the learning teacher educator: overview of the...

The learning teacher educator: Overview of the international research on teacher educators

Fribourg, March 11, 2016

nl.linkedin.com/pub/mieke-lunenberg/17/5b4/302 www.lunenberg.info

Mieke Lunenberg

1

Content


1. Who we are 2. What we know about our profession 3. How we can organize our professional development: some examples 4. Who we are: Our teacher educator identity

2

1. Who we are


Willem van der Wal, 2012

Ducharme (1993) characterises the identity of teacher educators as ‘Janus-like’. Ducharme, E. (1993). The lives of teacher educators. New York: Teachers College.

3

Teacher educators:


- Have different backgrounds (school teacher, Ph.D. students, etc).

- Have different working contexts (schools, colleges, universities)

- Teach different types of students (student teachers, novice teachers, experienced teachers)

- Teach different subjects.

Lunenberg, M. (2010). Characteristics, Scholarship and Research of Teacher Educators. In: E. Baker, B. McGaw & P. Peterson (Eds.) International Encyclopedia of Education 3rd Ed. Oxford, UK: Elsevier. 676-680. Smith, K. (2011). The multi-faceted teacher educator: a Norwegian perspective. Journal of Education for Teaching: International research and pedagogy 37(3), 337-349.

4

2. What we know: A review study


Summary (also of the ‘Methods’ and of the ‘Implications for further Research’): Dengerink, J., Lunenberg, M., & Korthagen, F. (2015). The professional teacher educator: six roles. Beiträge zur Lehrerinnen- und Lehrerbildung –33 (3), 334-344.

5

Six roles


Role Number of studies

Teacher of teachers 67

Researcher 26

Coach 25

Curriculum developer 14 (no studies on professional development)

Gatekeeper 8 (no studies on professional development)

Broker 11 (1 study on professional development)

6

Second order teaching Transition from school to higher education proves to be difficult

Model, explicate and underpin Explicating and underpinning proves to be difficult

Tensions and dilemma’s Supporting active learning Berry, A. (2007). Tensions in teaching about teaching: Developing practice as a teacher educator. Dordrecht: Springer. Loughran, J.J. (2006). Developing a Pedagogy of Teacher Education: Understanding Teaching and Learning about Teaching. Abington, UK: Routledge. Murray, J. & Male, T. (2005). Becoming a teacher educator: Evidence from the field. Teaching and Teacher Education, 21(2), 125-142.

Teacher of teachers

nl.linkedin.com/pub/mieke-lunenberg/17/5b4/302

www.lunenberg.info 7

(New) universities focus more and more on this role Teacher educators are ambivalent with regard to this role

and with regard to the interpretation of this role

A research culture is often missing Teacher educators often give priority to the role of teacher of

teachers

The focus of research is unclear: subject/students and teachers/ teacher education practice

Studying one’s own practice is productive (double dipping)

Researcher

nl.linkedin.com/pub/mieke-lunenberg/17/5b4/302 www.lunenberg.info 8

Gemmell, T., Griffiths, M., & Kibble, B. (2010). What kind of research culture do teacher educators want, and how can we get it? Studying Teacher Education, 6(2), 161-174. Griffiths, V., Thompson, S., & Hryniewicz, L. (2010). Developing a research profile: Mentoring and support for teacher educators. Professional Development in Education, 36(1-2), 245-262. Tack, H. & Vanderlinde, R. (2014). Teacher Educators’ Professional Development: Towards a Typology of Teacher Educators’ Researcherly Disposition. British Journal of Educational Studies 62(3), 297-315.

Coach (focus on school)


Local guide Advisor with regard to curriculum and practice Stimulator of reflection for transfer and of theoretical underpinning Often missing … Velzen, C. van & Volman, M. (2009). The activities of a school-based teacher educator: A theoretical and empirical exploration. European Journal of Teacher Education, 32(4), 345-367. Crasborn, F., Hennissen, P., Brouwer, N., Korthagen, F., & Bergen, T. (2011). Exploring a two-dimensional model of mentor teacher roles in mentoring dialogues. Teaching and Teacher Education, 27(2), 320-331.

9

Curriculum Developer


Trends in curriculum development: competences, research-based, realistic, core practices, etc. Teacher educators are often followers, and focus on the development of their ‘own’ parts of a programme Struyven, K. & De Meyst, M. (2010). Competence-based teacher education: Illusion or reality? An assessment of the implementation status in Flanders from teachers’ and students’ points of view. Teaching and Teacher Education, 26(8), 1495-1510. Korthagen, F., Loughran, J., & Russell, T. (2006). Developing fundamental principles for teacher education programs and practices. Teaching and Teacher Education, 22(8), 1020-1041. Grossman, P., Hammerness, K. & McDonald, M. (2009). Redefining teaching, re-imagining teacher education. Teachers and Teaching, 15(2), 273-289.

10

Gatekeeper


Assessment is based on standards and profiles and is often concentrated on portfolio’s and schoolpractices The interpretation of standards differ. Assessment of portfolio’s is often not summative and lacks validity. Assessment of school practices is often unclear: is it about practice or competences? Delandshere, G. & Arens, S. A. (2003). Examining the quality of the evidence in pre service teacher portfolios. Journal of Teacher Education, 54(1), 57-73. Smith, K. (2010). Assessing the practicum in teacher education – Do we want candidates and mentors to agree? Studies In Educational Evaluation, 36(1-2), 36-41.

11

Broker


Support student learning Create a third space (community) Support inquiry Focus on consistency and consolidation He An E. (2009). Bridging the gap between teacher educator and teacher in a community of practice: a case of brokering. System 37(2009) 153-163. Martin, S. D., Snow, J. L., & Torrez, C. A. F. (2011). Navigating the terrain of third space: Tensions within relationships in school-university partnerships. Journal of Teacher Education, 62(3), 299-311.

12

How do your feel about your teacher educator role(s)?


What are your main teacher educator roles? What do you need to further develop these roles?

Attention for (the development of) your personal characteristics

Fitting with gaps in your knowledge about being a teacher educator

Know institutional expectations (and rewards )

Participate in communities of learners in which inquiry is a central focus

Report about your (self-study) research, internally as well as externally – go public

Professional development: Internal issues


Professional development: External issues


(National) frame of reference

Supportive context, cultural as well as practical

Solid partnership between school and teacher educator institutions

Programs focused on teacher educators

Opportunities to learn together with colleagues

Stimuli to focus on making behavior explicit, to reflect and to offer and receive productive feedback

Facilities and support to study one’s own practice

15

3. How do we organize our professional development?


Frames of Reference (and Registration)

Professional development programs

Knowledge base

Self-study groups

16

USA: since 1999, in 2016 the 2th version will be presented

The Netherlands: since 2002, in 2012 the 4th version was presented

Belgium (Flanders): since 2012, in 2015 the 2th version was presented

Owned by the Dutch/Flemish/USA Associations of Teacher Educators (VELON/VELOV/ATE)

Frames of Reference


1. Teacher educators compose a portfolio in which they demonstrate that they meet the quality requirements of the professional standard.

2. The procedure encourages teacher educators to reflect on their (further) professional development.

Study of the first (2002) cohort showed: - positive outcomes on knowledge and behaviour, - reluctance to use theoretical input and the absence

of deep reflection, - hardly focused on professional identity, i.e. on

attitudes and beliefs.

Registration (the Netherlands)


Knowledge base: how to find fitting literature?


The Netherlands: Web-based Knowledge Base, since 2011, second version (also on paper) is in development (http://www.lerarenopleider.nl/velon/knowledge-base-for-teacher-educators/)

International Forum for Teacher Educator Development: Proposal for an international version submitted to the European Commission (https://www.ntnu.edu/info-ted)

Also: the review study

Norway (NAFOL): a 4-years supporting program for teacher educators working on their Ph.Thesis

Belgium (Flanders): one year masterclasses: general program / practice-based research program

The Netherlands: a one-year program for teacher educators preparing for registration

International Forum for Teacher Educator Development (Info-TED): Proposal for an international summer school, submitted to the European Commission

Supporting programs


1. Reference to the professional standard

2. Attention for the important roles of teacher of teachers, teacher-researcher and coach

3. Learning in a community

4. ‘Inquiry as a stance’ (Cochran-Smith, 2003)

5. Interaction with practice

6. Underpinning (referring to Knowledge Base)

Cochran-Smith, M. (2003). Learning and unlearning: The education of teacher educators. Teaching and Teacher Education, 19(1), 5-28.

Theoretical framework of the Dutch supporting program (since 2011, 4th edition is carried

out)


Registration Procedure: Intervision

Module Teacher of Teachers

Module Teacher-

Researcher

Module Coach

21

- Awareness of the professional identity

- Changes in attitude

- Changes in professional behaviour

- Broader theoretical knowledge

- Willingness to read more (academic) literature

- Increase of pedagogical capabilities

- More explicit awareness of the role of teacher educator

Boei, F., Dengerink, J., Geursen, J., Kools, Q., Koster, B., Lunenberg, M., & Willemse, M. (2015). Supporting the professional development of teacher educators in a productive way. Journal of Education for Teaching, DOI:10.1080/02607476.2015.1080403

Comparative study 2002-2012 cohorts: Contribution of the program


Self-study groups: USA, New-Zealand, South Africa, Belgium (Flanders), the Netherlands (third cohort)

- Study your own practice with a focus on the ‘I’

- Improve your practice and contribute to the knowledge base of teacher educators

“I often get rather good evaluations on my course, but to be honest I have no idea why. Therefore it is hard to work on further improvement.” (Ron, intake interview)

“When I look at our group and myself, I see that we have a lot to offer. We have baggage important enough to describe and report on.” (Ron, exit interview)

Berry, B., Geursen, J., & Lunenberg, M. (2015). A dialogue on supporting self-study research in the context of Dutch teacher education. In Samaras, A., & Pithouse-Morgan, K. (Eds.), Polyvocal Professional Learning through Self-Study Research, pp. 39-56. Rotterdam, Boston, Tapei: Sense Publishers.

Self-study groups


Davey, R. & Ham, V. (2010). ‘It’s all about paying attention!’ … but to what? The ‘6 Ms’ of mentoring the professional learning of teacher educators. Professional Development in Education, 36(1-2), 229-244. Lunenberg, M.L., Korthagen, F. & Zwart, R.C. (2010). Critical issues in supporting self-study. Teaching and Teacher Education, 26(6), 1280-1289. Samaras, A. & Lunenberg, M.L. (2011). Developing a Pedagogy for Teaching Self-Study Research: Lessons Learned Across the Atlantic.Teaching and Teacher Education, 27(5), 841-850. Vanassche, E. (2014). (Re)constructing teacher educators’ professionalism: Biography, workplace and pedagogy. Ph.D. Dissertation KU Leuven.

Self-study group


Supporting self-study and developing guidelines for doing so

24

Lunenberg, M. & Hamilton (2008). Threading a golden chain: An attempt to find our identities as teacher educators. Teacher Education Quarterly, 35 (1), 185-205. Swennen, A., Jones, K., & Volman, M. (2010). Teacher educators: Their identities, subidentities and implications for professional development. Journal for Professional Development in Education, 36 (1&2), 131-148. Davey, R. (2013) The Professional Identity of Teacher Educators: Career on the cusp? London: Routledge. 196pp.

4. Who we are: Our teacher educator identity


- Research on identity development of teacher educators is scarce

- Professional development supports the identity development

- The main source of knowledge and inspiration is the (international) teacher educator community

25


Thank you! [email protected]

To close …

“I will never again take for granted the skills, expertise and knowledge required to be a teacher educator.” (Ritter, 2007, p. 107) “We strongly believe that collegiality, conversation and collaboration in multiple forums is essential for the professional development of new teacher educators like us—and indeed, for all teacher educators” (Williams & Ritter, 2010, p.90).

Ritter, J. K. (2007). Forging a pedagogy of teacher education: The challenges of moving from classroom teacher to teacher educator. Studying Teacher Education, 3(1), 5-22. Williams, J., & Ritter, J. (2010). Constructing new professional identities through self‐study: from teacher to teacher educator. Professional Development in Education, 36(1-1), 77-92.

26

the learning teacher educator: overview of the...

Documents