Student Teacher Learning of Action-Oriented Knowledge From Triggering Teaching Practices

• In Event: 29.048 - Practice What You Teach: International Studies of the Enactment of Practice in Teacher Education

Abstract

Recent calls for teacher education to become more grounded in practice raise a critical question: what knowledge is relevant for teachers to be able to select and identify appropriate practices (Grossman, et al., 2009)? Action-oriented knowledge (AOK) has been suggested as teacher’s key capability (Tillema, 2006; Urzúa & Vázquez, 2008), e.g. the practical competence required in complex professional teaching contexts. The broad variety of practical knowledge including descriptive, inferential and justified aspects allows teachers to build meaningful learning environments and support student learning. For these reasons, teacher candidates should be provided with possibilities to learn AOK during teacher education (Author et al., 2012a; Author et al., 2012b; Author et al., 2015). Still, surprisingly little is known about the significant triggers for learning of AOK. This study aims to increase our understanding of “critical incidents” for new teachers, and the AOK they trigger by addressing the following research questions: (1) What kind of classroom events do teacher candidates define as critical for their learning? (2) What kind of AOK do teacher candidates generate when reflecting on the critical events in their oral and written reflections? (3) To what extent does the quality of the critical incidents affect the teacher candidates’ AOK?

The study is a part of a research project on student teacher learning in five teacher education contexts in four countries (Estonia, Finland, The Netherlands, Spain). Sources include video (selected to be ‘positive’ or ‘critical’ experiences) and stimulated recall interview (STR) data collected from 82 pre-service teachers with the procedure of guided reflection (Authors, 2008; Authors, 2016). These research methods allowed student teachers to reflect on their professional practice and explicate their practical knowledge. The positive and challenging critical incident video excerpts (n=160) were analysed within the framework of instructional core (Kansanen & Meri, 1999). The STR interview data (5176 units) were analysed with a coding scheme including the varieties of AOK: descriptive AOK (recalls and appraisals), inferential AOK (rules and artefacts) and justified AOK (practical and theoretical justifications) (Mena et al., 2012b; Toom, 2012c; Authors, 2016). The relationships between the critical incidents and the interview data were analysed qualitatively.

Results indicate that the triggering incidents were directly related to the dimensions of instructional core: instructional arrangements (57%), relationships with students (39%) and curricular contents (4%). Candidates tended to emphasize practical justifications (29%) and appraisals (28%) related to their professional decision-making. They were far less likely to extract artifacts from their practice (10%) or to make theoretical justifications of their teaching. Indeed, incidents regarding curricular choices did not trigger any AOK in the form of artifacts or theoretical justifications.

Our study showed that teacher candidates focused mostly on incidents concerning instructional arrangements, something at the core of teachers’ work in classroom interaction. They emphasized evaluative and practical aspects whereas pure theoretical perspectives and concrete, functional examples appeared least often. This study confirms that teacher candidates’ videos can extend their focus of teaching and afford more attention to student learning. Our study highlights the importance of using various ways of prolonged reflection to facilitate teacher candidates’ continuous professional learning from practice.

Authors

• Auli Toom, University of Helsinki

• Jukka Husu, University of Turku

• Mikko Tiilikainen, University of Turku

• Lauri Heikonen, University of Helsinki

• Äli Leijen, University of Tartu

• Juan-José Mena Marcos, Universidad de Salamanca

• Dubravka Knezic, Hogeschool van Amsterdam - University of Applied Sciences

• Margus Pedaste, University of Tartu

• Paulien C. Meijer, Radboud University Nijmegen

• Raili Allas, University of Tartu