Approximating Discussions in History: Investigating the Pedagogical Dilemmas That Arise Within Approximations of Discussion Facilitation

• In Event: 32.039 - Approximations of Practice Across Teacher Education Contexts

Abstract

Objectives/Framework
Both the Common Core Standards and the C3 Social Studies Standards underscore the importance of classroom discussion for the development of high-level literacy and subject matter knowledge. Yet, discussion remains stubbornly absent in social studies classrooms (Cazden, 2001; Nystrand, Wu, Gamoran, Zeiser, & Long, 2003). Because social studies teacher candidates often do not see discussions occurring in their field placements, the responsibility of preparing social studies teachers to facilitate discussions falls on the methods instructor.  One tool for preparing teacher candidates to facilitate discussions is the approximation, which Grossman et al. (2009a) define as opportunities to engage in “deliberate practice” of “particularly challenging components of [teaching] practice” (p. 2077).  Interested in understanding which particularly challenging components of discussion facilitation can be worked on through approximations, we investigated the following question: What were the nature of the pedagogical dilemmas that teacher candidates and teacher educators worked on when approximating historical discussions?

To investigate this question, we grounded our study in the pedagogical problem space framework (presented in paper 1), which highlights the roles of pedagogical dilemmas (Lampert, 1985) and professional judgment (Shulman, 1998) within approximations that are oriented towards the development of adaptive expertise over routine expertise (Hatano & Inagaki, 1986).

Data/Methods
Our analysis was grounded in video of social studies methods instruction, interviews with teacher educators, and course documents from three social studies methods courses at three different institutions.  Along with coding interview and documentary data in Dedoose, we used Studiocode video-coding software to code videos of approximations within methods courses.  Video codes allowed us to segment approximations by type of activity (launching approximation, enacting approximation, pausing approximation, debriefing approximation), form of feedback (e.g. problem solving, evaluation, highlighting), and substance of feedback (e.g. student thinking, materials management, stabilizing content).  In our analysis, focused specifically on those moments when teacher educators engaged candidates in problem solving examining the nature of the problems that emerged for candidates when they approximated historical discussions.

Findings
The nature of pedagogical dilemmas highlighted during approximations ranged from dilemmas that were primarily about how best to represent the content (the texts and the disciplinary practices students were being asked to enact with the texts) to dilemmas that were primarily about how to engage students in discourse.  While some interactions between teacher candidates and teacher educators focused only on students or only on content, most interactions around pedagogical dilemmas engaged teacher candidates in wrestling with both.

Significance
Findings indicate that while approximations of discussion may be useful vehicles for preparing teacher candidates as discussion facilitators, they may also be useful vehicles for developing teacher candidates’ pedagogical content knowledge (Shulman, 1986).  By offering insights into the relationship between pedagogies of enactment and the development of pedagogical content knowledge, this study contributes greater nuance to discussions of the affordances and constraints of practice-based teacher education.

Authors

• Chauncey Monte-Sano, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

• Sarah Schneider Kavanagh, University of Washington - Seattle

• Bradley Fogo, Stanford University

• Abby Reisman, University of Pennsylvania

• Sarah McGrew, Stanford University

• Peter McCormick Cipparone, The University of Michigan