knowledge in this area is indicated. This case study examines teacher professional development to consider what aspects promote and extend teacher knowledge and practice in this area. Three high-school English teachers participated in a month-long Lesson Study cycle. Findings suggest that teachers’ insights about active, collaborative grammar instruction appear to have been supported by their own collaboration and by joint observation of practice. Providing opportunities for teachers to reflect together on what was observed encouraged learning that transcended the specific lesson.

How Pre-service Teachers' Conceptions of Assessment Change Over Practicum: Implications for Teacher Assessment Literacy

Practicum poses great challenges for pre-service teachers who learn to assess because their conceptions of assessment (CoA) may undergo dramatic changes. This multiple case study reports on how three pre-service teachers’ CoA changed over practicum at a primary school in China. Findings show that pre-service teachers’ CoA have experienced a rapid change from a superficial perception of assessment for academic achievement and moral character development, to a more comprehensive understanding of varied assessment purposes, constructs in assessment criteria, feedback, fairness in classroom assessment, and students’ involvement in and engagement with assessment. A range of factors are found to have exerted varying degrees of influence on these conception changes, such as personal factor (i.e., agency in assessment), experiential factors (i.e., school-based assessment practices, interactions with students, and (anti-)apprenticeship of observation about assessment) and contextual factors (i.e., mentoring, classroom reality, school assessment culture, and national assessment policy). These findings are discussed in terms of how these changes are diverse but limited, as well as how the mediating factors have exerted differentiated influences in positive or negative ways. This paper concludes with implications for research on teachers’ CoA and professional development for assessment literacy.

Fostering volunteer ESL teacher identity through reflection on apprenticeship of observation

Many adult English language learners in the United States are taught by volunteer teachers in community‐based programs. These volunteers bring a variety of experience and expertise into the classroom and great enthusiasm for teaching and care for their students. However, many do not have background in language education. Professional development for such teachers needs to offer opportunities to reflect on self‐perception and evolving teacher identity in addition to teaching methods and classroom practices. This article discusses how conscious understanding of apprenticeship of observation can help volunteer teachers make explicit connections between their experiences as learners, current view of themselves as language teachers, and their teaching practices. The article outlines three activities that lead participants through a series of reflections that progress from describing their teaching beliefs, values, and practices; identifying most memorable teaching acts in their own learning (apprenticeship of observation); and connecting these teaching acts with volunteers’ current teaching approaches.

More about strategies to improve the quality of joint reflection based on the theory-practice relationship during practicum seminars

ABSTRACTThe present study focuses on students’ reflection during practicum seminars. The practicum is the ideal setting for reflection. Three levels of reflection have been identified. The second and third, which address the theory-practice relationship, guarantee quality in reflection. This relationship has been researched through participation patterns and tutor assistance. In this paper, we try to clarify which strategies elicit a higher quality of joint reflection. To this end, a case study was performed in the context of the Practicum III course (30 ECTS credits), taken in the fourth and final year of a bachelor’s degree program in Primary Education. 2 tutors and 10 student teachers (all women) participated in the study. The student teachers jointly analyzed several real situations that occurred during their practicum. The seminars were recorded, transcribed and coded for subsequent interactivity and content analysis. Five situations were analyzed. At the second level of reflection, the theory-practice relationship emerged during the interpretative pattern when the tutor gave assistance that facilitated a theoretical framework and academic knowledge to the student teachers, who were attempting to understand and/or solve the dilemmas of the situation under consideration. These interactions were able to mitigate the power of the ‘apprenticeship of observation’.

Mitigating the apprenticeship of observation

ABSTRACT Educational landscapes shift and change, and beginning teachers are poised to breathe new life into existing educational practices. However, not all nascent teachers are equipped to lead educational change and at times are more likely to implement traditional educational approaches. This study offers insights into the ways in which beginning elementary teachers do or do not replicate the kinds of classroom management systems used during their own childhood elementary education experiences as a result of what Dan Lortie calls the apprenticeship of observation. Results of this study indicate that, when designing their classroom management systems, first-year teachers draw from a range of both traditional and progressive influences including what they recall of their own childhood experiences, what they learned in their teacher preparation program, and what the more experienced teachers at their schools do. Possible conclusions point to the need for teacher preparation programs to remain engaged with graduates in order to help solidify what was learned through the program.

Extending the apprenticeship of observation: how mentee experiences shape mentors

ABSTRACT Although the importance of mentor teachers in clinical teacher preparation is well established, few researchers explore the social identity development of these individuals. Through our study we contribute to the body of research by exploring mentor teachers’ social identity development through the concept of Apprenticeship of Observation – specifically, how they felt their own mentoring experiences influenced their approaches to mentoring. The multi-case study includes findings about mentoring beliefs and practices during the laboratory school component of an Alternate Route to Licensure program. Incorporating semi-structured interviews and video analysis, the findings demonstrate how four mentor teachers’ prior experiences as mentees – including Alternate Route to Licensure, traditional teacher preparation programs, and inservice teaching – influenced their interactions with teacher candidates as mentors. Recommendations for practice and implications for future research are provided.