Leveraging an Instructional Laboratory and Practicum for Enhancing Preservice Teacher Professional Practice

• In Event: Investigating Legitimate Peripheral Participation in Instructional Laboratories to Enhance Teaching Practice

Abstract

Objectives
The Teaching and Coaching Laboratory (TCL) professional development program makes the work of teaching public to study practices associated with quality classroom instruction. At the center of the TCL is an instructional laboratory where 5th graders receive intensive instruction. This creates a venue for unpacking and exploring the complex work of teaching. One group of TCL participants are preservice teachers (PSTs) who observe the laboratory classroom each morning. Observations are facilitated by TCL faculty to guide noticing of high leverage teaching practices (Teaching Works, 2013). PSTs use the shared observation to plan and implement small group lessons for the fifth graders.

To understand the potential of TCL experiences, we asked: What are the affordances of observing public teaching in a laboratory classroom? and How do these affordances impact the work of translating observation into practice for PSTs?

Perspectives
We explore the impact of shared experience through facilitated observation in communities of practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Warner & Hallman, 2017). Facilitated observation provides PSTs with a scaffolded system to consider transferable elements of public teaching, impacting practice both in concept and implementation. We view this structured experience as providing a layer of support (Lave & Wenger, 1991) in the development of reflective practice.

Methods and Data Sources
We focused on two PSTs, Grace and Jeff, who participated in the TCL for two consecutive years. We used case study to explore real-life experiences in a bounded system over time, in depth, with multiple data collection points from multiple sources (Creswell, 2013). Looking at two cases allowed us to understand similarities and differences with the context and participants and to identify themes (Yin, 2003). Data sources included participants’ responses to pre/post surveys and interviews from both years. Responses were coded using Grounded Theory methodology. Data were analyzed simultaneously and coded for common themes. Themes were identified by individual researchers then continuously compared and discussed (Straus & Corbin, 1990).

Results
Both PSTs viewed observation as a key way to learn about being a professional teacher. Grace expanded her view of observation to include the hows, whats, and whys of observation, thus deepening her conception of professional practice. While Jeff's focus during both years was the importance of relationships in teaching, Grace began to change focus to specific teacher behaviors in both instruction and management. Observation was important as Jeff and Grace moved towards full participation into a community of practice. Seeing effective instructional strategies enacted and amended in real-time allowed participants to begin to assume the identity of a classroom teacher, testing out these identities in the afternoon instructional time.

Significance
The integration of PSTs into the TCL provides them space to develop an understanding of teaching practice through observation of the teacher in the laboratory classroom setting and leading small group instruction each day. We argue that this timely interchange of observation and instruction is a unique PST practicum experience afforded by the TCL as participants move from novice towards full participant (Lave & Wenger, 1991) in the community of practice of teachers.

Authors

• Kate Muir Welsh, University of Wyoming

• Amy Spiker, University of Wyoming

• Todd Reynolds, University of Wyoming

• Josh Montgomery, University of Wyoming

• Kate Kniss, Albany County School District #1