Living our Principles Three Examples of Practice

Joy JarvisRoger Levy

University of Hertfordshire, UKAnja Swennen

VU University Amsterdam

John Loughran, 2001

It is modelling the processes, thoughts and knowledge of an experienced teacher in a way that demonstrates the ‘why’ or the purpose of teaching: it is not creating a template of teaching for unending duplication

Modeling

ATE: Standard 1Model teaching that demonstrates

content and professional knowledge, skills, and dispositions, reflecting research, proficiency with technology and assessment, and accepted best practices in teacher education.

Congruent teaching

Teaching teachers in line with your own principles and the principles you want you students to bring into practice

Congruent teaching

1. Model excellent teaching in the broadest sense of the word

2. Explicit modeling: unpacking teaching3. Legitimizing one’s own teaching:

underpinning one's own teaching with theory

Some research suggests that Teacher Educators appear to lack knowledge on congruent teaching, and the skills needed to put it into practice

Why is this important?• To improve the teaching skills of teacher educators (Korthagen, 2002;

Loughran, 1996). Teacher educators who are able to teach in a congruent way enlarge their own teaching repertoire.

• To bridge the gap between theory and practice. Teacher educators will not only teach about theory but they will practise the theory they teach about.

• To improve the teaching of student teachers. (Wood & Geddis, 1999). Student teachers do not only absorb the theory, but they experience it when their teacher educators practise it.

• To improve education . Innovations in teaching methods must be introduced modelled in teacher education. If innovations are not modelled in teacher education and teacher educators teach in a traditional way, while they expect their student teachers to adapt new teaching methods, teaching education looses it credibility.

Three Examples of Working with the Idea of Modelling our Principles in Practice

• In initial teacher education at the University of Hertfordshire – an example from yr 1 of the BEd course

• An example of professional development with staff engaged in self-study of their practice

• Working in partnership with colleagues in Malaysia to develop a new teacher education course. How colleagues modelled and developed principles of learning and teaching.

Staff identify shared values and principles

DISPOSITIONALAll learners can expand their knowledge and deepen their

understanding

INTELLECTUALLearning develops through

enquiry, exploration, discovery and critical

reflection

SOCIALLearners progress best in a

safe, inclusive yet challenging learning environment

School of Education

Principle: Learners progress best in a safe, inclusive yet challenging learning environment

Principle: Learning develops through enquiry, exploration, discovery and

critical reflection

Principle: All learners can expand their knowledge and deepen their understanding

Student Assignment

Students write an assignment exploring the 3 principles.They consider their own learning and their learning about teaching.

They observe in school and look for how these principles could be/ are used in practice.

Staff Professional Development Sessions on Modelling

Loughran, J. (2006) Developing a Pedagogy of Teacher Education. Understanding teaching and learning about teaching.

Routledge

'Modeling is inherent in all that we do in teacher education. Intended and unintended learning about teaching occurs through our modeling whether we are conscious of our actions or not. With that in mind, modeling then can be conceptualized as teaching in the very ways we encourage our students to teach but to do so with the intention of offering them access to the thoughts of, and knowledge about, such practice by explicating the underlying purpose of that teaching approach. This is in stark contrast to the misconception that modeling is a mock teaching demonstration or a tacit call for students of teaching to “teach like me.”' Loughran 2006:95

Exploring ‘Developing a Pedagogy of Teacher Education’

Questions about Modelling• Staged?

• Focus?

• Planned and unplanned?

• How much?

• Student response?

‘…for students of teaching, their learning agenda includes learning about the specific content being taught, learning about learning and learning about

teaching.’

(Loughran, 2006 :5)

Working in partnership to promote excellence in teacher education

- WelcomeWorking with Colleagues to Model and Develop Principles into Practice

ActionARM yourself for Learning and Teaching

ReflectionModelling

ActiveTalking

partners

Concept mapping

Reflection

Identifying learning

Raising questions/

issues

Modelling

DocumentingFeedback

PRINCIPLES

PLANNING

LEARNINGTOGETHER

SUPPORTING LEARNING

REFLECTING

SHARING THE

LEARNING

BUILDING LEARNING COMMUNITIES

MONITORING

Aims of Teacher Education Institutes in Malaysia

REFLEC TIVELEARNING

AC TIVELEARNING

• developing reflective teachers• active learning via experiential learning

Lee, W.H. & Tan, S.K. (2004). Reflective practice in Malaysian teacher education. Assumptions, practices, and challenges.

active learning without thinking is

fun without learning

reflection without enjoyable experience is

stressful learning

How to RAiL?

INTERAC TING

STRUC TURE Q UESTIO

NING

STRUC TU

RE

MO DEL

LING

(RES

O URC ES) REFLEC TIO N

PRO TO C O L

AC TIVELEARNING

REFLEC TIVELEARNING

Plug-n-Use Strategies1.Use easily-made & readily-available resources to promote innovativeness.2.Use reflection protocol to promote critical & creative thinking.3.Use “questioning structure” to promote higher-order thinking.4.Use “interacting structure” to promote face-to-face communication.

1. 2.

3.4.

• 'When we do in importance of talk. We did this activity whereby they do the activity in pairs. We give three activities – the first person talk, the other person just listen. Then we do the second part, the first person talk and the second person can answer 'yes' or 'no' (close ended questions). Part 3 the second person can interrupt whenever they like. Then we do some reflection on the best way of communication. The first is one-way, the third is two-way. So we model the importance of talking. We emphasise this is two-way communication. So we model this is two-way communication. This helps to know what the children are thinking. In Malaysia the primary school children don't want to talk so we try to teach that – they are quite shy to give their opinion. So hopefully the future teachers can change that.' (Lecturer – Malaysia)

RAiL vs ARM• RAiL is a specific model of ARM.

•ARM is extendable to learning among primary children, but RAiL focuses on learning about teaching among student teachers.

•RAiL accelerates ARM in Malaysian setting.

‘While modelling is appropriate when my pupils get stuck and need helps. One way to get them understand is by modelling, not only teacher's model but pupils also can modelling on what they've learn.’ (Student teacher – Malaysia)

Dickerson C. et al. (2010) Learning together through international collaboration in teacher education in Malaysia. Report of a project to develop a Bachelor of Education (Honours) in Primary Mathematics. In Press

A Continuing Journey‘..teaching excellence is about the enduring human struggle to ‘live out’ our educational values in practice.’

Skelton, A (2009) A ‘teaching excellence for the times we live in? Teaching in Higher Education 14:1 p109