Development of a Novice Elementary Teacher: Examining the Role of Undergraduate Research in Teacher Education

• In Event: Teaching and Learning for Adult Skill Acquisition: Application of the Dreyfus and Dreyfus Model

Abstract

Objective
This study examined one pre-service teacher’s (PST) understanding/enactment of skills for teaching over three years in her teacher preparation program based on the Dreyfus and Dreyfus stage development model (1986). We were interested in how the PST’s role as an undergraduate researcher (who examined student work and veteran teachers’ decisions when implementing a new engineering unit) impacted her skill development.
Theoretical Frameworks
Berliner (2004) applied the Dreyfus and Dreyfus model (1986) in identifying characteristics of teachers at each stage of skill acquisition. We focused on the novice stage as it approaches the advanced beginner stage, given our context of pre-service education. Berliner posited that PSTs can develop beyond the novice stage from in-classroom experiences to build their “episodic and case knowledge” (p. 206). Reflection on practical case knowledge allows a teacher to understand teaching beyond one’s initial perspective and advance their practice (Loughran, 2002).
Methodology
Participant. Undergraduate PST double-majoring in elementary/special education and research assistant for three years studying in-service teachers’ implementation of an engineering unit.
Method. PST self-study (Dinkelman, 2003) nested within a single case study (Yin, 1989).
Data sources. PST self-study—reflections on research artifacts (student work, teacher observations, teacher interviews, interviews with fellow student researchers) and documents from her methods course/teaching (lesson plans, reflections, student work analysis).
Case study—PST’s written narrative self-study, notes from weekly meetings, and PST lesson plans/observations.
Data analysis. (a) Coded/sorted/categorized data inductively for themes of what the PST learned from the research and how it influenced the PST’s skills for teaching (Erlandson et al., 1993). (b) Coded data deductively (Patton, 2002) using the Dreyfus adult skill acquisition model to identify characteristics of a novice and advanced beginner PST.
Results
Self-study themes. The PST identified personal pre-conceptions/beliefs that could impede her reform-based understanding of teaching. She realized the importance of building a collaborative classroom culture, promoting students’ critical thinking, and analyzing student thinking to inform instructional decisions. She also recognized that vicarious learning from the research study did not guarantee her own effective teaching.
Stage development. (See Table 1) The PST performed as a novice across three years, but approached the advanced beginner stage during the highly-scaffolded junior year methods course. However, early in senior year student teaching, the PST reverted to delivering novice teacher-directed instruction until she gained more experience, given the increased responsibility in whole-class instruction.
Conclusion/Scholarly Significance
Teacher educators face challenges in preparing PSTs for the teaching profession. Without sufficient teaching experience in day-to-day tasks/situations, PSTs’ beginning decisions/actions are novice, context-free, and focused on their own performance. While this PST performed as a novice when first teaching, her vicarious learning from examining teachers’ stories and students’ work in the research study prompted her to examine critically her own decisions. To gain a realistic vision of teaching and analyze their own novice actions, these results suggest that PSTs may benefit from access to research of practicing teachers’ experiences and analysis of student work.

Author

• Elaine Silva Mangiante, Salve Regina University