Challenging Student Teachers' Professional Identities Through Immersion in "Teaching for Creativity"

• In Event: 68.019 - Research on Teacher Identity and Motivation: Mapping Challenges and Innovations

Abstract

Research on student teacher learning has identified the development of a professional identity as an inevitable focus in teacher education. Accordingly, many teacher education programs have come to include attention to the development of student teachers' professional identities. As yet, not much research has been done on the (effects of) pedagogies that have such development as their goal, although some have been put forward as promising (AuthorMeijer, Oolbekkink, Pillen & Aardema, 2014). In this contribution we report on the effects of a pedagogy aiming to stimulate the formation of student teachers’ professional identities. Building on research indicating the dynamic, interactive and often transformative nature of identity formation (Author, 2011; llleris, 2014) a course was designed for a group of Dutch student teachers (aiming to teach in upper secondary schools). The primary purpose of this course was for student teachers to discover and experience what it could mean to ‘teach for creativity’ in secondary education. ‘Teach as you preach’ was the approach chosen for this course. Student teachers were emerged in a ‘teaching for creativity’ learning environment. ‘Teaching for creativity’ as a goal and ‘teach as you preach’ as the main approach, were considered promising in challenging student teachers’ professional identities; they encompass the necessity to reframe common notions of teachers’ and pupils’ roles in education and learning to deal with uncertainty, open end learning and out-of-the-box thinking (Nickerson, 2010; Sternberg, 2006).

The aim of this study was to examine whether and how this course, with ‘teaching for creativity’ as a goal and ‘teach as you preach’ as the main approach, would challenge and develop student teachers’ professional identities. Questions were directed at detecting views and practices of student teachers regarding the meaning and consequences of ‘teaching for creativity’ for 1) pupils, 2) teachers in interaction with pupils and as designers of learning arrangements 3) teachers as professionals in a school context. Qualitative data were gathered from learner reports, creative products and interviews before, during and after the course. The findings indicate transitions in student teachers’ professional identities. Most student teachers evolve towards more trust in pupils’ ability to learn (creatively) and in their capacity and motivation to create space to learn. The results also indicate a grown ‘sense of agency’ as young professionals in a school context.

Authors

• Paulien C. Meijer, Radboud University Nijmegen

• Ida Oosterheert, Radboud University Nijmegen