Transcript Learning to teach An examination of beginning teacher learning during ITE and induction Linda Haggarty and Keith Postlethwaite with Jean Ellins and Kim Diment UCET 2009

Learning to teach
An examination of beginning teacher
learning during ITE and induction
Linda Haggarty and Keith Postlethwaite
with
Jean Ellins and Kim Diment
UCET 2009
We are grateful to the Leverhulme Trust for their financial support of this
research (Grant number: F/00 144/AX).
Further details of the project are available at
http://education.exeter.ac.uk/prism
What is teacher education for?
“Does Britain need a cadre of skilled
technicians to deliver the school National
Curriculum programmes of study in an
effective and efficient way? … Or does
professionofofimaginative,
imaginative,
Britain need a profession
creativeteachers
teacherswhose
whose
informed
creative
informed
professionaljudgement
judgement
leads
professional
leads
to to
intelligent
intelligent
action?”
(Richards,
Harding,
action?”
(Richards,
Harding,
and Webb
1997and
p6)
Webb 1997 p6)
What we do is pretty good…
“I knew little about the cycle of planning,
monitoring, assessment (all the ‘behind the
scenes’ stuff). Doing the course has given me
a huge respect for the profession and the
individuals that practise it. Thus, it has also
given me a sense of pride in what I do,
especially given the many challenges. I find
the education literature (e.g. journal literature)
fascinating and I have started to link theoretical
ideas into what happens in my classroom.”
Synthesis of literature: factors
that affect teacher learning
• The subject: the identity, actual and designated of
the learner;
• The context: resource, policies, expectations;
• The purpose: the motive of the enterprise;
• Support for learning: the people, the processes,
the tools available;
• Learning across contexts: restricted and
expansive learning environments, contestation;
Possible role for Activity Theory
• ‘Activity’ is at the centre of the analysis
Aspects of the system (eg what the subject brings to bear, what
tools are available or created, how the motive is developed) are
all malleable in light of the activities undertaken
• The importance of systemic change
• The issue of boundary crossing
The two phases of the project
• Initial teacher education
• Induction
Methodology ITE
• Interpretive
• Research questions
– what is the nature of student teachers’
thinking at the end of their training
programme?
– how did the student teachers learn to think
about teaching in these ways?
• Sample
• Questionnaire
Factors affecting student teachers’
learning about teaching
Relevant factor – and kind of statement most often Total no. of
made
responses
Subject – the impact of their personal characteristics
31
Context – school policy
1
Purpose
0
Support for learning – support from teachers in school 43
Learning across contexts – learning in the university
32
and school
Student characteristics
• Student teachers’ strengths were often
related to characteristics that they brought
with them to their ITE programme:
– “I am positive, enthusiastic, organized and
creative: I was born like this! My family is like
this!”
The power of synergy
• “Planning: (I’ve) always been quite
organized, but (have been) shown by my
PST that planning is the key”
• Establishing and developing positive
relationships with pupils “is a skill I brought
into teaching, but it has been extended and
developed by observation of experienced
teachers in classrooms and form rooms.”
The problem of contrasts…
• No one mentioned the importance of
confronting aspects of self that might have
‘worked’ in the past but which are not
helpful as a teacher
• What can we do to help when what a
student brings to the course is not helpful
to them in their role as teacher?
At the end of ITE
• Student teachers were aware of
theoretical ideas as a basis for things they
did well and for improving education
generally…
• …but not for making decisions in class or
helping to develop areas in which they felt
weak
Relevant tools?
Framework for dialogue
about teaching
Agendas
SCHOOL OF EDUCATION & LIFELONG LEARNING
Agenda Form
Trainee name
Date
Lesson topic
Year group 7
Observer
Selected focus from the Learning Focuses for Agendas (or a personalised focus)
What aspect of my teaching am I trying to improve?
DETAILS OF INTENTIONS
by trainee
OBSERVATIONS ON FOCUS
by tutor

PLEASE REMEMBER:
Observations on the agenda form should be descriptive, not evaluative. Please write evaluative
comments on a separate sheet of paper and retain for later discussion.
The trainee should
evaluate the agenda BEFORE receiving feedback. The annotated agenda is to be kept by the
trainee for use in a Supervisory Conference.
Also…
• It seemed that ideas from university were
being filtered by the current discourse of
the school – only ideas that fitted were
used
• Filtering as a process seems to match
‘fitting in’ as a goal
Some examples of filtering …
• “The (course) helped me develop a structure for lesson
planning that was then enhanced by my mentor in my
first school placement”
• At uni I was introduced to the idea of AFL. … used some
of the plenary and starter ideas suggested by various
teachers tailored to the learning objectives in each
class.”
• No statement described learning emerging from a
juxtaposition of differing ideas from two or more
contexts.
Reflections
• Perhaps inevitable – perhaps even desirable
• Synergy
• It’s a continuum with induction and CPD so things such
as theory can be addressed later.
• Exploring alternatives to understand current practice
• And there should be openness to alternatives –
especially if roles or context change
• So change of school (and move to first post) may be key
points where the PST (induction mentor) can keep open
the basis for students’ future professional development
Next steps?
Perhaps beginning teachers need to be
fitting in to a learning school.
Conversations about ITE
Induction
Methodology - Induction
• Interpretive
• Research questions
How does induction affect teachers’ thinking, and
how does this developing thinking relate to
teachers’ practice?
• Sample
• Methods:
Questionnaire, NQT interview, mentor interview,
stimulated recall related to an observed lesson,
documents related to school
Findings from the study:
• Behaviour management concerns
• The influence of behaviour management
concerns on pedagogical decisions made about
teaching
• A belief that the induction year would be tough
and behaviour management difficulties inevitable
• Little classroom support once ‘problems’ had
been resolved
• Limited quality of the support
• The need to fit in, and the limitations of fitting in
Findings from the study:
Behaviour management concerns
What was “hardest” was “getting them to be doing what I
want them to be doing in the classroom” independent
school (Beth)
“I worry about the behaviour management thing, where
people say: well if you go to another inner city school, you
can’t just go in (doing this), because they’ll just shout back,
but here, if they shout back then they’re out of school for a
day...” Academy with very strong BM system (James)
Findings from the study:
The influence of behaviour management concerns
on pedagogical decisions made about teaching
“If their behaviour is good, or ... they’re listening then I will
more generally let them take a more active part”. (Lesley)
I am “disinclined to spend time on more adventurous
lessons that might not work” with lower sets (Frank)
Findings from the study:
A belief that the induction year would be tough and
behaviour management difficulties inevitable
“…it’s an incredibly stressful year, the workload is a big jolt
from last year, …it is a culture shock, so I think that’s
important to manage.” (Wendy’s induction mentor)
“…it’s incredibly daunting…” (Paul’s induction mentor)
Findings from the study:
Little classroom support once ‘problems’ had been
resolved
“So the idea is I try to step away as the year goes on, so to
start with your support and then as you go on I want my
NQT’s to feel that they’re coping on their own, but the
support’s there if it’s needed.” (Wendy’s induction mentor)
Findings from the study:
Limited quality of the support
• “I think if you’re the right personality you’ll be a great
teacher. And if you’re the wrong personality you’re
always going to struggle ... tragically that’s one of those
things that just comes with experience, it’s not something
you can teach an NQT in the first year.” (Colin’s
induction mentor)
Findings from the study:
The need to fit in, and the limitations of fitting in
Induction is about welcoming a new member of staff into the
school and explaining how it works. It is also about making
them feel comfortable as a teacher because it is a very
stressful year (Wendy’s mentor)
The purpose is to make your NQT feel welcome, you know,
it’s incredibly daunting (Paul’s mentor)
Issues to investigate further
• Is the emphasis on behaviour management as
widespread and are its effects as limiting as they seem;
• what is the detailed nature of the NQT/mentor dialogue
and does the support of induction mentors extend to
pedagogical support as well as emotional support;
• does the goal of ‘fitting in’ with the practices of the school
play a large part in NQTs’ learning and as part of this do
NQTs filter their thinking so that ideas that contrast with
current practice in their school are lost;
• does involvement in a ‘learning school’ change the way
in which an NQT develops during the induction year?
Behaviour management
Rachel
• “I feel that behaviour has a big impact and dominates a lot of my
decisions at the moment. I feel it is preventing me from developing
my teaching (Rachel)
Wendy
• Teachers working with Wendy did not seem to identify behaviour
management as a major issue in her teaching. However, despite the
settled environment in which she worked, Wendy herself expected
to have problems “Behaviour management tactics is always a biggy
isn’t it?”
• She focused on trying to look happy in the classroom (because the
children were picking up on her looking stressed), emphasising
‘hands up’ rather than calling out, using the merits and stickers, and
trying to get everyone involved in the lesson. As she pointed out this
deflected attention from “trying lots of more complicated things such
as peer assessment”
Induction programmes and
mentoring
• The impressive induction programme provided a “very
clear plan: everybody knew what was going to happen
and when, when the deadlines were and what needed to
be done and it’s incredibly well organised.” (mentor)
• Having this “clear structure” and thereby “knowing what
you have to do and when makes it very easy as both a
mentor or a new teacher to know that, if I can just keep
this moving, then everything’s going to be fine.” (mentor)
The NQT/mentor dialogue
Its value
Its purpose
Building on PGCE and using the CEDP
Withdrawing support as the year progresses
Models of teacher learning
Stress, culture shock, limited aspirations, personality
Experience, gate keeping
Passing and learning
Mentoring for behaviour management
Filtering as a process and ‘fitting
in’ as an object in NQT learning
One of his own main aims for the following year is “just
to work out some really organised system for recording
stuff about pupils, who’s handed in homework”. He
says not only is this useful for writing reports, but also
“because you can use discipline more effectively, as I
can’t punish pupils for not doing things if I don’t really
know.” – a useful but fairly limited objective for a
successful NQT in an ambitious school.
The impact of involvement in a
‘learning school’ on an NQT
Rachel worked with the AST to develop ways in which pupils could be
helped to learn better using the principles of Building Learning Power.
This was “something that I started to read about and became interested
in during my PGCE year but have only felt able to start to develop this
year.”
She would value “continued links” to the University or “outside
assistance” in order “to discuss theory or ideas” more during her NQT
year (Rachel)
“This is exactly the kind of thing that I’ve been interested in and that’s
developing the learning and the thinking skills and developing them
(pupils) as learners so that they can think for themselves.” (Rachel)
Conversations about induction
Learning to Teach
What should we fit in to?
A Learning School
Is this realistic?
The School as a Centre of Enquiry/Streams for
the Future?
Lawrence Stenhouse
Action Research partnerships
IT-INSET