Shared Classroom Experiences

2012 NSF Noyce Teacher Scholarship Program Conference

Dr. Jeff Carpenter, Elon UniversityElon Noyce Scholars Program PICoordinator of Secondary and K-12 Teacher Education Programs

Context

Elon – ~5000 students, private, liberal arts university in Elon, NC

Fall semester, senior year teaching methods course EDU 424 Methods of Teaching Middle & Secondary Science

EDU 422 Methods of Teaching Middle & Secondary Math

Before: individual 50-hour field placement including teaching responsibilities (3rd field placement in sequence)

Now: Same individual placement PLUS

Shared classroom experiences

Why bother?

Our own questions

What happens when students are in field experiences?

How can we talk productively about field experiences in a teaching methods course?

How can we prepare teachers to effectively collaborate?

More why bother?

External validation of our curiosity

National Research Council (2010) report – “clinical experiences” one of three most important elements of teacher prep

NCATE & AACTE (2010) concur

Research does not clearly define what particular kinds of field experiences are most beneficial (Boyd et al., 2007; Clift & Brady, 2005)

Some literature on classroom experiences

Teacher candidates do not always know what to look for in their clinical experiences (e.g., Sherf & Singer, 2012).

Importance of planned & guided field experiences (Clift & Brady, 2005)

• Discrepancies between emphases of cooperating teachers & teacher education programs (e.g., Frykholm, 1996, 1999).

• Field experiences increasingly connected to and embedded within methods courses (Clift & Brady, 2005)

Shared Classroom Experiences

Methods course pairs with local master teacher

Entire methods course (5-10 teacher candidates + instructor) together observes 2-3 lessons in the master teachers classroom

Semi-guided observation

Lessons debriefed with master teacherStarts w/ master teacher, then moves to student questions

Shared Classroom Experiences

Teacher candidates design & implement a lesson in the same classroom

topic provided by master teacher

Lesson debriefed with master teacherstarts w/ students self-critique

Why this design?

Entire methods course (5-10 teacher candidates + instructor) together observes 2-3 lessons in the master teachers classroom

Lessons debriefed with master teacher

To make transparent teacher planning processes, in-lesson thinking and decision making, and reflection

Challenges of learning how to teach

Lortie (1975) – apprenticeship of observation – understanding of teaching based on experiences as a student

Labaree (2004) – what teachers do vs. why they do it

Wieman yesterday - Expert teacher - mental organizational framework

Why this design?

Teacher candidates design & implement a lesson in the same classroom

Lesson debriefed with master teacher

To make transparent teacher candidates planning processes, in-lesson thinking and decision making, and reflection

To provide guided practice in collaboration

Challenges of collaboration

Profession traditionally characterized by isolation (Lortie, 1975)

Failure to move beyond generalities & polite talk (e.g., Bezzina 2007; Russo & Beyerbach, 2001)

Conflict avoidance (Chokshi & Fernandez, 2004)

Why this design

Methods course pairs with local master teacher

Builds TEP relationship w/ more teachers

More reciprocal relationship w/ teachers

Methods course ideas validated / corroborated by “real” teachers

Hohenbrink et al. (1997) – development of appreciation for complimentary knowledge

Challenges of relationships w/ master teachers

Competing / contradictory beliefs and/or actions of K-12 teachers and university faculty

Fragile partnership between educators not accustomed to public self-examination, professional debate surrounding practice (Clift & Brady, 2005)

What has happened thus far …

Fall 2010 – Math methods course taught by Janice Richardson

Fall 2011 – Math methods courses + two additional math methods courses

Generally positive response:Instructors: “My students learned more from this experience than they would have in a traditional method's class school placement” (Celia)

Teacher candidates: value opportunity to “get in the [teacher’s] mind” (Tim) and “talk to [the teacher] about why he planned the lesson how he did.” (John)

Master Teachers – all expressed willingness to participate again in Fall 2012

SCE as text

Teacher candidates connected university classroom discourse to shared classroom experiences

e.g., referencing examples of differentiation, formative assessment techniques, instructional techniques, classroom management strategies

Connections in methods courses

Connections in other courses

Participant Critiques

Instructors

“By midterm, however, they really had moved on and I didn’t bring it up much.”  

“Heck, I’d like to do it with several different teachers as part of the class, instead of just one.”

Teacher Candidates

Imperfections in the observed lessons

“There were too many teachers in the classroom … it had this cramped, vulture type feeling.”

Moving forward

More Fall 2012 sections

Modeling analysis of student work w/ samples generated from co-designed and taught lesson

ReferencesAmerican Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (2010). The clinical preparation of teachers: A policy brief. Retrieved from http://aacte.org/Research-Policy/Clinical-Preparation/the-clinical-preparation-of-teachers-a-policy-brief.html.

Bezzina, C. (2006). The road less traveled: Professional communities in secondary schools. Theory into Practice, 45(2), 159-167

Boyd, D., Goldhaber, D., Lankford, H., & Wyckoff, J. (2007). The effect of certification and preparation on teacher quality. The Future of Children, 17 (1), 45-68).

Chokshi, S., & Fernandez, C. (2004). Challenges to importing Japanese lesson study: Concerns, misconceptions, and nuances. Phi Delta Kappan, 85, 520-525.

Clift, R.T., & Brady, P. (2005). Research on methods courses and field experiences. In M. Cochran-Smith and K. Zeichner (Eds.), Studying teacher education: The report of the AERA panel on research and teacher education. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Frykholm, J. (1999). Assessment in mathematics teacher education. The Teacher Educator, 34 (4), 244-258.

Hohenbrink, J., Johnston, M., Westhoven, L. (1997). Collaborative teaching of a social studies methods course: Intimidation and Change. Journal of Teacher Education, 48 (4), 293-300.

Labaree, D.F. (2004). The trouble with ed schools. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

Lortie, D. (1975). Schoolteacher: A sociological study. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

National Research Council (2010). Preparing teachers: Building evidence for sound policy. Retrieved from http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12882.

Russo, P., & Beyerbach, B. (2001). Moving from polite talk to candid conversation: Infusing foundations into a professional development project. Educational Foundations, 15(2), 71-90.

Scherff, L. & Singer, N.R. (2012). The preservice teachers are watching: Framing and reframing the field experience. Teaching and Teacher Education, 28, 263-272.