Learning In Initial Teacher Education Research Articles

Critical incidents as a strategy to enhance student teachers’ reflection about practice through immersive learning

ABSTRACT Critical incidents are unanticipated events (either positive or negative) that teachers may encounter during a lesson or other situation causing them to reflect on their approach and change accordingly. .Critical incidents have great potential for learning as they are vividly remembered and set the conditions for systematic reflection. However, despite the importance of the critical incident technique for professional learning in Initial Teacher Education (ITE), it is not generally used in teacher education programmes until the practicum stage when video-analysis is used. This study aims to analyse student teachers’ individual and group reflections regarding two cases recorded on video in Portugal and Spain. Under the context of an Erasmus research project entitled ‘Digital Practicum 3.0: Exploring Augmented Reality, Remote Classrooms, and Virtual Learning to enrich and expand preservice teacher education preparation (2020–1-ES01-KA226-HE - 096,120)’ two cohorts of 39 and 22 student teachers, respectively, reflected upon two critical incidents previously selected by the student teachers who had taught the two lessons that were video recorded. They had to watch the videos and analyse the incidents both in group discussion and individual reflection. Findings suggest that such a strategy is key to enhancing the development of critical reflection in Initial Teacher Education.

Using Collaborative self-study to support professional learning in initial teacher education: developing pedagogy through Meaningful Physical Education

ABSTRACT Collaborative self-study provides teacher educators with opportunities to enhance professional learning. This paper explores how three teacher educators used this approach to support their learning while introducing the pedagogy of Meaningful Physical Education (MPE) to pre-service teachers (PSTs). Thematic analysis of reflections, critical friend feedback and online conversations were used to generate three themes: Collaborative Self-study helped us to learn about our practice; learn how to support student learning; and learn how to introduce pedagogical innovation. Collaboration reinforced resolve and sustained change through sharing experiences, content, resources, and outcomes. While the context for this study was PE, we believe the findings are relevant for all initial teacher educators seeking to develop their practice. Further research into collaborative self-study practice of pedagogical innovation across varied curricular areas could enhance teacher and student learning.

From “Am I just too old for this?” To “Hey – I think I could do that!”: a collaborative self-study of the implementation of blended synchronous learning in initial teacher education

AbstractBlended Synchronous Learning (BSL) refers to when students located in physical classrooms learn together with peers who attend remotely, via networked digital technologies. The Covid-19 pandemic, along with ambitions to increase flexibility in learning delivery mode for students, has led to the increased implementation of BSL in tertiary education. The current evidence-base around BSL provides important principles for its use, but relatively little research has examined the experiences of teaching staff in depth. This article uses a self-study methodology to explore educators’ experiences of BSL implementation in a post-graduate Initial Teacher Education course in Australia. Six teaching staff, all co-researchers for the study, contributed reflective data, and engaged in analysis and interpretation of the data via structured critical friendships. Insights related to four key themes were derived from the analysis: institutional and pedagogical factors; educator wellbeing, self-efficacy and professional identity; staffing support; and collegial professional learning. The implementation of BSL, while aligned with existing recommendations, produced significant challenges for educators in relation to institutional support and training, pedagogical practices, operation of BSL technologies, professional identity and self-efficacy. Cognitive overload was a prominent feature of the BSL teaching experience. On the whole, while drawing on existing skills and teaching experience, educators held significant concerns with the overall quality of student learning in BSL—especially for remote students. Training, practice, technical and co-teaching support, as well as collegial relationships, were important mediators of educator experience. The findings suggest that the implementation of BSL requires substantial investment in staffing, training, skill development, and opportunities for authentic, meaningful practice and prototyping. The findings also affirm the value of timely, organisationally supported and collaborative professional learning as part of BSL implementation.

Designing flipped learning in initial teacher education: The experiences of two teacher educators

The move to online learning triggered by COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020 and 2021 necessitated a rapid movement to effectively design synchronous digital learning environments. In such environments research suggests that a flipped approach to teaching and learning is most appropriate in learning environments mediated by technologies. This article examines the experiences of two teacher educators in dealing with online learning environments in a time of change and examines the shift to a flipped approach in teaching literacy units that are part of a postgraduate initial teacher education degree at a university in Melbourne, Australia. The article presents a collaborative autoethnography of the experiences of the teacher educators, shared as a set of curated narrative vignettes, and analyses the thinking that supports the implementation of flipped learning. These practice narratives are understood through the lens of collaborative learning theory which emphasises negotiated meanings and knowledge creation within groups. In post-COVID times this article points to future possibilities for a flipped learning approach in hybrid or mixed learning environments and offers a conceptual process model for designing learning in response to change. Implications for practice or policy: Teacher educators may need to reconsider learning design for online and hybrid environments. Universities may need to be more open to student-centred pedagogies such as flipped learning. Leaders and policymakers in higher education should give more attention to student agency and active learning in educational delivery.

Project-based learning in initial teacher education: contributions for the professional development of elementary school teachers

This study aims to understand how Project-based learning, addressed in initial teacher education programs, is reflected in the practices and professional development of elementary school teachers, as it is a method that contrasts with students' conceptions about teaching and promotes the development of pupils’ skills and knowledge. The study uses a multiple case study design, in which the main data collection techniques are interviews and document analysis. The results show that initial teacher education institutions are concerned with the integration of this teaching method in its programs, although its approach is insufficient for future teachers and beginning teachers to implement it with confidence. Data also reveal the need for greater monitoring by higher education institutions during teachers' induction phase, in order to support them during the constraints of this stage, encouraging the use of active teaching methods and contributing to an early stage of their professional development.

Project-Based Learning in Initial Teacher Education: The Practice of Three Higher Education Institutions in Portugal

Future teachers first come into contact with diversified teaching strategies, such as Project-Based Learning, in initial teacher education programmes.  Such strategies contrast with the type of methods that they experienced throughout their own schooling, which are essentially teacher centred. The present research aims to understand how Project-Based Learning is being integrated into the curriculum of primary school teachers’ initial teacher education programmes. The participants were three higher education institutions located in different regions of Portugal, all of which offer initial teacher education programmes for primary school teachers that include Project-Based Learning at some point. The data were collected through document analysis of the programmes’ curricula, as well as through semi-structured interviews with the programme coordinators in each institution. The results show that the institutions value Project-Based Learning and make an effort to include it in their programmes, whether in theoretical, didactical or practical terms. However, they encounter some difficulties in promoting more significant experiences that would enable the students to feel confident to use this strategy in their Supervised Teaching Practice internships.

Student teachers' views about the university's research contribution to professional knowledge development

Against an international policy backdrop that increasingly favours practicum over theoretical learning in initial teacher education (ITE), this paper reports on a mixed-methods study which investigated student teachers' views about the university's research contribution to professional knowledge development. In particular, it explored whether students following university-led and school-based ITE courses in England held divergent views, the relative influence of contextual and person-specific factors, and the curriculum's capacity to promote research relevance. The findings revealed the strong influence of personal epistemologies and epistemic emotions, highlighting the importance of consideration to social and educational psychology in ITE curriculum development.

Towards a network learning system: reflections on a university initial teacher education and school-based collaborative initiative in Chile

ABSTRACT This article focuses on the development of a network learning system to enhance professional learning in Initial Teacher Education (ITE) through collaboration in a university–school partnership. The Chilean education system, characterised by market-oriented reforms and competition, serves as a unique context where to explore the development of an initiative designed to reframe relationships between ITE staff and school teachers with the purpose of reducing the distance between academic preparation and the day-to-day realities of teaching in schools. The findings of this exploratory study offer optimistic insights on how the initiative becomes a space for building trust and relationships among professionals and disrupts boundaries between institutions enhancing teacher professional learning, which are particularly promising given the policy context.

Challenges of implementation of cooperative learning in initial teacher education

This paper discusses the concept of cooperative learning and the role of education of future teachers in the development of their competencies for their implementation in teaching. The aim of this paper is to research the content of relevant literature and to determine whether previous research has sufficiently included an analysis of the competence of teachers and students of teacher education and the role of educational programs in training them to successfully apply ccooperative learning. It was found that, due to the lack of appropriate competencies of teachers for the implementation of this teaching strategy, its application is often neglected. Therefore the development of adequate knowledge, skills and positive beliefs of future teachers about cooperative learning can be considered priorities of their formal education. It was found that so far only a few studies have been conducted on the actual competencies of future teachers for the successful implementation of this teaching strategy, and there is a lack of research on whether teacher education programs adequately support their development. Therefore, this paper concludes on the need to undertake research that will provide a more concrete insight into the current situation and encourage quality and more frequent application of cooperative learning in teaching practice.

Multimodal linguistic biographies of prospective foreign language teachers in Germany: reconstructing beliefs about languages and multilingual language learning in initial teacher education

ABSTRACTLinguistic biographies have been increasingly used in language and teacher education, even if mainly in a written form. In this study we analyse 33 visual linguistic biographies, using drawings to examine the (re)constructions of the multilingual self. The visual linguistic biographies were produced by prospective Spanish language teachers at the University of Hamburg (Winter Semester 2017). We looked at the visual composition of the linguistic biographies and the elements which student teachers combine to trace the representation and the evolution of the multilingual self. We conclude that temporal and geographic metaphors are the most commonly represented, displaying beliefs about language learning and becoming multilingual in a succession of different languages, generally in a schooling pathway. Additionally, student teachers perceive living and studying abroad as important experiences leading to linguistic proficiency. The study suggests that students developed a multilingual imagery made up of languages acquired chronologically, these being associated with specific nation-states and kept separate from each other in individuals’ repertoires. We propose that these beliefs should become a starting point for discussing complexity in trajectories of multilingual becoming and heterogeneity of multilingual repertoires.

Research-Based Learning in Initial Teacher Education in Catalonia

The teaching profession is undergoing significant changes, some of which are imposed by the new paradigm of education. This new context marks the shift from the teachers’ position as ‘knowledge users’ towards the more complex position of ‘knowledge creators’. In this new professional culture adapted to a changing society, teaching as a profession is understood as undergoing a continuous transformation and innovation process, while the professionals in the educational field appear to be research users and research promoters able to think thoroughly about their own professional needs and the new topics arising in their field. There is, therefore, a shift from a passive to an active position, enabling educators to become aware of how complex their field is and to understand that it cannot be acknowledged and managed from outside the social, cultural, historical, philosophical, and psychological contexts shaping it. Taking into consideration the characteristics of the new professional culture, this paper is focused on the development of research skills as one of the teachers’ core skills. The study is framed at the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, where the Student Perception Research Integration Questionnaire (SPRIQ) of Visser-Wijnveen et al. (2015) was applied to measure students’ perception of research integration in university courses (n=113). Additionally, analysis of the documents on the syllabus of each course of the BA in Primary Education programme was applied to review the research component of initial teacher education curricula. Findings from students’ responses show that they are more consumers than producers of research. We emphasise the importance of student teachers being able to both consume as well as produce research in order to develop professionally.

Exploring the material mediation of dialogic space—A qualitative analysis of professional learning in initial teacher education based on reflective sketchbooks

This study addresses the crucial relationship between theory and practice as a key feature of professional learning in initial teacher education. The context for the study is an EU-funded intensive programme drawing on different dimensions of insideness and outsideness and arts-based pedagogies in response to the diversity of education today. The data for the study comes from self-selected pages from preservice teacher participants’ reflective sketchbooks. As a methodological approach that unifies the sensuous and cognitive this study suggests that reflective sketchbooks document the dialogic encounters of students whilst also providing a material space that can itself become a form of dialogic space for critical reflection. The main findings of the study outline critical ways in which preservice teachers transform theoretical inputs into individual expressions as well as conceptualise theory in relation to lived experience.

Student teachers’ emotions when watching their own videos and those of their peers

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the emotions reported by a group of student teachers (STs) after viewing their own teaching videos and those of their peers, as well as the reasons for those emotions. It also investigated the perceived influence of the STs’ emotions on their learning from the videos.Design/methodology/approachThe case study involved 12 STs, and was situated in the context of a science methods course on a postgraduate teaching diploma program. The emotions associated with watching different types of video materials were investigated using a variety of data-collection methods, including written surveys, student-generated metaphors, and interviews. The emotion labels/words (e.g. horrible, joyful) and metaphors the STs used to describe their video-viewing experience, as well as the reasons for their emotions, were analyzed. The perceived influence of the participants’ emotions on their learning from the different types of video material was also analyzed qualitatively.FindingsThe findings suggested that most of the STs experienced negative emotions when viewing their own videos, whereas all of them reported positive emotions when viewing their peers’ videos. Distinct groups of STs displaying similar emotions while viewing the different video materials were distinguished. Their characteristics and the reasons for their emotions were identified. Analysis of the perceived influence of emotions suggested that they exert differential influences on learning from video materials, with the negative emotions associated with viewing one’s own videos reported to hinder such learning in most cases.Originality/valueThis study represents one of the few attempts to investigate the emotions related to STs’ video-viewing experience. The case study problematizes the lack of attention to the emotions associated with ST’s video-viewing experience in existing scholarship and highlights the fact that research findings on in-service teachers’ emotions associated with viewing different types of video material might not be transferable to novice teachers. The identification of distinct groups of STs who experience particular emotions when viewing different types of video material, as well as the differing perceived influence of those emotions on their learning, has implications for the effective use of videos to enhance learning in initial teacher education.

Understanding the nature of mentoring experiences between teachers and student teachers

PurposeMentoring is widely recognised as an effective strategy for supporting the professional learning of teachers and student teachers across different educational contexts. Yet, its effectiveness in initial teacher education (ITE) may be more widely conceived to take account of mentoring as a cultural practice, contributing to a change of professional learning habits and relationships towards collegiate and collaborative reflexivity. The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature of mentoring experiences between teachers and student teachers, how these are embedded within the established professional learning culture of the school and the opportunities for mentoring to affect professional learning.Design/methodology/approachSet within the context of a teacher education reform project in Scotland, involving student teachers, mentors and university tutors, the study adopted a critical constructivist theory stance to explore mentoring relationships. A sequential mixed methods approach informed the collection and analysis of data.FindingsQuantitative data point to a diversity of experiences of mentoring amongst teachers and student teachers. Qualitative data provide a nuanced account of participants’ views of their mentoring experiences, pointing to opportunities for revisiting assumptions about learning in the classroom as well as questioning established professional learning patterns.Practical implicationsThe authors conclude that mentoring relationships cannot be disentangled from a critical interrogation of the modes of relationships and values supporting professional learning in ITE. Practical implications centre upon preparation and resources to develop mentoring as a tool for learning, embedded within the professional culture of the school.Originality/valueThis study reframes the concept of mentoring as a practice that does not simply reinforce professional expectations but seeks to redefine teacher professional learning, pedagogy and social relationships in school contexts.

Case-Based Learning in Initial Teacher Education: Assessing the Benefits and Challenges of Working with Student Videos and Other Teachers’ Videos

Case-Based Learning in Initial Teacher Education: Assessing the Benefits and Challenges of Working with Student Videos and Other Teachers’ Videos

The contribution of non-formal learning in higher education to student teachers’ professional competence

This article reports a mixed methods study on the contribution of various aspects of pre-service student teachers’ learning in initial teacher education (ITE) to their professional competence in a Five-year Bachelor of Education Programme in Hong Kong. Special attention is given to how student teachers’ non-formal learning in higher education contributes to their professional competence, an under-researched area in teacher education. A total of 282 student teachers participated in the quantitative survey, 18 of whom were interviewed. Although  Undergraduate Learning Experience: Formal Learning and Non-formal Learning was not the most highly rated factor, multiple regression indicated that it was the only ITE professional learning factor that significantly predicted all dimensions of professional competence. This supports the hypothesis that non-formal learning as a part of learning in higher education makes a significant contribution to student teachers’ professional competence. The qualitative findings showed that non-formal learning provided opportunities for service learning, co-curricular activities, and student exchange programmes with different objects of engagement. Student teachers constructed pedagogical content knowledge, general pedagogical knowledge, and knowledge of context through hands-on experiences, professional dialogue with practitioners, and observations of others’ practice. Such knowledge contributed to their competence in classroom teaching and to work in schools. Implications for ITE are discussed.

Developing cooperative learning in initial teacher education: indicators for implementation

This paper examines the impact of supporting pre-service teachers to use cooperative learning in one initial teacher education institution in England. In a context where the government requires all teacher education to be ‘school-led’ and where school partners do not commonly use cooperative learning (Baines, Rubie-Davies, and Blatchford 2009), this presents challenges. Ensuring that government priority areas are fully addressed also squeezes the time available for pre-service teachers to develop the necessary depth of understanding of cooperative learning. Yet driven by a research-led programme that supports students to examine effective learning and teaching approaches, one university has endeavoured over the last five years to help all its student-teachers understand and adopt cooperative learning. In order to capture the impact, questionnaires and interviews with student-teachers have been utilised each year; results are summarised here together with research carried out by one of the students on the views of her cohort. Two short vignettes of former students in their early years of teaching signal the importance of formative experiences on teachers’ positive self-efficacy, and particularly the lasting impact of observing effective practice early in the journey to become a teacher.

Conocimiento pedagógico: explorando nuevas aproximaciones

Resumen La formación inicial docente se ha transformado en un nudo crítico para las políticas educativas. Uno de los elementos que muestra importantes deficiencias es la desarticulación del conocimiento pedagógico dentro del proceso de aprender a enseñar. En esta reflexión se propone una reconceptualización del conocimiento pedagógico a la luz de cuatro elementos centrales que debiera tenerse en consideración: el rol de las creencias sobre la enseñanza y aprendizaje en la formación docente inicial; la importancia del conocimiento pedagógico del contenido como un eje articulador en el proceso de formación; la vinculación entre teoría y práctica para contribuir en el desarrollo de un conocimiento de la enseñanza pertinente a los contextos en donde se implementará; y el desarrollo de prácticas reflexivas como una estrategia para articular y confrontar los anteriores elementos en la formación de los futuros profesores. El abordaje de estos tópicos contribuirá no sólo con profundizar temas escasamente abordados en el campo de la formación docente inicial, sino también con desarrollar una mirada más comprensiva de los procesos de enseñanza y aprendizaje que debiesen sustentar los programas de formación docente inicial. Se discutirán las implicancias de esta propuesta en los dispositivos de enseñanza-aprendizaje que promueve la formación inicial de profesores y en las posibilidades de innovación que se podrían implementar.

"Oh, Flip That!" An Evaluation of Flipped Learning in Initial Teacher Education

Technologies are already ‘established and stable’ in Further Education Colleges (AoC, 2014: p. 11), such as distance and blended learning packages, virtual learning environments (VLEs), e-portfolios, messaging and plagiarism detection, however, these technologies often mean there is no interaction between the users, or, when there is, it follows the more traditional didactic method. There is increasing pressure in all education sectors to broaden the use of digital technology in teaching, learning and assessment, and flipped learning has been seen to contribute to this. What makes the flipped classroom different is the use of technology in order to encourage collaborative teaching and learning. This paper will first provide a general overview of flipped learning and then evaluate its effectiveness within Initial Teacher Education (ITE) in the Lifelong Learning Sector (LLS) via a summary of a small-scale research project with in-service trainees. The conclusion emphasises that Teacher Educators require time and support in order to develop and embed e-learning effectively.

Thinking, language and learning in initial teacher education

Initial teacher education (ITE) serves as a bridge between prospective teachers exiting the school system to enrol in teacher education faculties, on the one hand and newly qualified teachers (NQTs) who are embarking on a career in schooling on the other. The present paper describes the language and thinking skills student teachers bring to their ITE programmes and the conditions faced by NQTs when they enter schools on the other side of the chalk face. This is the context within which we ask the question: To what extent are the universities providing the teachers required by the school system? While a review of the literature, together with new evidence emerging from the Initial Teacher Education Research Project (ITERP) study, indicates that the answer to this question is by no means unequivocally positive, the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) has issued new regulations aimed at addressing the gap between current programmes and the demands of schooling. We conclude by arguing that the quality of ITE will only be improved once teacher educators move their practices closer to those of practitioners in the strong professions, which are characterised by the development of a strong theoretical knowledge base, from which effective protocols of practice may be derived and which is continuously interrogated by the practitioners themselves. We suggest that the place to start on this quest is the instruction of prospective primary school teachers in early literacy and numeracy.