Getting Better Together: How Communities of Practice Support the Development of Novice Teacher Educators

• In Event: Creating Spaces: Moving Forward Trust and Belonging in Teacher Education

Abstract

Colleges of education frequently assign doctoral students to teacher education positions without providing sufficient support or preparation for these roles. The authors, doctoral students at a Mid-Atlantic university, developed a community of practice (CoP) where doctoral students observed one another, discussed research-based practices in teacher education, and addressed problems of practice. This paper reports on the experience of the eight doctoral students who participated in the CoP over multiple semesters. Our findings suggest the CoP supported changes in practice through the acquisition of new skills and the opportunity for collegial reflection that led to the refinement of practice and supported participants as they developed identities as teacher educators and began to assert agency as members of the profession.

Authors

• Colleen Gannon, Johns Hopkins University – Baltimore

• Olivia Ann Murphy, The University of Maryland at College Park

• South Holden, University of Maryland - College Park

• Jennifer Burris, University of Maryland - College Park