Transcript Research questions – so far

Creating a Flexible Teacher
Education Programme through
Collaboration
Rebecca Eliahoo, University of Westminster
Focus of workshop
• How Universities can encourage and support
collaborative work by teacher educators and
staff developers in the post-compulsory sector.
• How teacher educators can be inducted and
supported through collaboration, networking
and exchange of good practice.
• The professional development needs of new or
beginning teacher educators.
A little known group
• Across the world, teacher education has been
seen as a powerful lever for bringing about
change in schools and colleges (Murray and Kosnik 2011,
p.243)
• Teacher educators are an under-researched and
little understood group (Zeichner 2006, Noel 2006)
• Yet “what student teachers learn during their
initial training is as much influenced by who is
responsible for teaching them, as it is by the
content of the curriculum” (Furlong et al 2000, p.36)
Exploratory research using mixed
methods
• Semi-structured interviews with a purposive
sample of 10 experienced and wise Teacher
Educators
• Survey of 250 Teacher Educators with 70
responses
• Colloquium for new or beginning Teacher
Educators and evaluative survey
• Focus groups
Who are the teacher educators
in PCET?
• Staff teaching on PTLLS, CTLLS, DTLLS, CELTA,
CertEd, PGCE etc and subject specialist courses
in colleges and HEIs
• Mentors and personal tutors supporting trainees
• Recruitment for new teacher educators is often
informal
Professional knowledge
• There is little focus on, or agreement, about teacher
educators’ support needs or what might constitute
appropriate professional knowledge (Harkin et al 2008).
• There is no requirement for teacher educators to
hold a degree or higher degree in either their
subject specialism or in education
• Little attention is paid by colleges to the necessity
for teacher educators to undertake either
scholarship or research.
• Teacher educators struggle to overcome simplistic
perceptions of teaching and learning as the
transmission of information, tips and tricks, rather
than the generation of research and scholarship
around teacher education pedagogy.
(Murray & Male 2005, Lunenberg et al 2011, Loughran 2011).
How are teacher educators
inducted?
• Few received a formal induction to teacher
education;
• Most received informal or peer mentoring;
• Most felt that they were ‘thrown in at the deep
end’ with a text-book as lifeline;
• All are enthusiastic exponents of collaborative
working;
• CPD tends to be unstructured – some HEIs put
on study days for teacher educators.
What support do teacher
educators say they need?
• Induction into role and/or institution;
• Peer mentoring;
• Peer and joint observations of teaching;
• Moderation of written/observation feedback;
• Explanation of the culture of feedback in initial
teacher education;
• Double marking or suitable percentage
moderation of their marking;
• How to assess at different levels (4, 5, 6 and 7).
Examples of mentoring by
experienced teacher educators
• Shadowing and team teaching to get a holistic
view of the course;
• How H.E.I.s work (enrolment , assessment, and
QA procedures, etc.);
• Value of belonging to networks e.g. Talent
website, CETTs, TELL, TEAN, ATEE.
• Introduction to a new community of practice.
• Experienced teacher educators may need a
lighter touch induction
Creating a Flexible Teacher Education
Programme through Collaboration
• Annual Assignment Writing Seminars
• GOPEX
• Support for CertEd/PGCE Teacher Educators in
H/book
• Summer Research Conference
• Shared Induction sessions at the University
• Shared online resources and ideas for module
leaders
• Collaborative research (LSIS projects)
Creating a Flexible Teacher Education
Programme through Collaboration
• Encouraging flexible assessment (Wikis,
professional discussions, video observations,
poster presentations)
• CPD modules (Observation; Mentoring; HE in FE)
• M.A. in Education in the LLS/M.A. in Teacher
Education in the LLS
• Transcending geography: beginning teacher
educators working in different HEIs in the USA
and Canada used online journals and dialogue to
explore their practice and support each other
(Ramirez et al 2012)
Before questions
• In pairs, please share your own
strategies to support flexible and
collaborative practice in Teacher
Education
References
• Furlong, J., Barton, L., Miles, S., Whiting, C., Whitty, G. (2000)
Teacher Education in Transition, Buckingham: OUP
• Harkin, J., Cuff, A., Rees, S., Clow, R. (2008) Research into the
Developmental Needs of Teacher Educators for Effective
Implementation of the New Qualifications for Teachers, Tutors and
Trainers in the Lifelong Learning Sector in England LLUK
• Loughran, J. (2011) ‘On becoming a teacher educator’, Journal of
Education for Teaching: International Research and Pedagogy, 37:3,
279-291
• Lunenberg, M., Korthagen, F., Zwart, R. (2011) ‘Self-Study Research
and the Development of Teacher Educators’ Professional Identities’,
European Educational Research Journal, 10:3, 407-420
• Noel, P. (2006) ‘The secret life of teacher educators: becoming a
teacher educator in the learning and skills sector’ Journal of
Vocational Education and Training 58 (2) pp151-170
References
• Murray, J., Kosnik, C. (2011) ‘Academic work and identities in teacher
education’, Journal of Education for Teaching: International research
and pedagogy, 37:3, 243-246
• Murray, J. Male, T. (2005) ‘Becoming a teacher educator: evidence
from the field’, Teaching and Teacher Education, 21, 125-142
• Ramirez, L.A., Allison-Roan, V.A., Peterson, S., Elliott-Johns, S.E.
(2012) ‘Supporting one another as beginning Teacher Educators:
forging an online community of critical inquiry into practice’,
Studying Teacher Education: A journal of self-study of teacher
education practices, 8:2, 109-126
• Zeichner, K. (2006) ‘A research agenda for teacher education’. In
Studying Teacher Education, ed. M. Cochran-Smith and K. Zeichner.
New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum and the American Educational
Research Association