Developing Specialized Knowledge: Frameworks for Facilitating Text-Based Discussions in Teacher Education in Chile

• In Event: International Perspectives on Using Frameworks of Practice to Improve Teaching

Abstract

Purpose
This paper seeks to extend the research on approaches to facilitating classroom discussion in teacher education. Its focus is specifically on the use of the ‘Comprehension Instruction through Text-based Discussions’ framework proposed by Kucan and Palincsar (2013), for improving the quality of teaching reading comprehension in an elementary teacher education program in Chile. We explore the development of learning trajectories to support discussion across courses by modelling, rehearsing, and enacting this core practice.

Theoretical perspective
Our study is grounded in pedagogies of practice to develop core practices in teacher education (Hammerness, 2006; Hammerness & Klette, 2015; Grossman et al., 2009). We draw on the notion of coherence, as opposed to fragmentation, in the individual courses of initial teacher preparation (Darling-Hammond, 2005; Hammerness, 2006), to provide prospective teachers learning opportunities that reflect a shared and consistent vision of teaching and learning. The practice that is the focus for this paper is the facilitation of class discussion with the specific goal of supporting reading comprehension. Specifically, we investigate how text-based discussions provide specific types of opportunities for students to develop reading comprehension (McKeon, Beck, & Blake, 2009). The analysis explores two research questions: (1) Are there differences between prospective teachers’ specialized knowledge about teaching for comprehension using text-based discussion in three different courses – a disciplinary course, a methods course, and the field experience – across an elementary teacher education program?; (2) Are there any pre-post differences between prospective teachers’ performance in facilitating text-based discussion in the methods course and the field experience?

Method and data sources
This exploratory study includes: (1) application of the Specialized Knowledge for Supporting Student Comprehension in Text-Based Discussions Assessment and (2) Comprehension Instruction through Text-based Discussion Intervention. The study was conducted with students in three courses (n=140): a subject matter course (Language Foundations), a teaching-method course (Literacy Methods), and a field experience (focused on reading comprehension).
Prospective teachers’ knowledge and performance for facilitating text-based discussion were measured with two instruments: (1) a Spanish adapted CoLTS assessment (Kucan, Hapgood, & Palincsar, 2011), and (2) a holistic discussion rubric of students’ videotaped discussions. These instruments were applied before and after the intervention to students in the different courses involved in the research.

Findings
Preliminary findings indicate differences in the specialized knowledge of prospective teachers between groups and within groups, specifically with respect to the decision-making dimension of Specialized Knowledge Assessment. Data also suggest an improvement in students’ use of disciplinary language. Regarding prospective teachers’ performance when conducting productive discussions, preliminary findings suggest improvement in launching discussion, in the extension of speech, and in the exit purpose.

Significance
In the context of pedagogies of enactment in teacher education, guiding classroom discussions is considered a core practice for prospective teachers. The text-based discussion approach is particularly challenging, with complicated demands and requiring specialized knowledge (Kucan et al., 2011). Learning how to develop this core practice and exploring ways to assess improvement will be a contribution to practice-based teacher education programs.

Authors

• Magdalena Müller, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile

• Alejandra Meneses, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile