Discovering and developing student teachers' practical teaching theory -- writing logs as a tool?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/japl.v7i1.121Keywords:
WRITING TO LEARN, LOGS, TEACHER EDUCATION, PRACTICAL TEACHING THEORY, TRANSITION SHOCKAbstract
This paper explores how writing logs sustain student teachers’ professional development. This is done through analysis of logs written during field practice in initial teacher education. The reason for writing and sharing these logs with fellow student teachers and mentors is embedded in theories of writing to learn, following Vygotsky and Bakhtin. Sociocultural theory also guides the research process. The study is designed as a qualitative case study. Data is collected from nine student teachers’ logs over a period of one and a half years. The paper presents findings from the initial phase of a content analysis showing thematic breadth and presence of traces of learning theory and traces of pedagogical content knowledge. The examples presented indicate the potential logs have as rich texts representing a dialogue and a bridge between theory and practice.
References
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NOKUT (Nasjonalt organ for kvalitet i utdanningen) [National Agency for Quality in Education] (2006) Evaluering av allmennlærerutdanningen i Norge 2006. Del 1: Hovedrapport [Evaluation of teacher education for primary and lower secondary school in Norway 2006. Part 1: Main report]. Oslo.
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Shulman, L. S. (2004) The Wisdom of Practice: Essays on Teaching, Learning, and Learning to Teach. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Sjøhelle, D. K. (2007) Læringsfellesskap og profesjonsutvikling: språklig kommunikasjon på e-forum i desentralisert lærerutdanning [Communities of learning and professional development: electronic communication in decentralized teacher education]. Unpublished Dissertation, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim.
Smidt, J. (2002) Double histories in multivocal classrooms: Notes toward an ecological account of writing. Written Communication 19 (3): 414–443. doi:10.1177/074108802237753
Sundli, L. (2002) Veiledning i virkeligheten: praksisveiledning med lærerstudenter [Supervision in reality: mentoring student teachers]. Oslo: Gyldendal akademisk.
Tharp, R. G. and Gallimore, R. (1998) Rousing Minds to Life: Teaching, Learning and Schooling in Social Context. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Van der Leeuw, B. T. (2006) Schrijftaken in de lerarenopleiding: een etnografie van onderwijsvernieuwing [Writing Tasks in Teacher Education: An Ethnographic Study of Developmental Work in Teaching]. Heeswijk-Dinther: Esstede.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1975) Tænkning og sprog [Thought and language]. København: Hans Reitzels forlag.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1986) Thought and Language. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Wittek, L. (2008) Pedagogiske redskaper og studenters læring [Didactical tools and students’ learning]. Norsk pedagogisk tidsskrift 6: 443–455.
Zeichner, K. M. and Gore, J. M. (1990) Teacher socialization. In W. R. Houston (ed.) Handbook of Research on Teacher Education, 329–348. New York: Macmillan.
Ball, D. L. (1988) American Prospective Teachers’ Images of Mathematics Teaching and Learning and of Students as Learners of Mathematics. Unpublished thesis. Michigan State University.
Bruner, J. S. (1996) The Culture of Education. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Dann, H. D., Müller-Fohrbrodt, G. and Cloetta, B. (1981) Sozialization junger Lehrer im Beruf. Praxisschock drei Jahre später [Professional socialization of young teachers. The transition shock three years later]. Zeitschrift für Entwicklungspsychologie und Pädagogische Psychologie 13: 251–262.
Edwards, A. and Ogden, L. (1998) Constructing curriculum subject knowledge in primary school teacher training. Teaching and Teacher Education 14 (7): 735–747. doi:10.1016/ S0742-051X(98)00020-1
Eik-Nes, N. L. (2008) Dialogging: Negotiating Disciplinary Identity Through the Medium of Logs. Unpublished Dissertation, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim.
Firing, K. (2007) Praksis i profesjonsutdanning; å gjøre eller å lære? Hvordan loggskriving kan utgjøre en forskjell [Field practice in education for professionals; to do or to learn? How writing logs can make a difference]. FoU i praksis 1: 59–72.
Fuller, F. (1969) Concerns of teachers: A developmental conceptulaization. American Educational Research Journal 6 (2): 207–226.
Handal, G. and Lauvås, P. (1987) Promoting Reflective Teaching: Supervision in Action. Milton Keynes: SRHE/Open University Press.
Harnæs, H. (2002) Evaluering av allmennlærerutdanningen ved fem norske institusjoner: rapport fra ekstern komité [Evaluation of the teacher education for primary and lower secondary schools at five Norwegian institutions. Report from the external committee]. Oslo: Norgesnettrådet.
Hoel, T. L. (2002) Interaction and learning potential in e-mail messages. In E. Maagerø and B. Simonsen (eds) Learning through Genres, 15–38. Kristiansand: Høyskoleforlaget AS.
Hoel, T. L. (2005) Skriving som bro mellom praksiserfaringer og teori [Writing as a bridge between practice experiences and theory]. In L. S. Brok and F. Mathiesen (eds) Skriftlighed: et læringsredskab i professionsuddannelser, 123–145. København: Forlaget samfundslitteratur.
Hoel, T. L., Sigrún, G. and Brobakken, P. T. (1999) Studenter, refleksjon og veiledning via e-post [Students, reflection and tutoring by e-mail]. Trondheim: Tapir.
Jordell, K. Ø. (1986) Fra pult til kateter [From the pupil’s desks to the teacher’s desk]. Tromsø: University of Tromsø.
Korthagen, F. (2001) Linking Practice and Theory: The Pedagogy of Realistic Teacher Education. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Laursen, P. F. (2008) Det er i praksis man virkelig lærer noget [It is in the practice field we really learn]. In H. Bjerresgård (ed.) Tango for to: teori og praksis i læreres professionsudvikling, 39–60. Fredrikshavn: Dafolo.
Lillis, T. (2009) Talk Around Text for Researching Academic Writing: Opportunities, Limitations and Concerns. Paper presented at the writing research seminar Researching writing in education and organization, with a focus on research design and method at Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, 14 April.
Lortie, D. C. (1975) Schoolteacher: A Sociological Study. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.
Nilssen, V. (2010a) Encouraging the habit of seeing in student teaching. Teaching and Teacher Education 26 (3): 591–598. doi:10.1016/j.tate.2009.09.005
Nilssen, V. (2010b) Praksislæreren [The cooperating teacher as mentor]. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget.
Nilssen, V., Wangsmo-Cappelen, V. and Gudmundsdottir, S. (1996) ‘Dæm tænkt på ein heilt anna måte enn ka æ gjor’: En kasusstudie av en lærerstudents matematikkundervisning i 2.klasse [‘They thought in a quite different way than I did.’ A case study of a student teacher’s mathematics teaching in second grade]. Trondheim: Tapir Forlag.
NOKUT (Nasjonalt organ for kvalitet i utdanningen) [National Agency for Quality in Education] (2006) Evaluering av allmennlærerutdanningen i Norge 2006. Del 1: Hovedrapport [Evaluation of teacher education for primary and lower secondary school in Norway 2006. Part 1: Main report]. Oslo.
Peshkin, A. (1988) In search of subjectivity: One’s own. Educational Researcher 17 (7): 17–21.
Sarangi, S. (2010) Practising discourse analysis in healthcare settings. In I. Bourgeault, R. DeVries and R. Dingwall (eds) The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Methods in Health Research, 397–416. London: Sage.
Schön, D. A. (1983) The Reflective Practitioner. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Shulman, L. S. (1986) Those who understand: Knowledge growth in teaching. Educational Researcher 15 (2): 4–14.
Shulman, L. S. (2004) The Wisdom of Practice: Essays on Teaching, Learning, and Learning to Teach. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Sjøhelle, D. K. (2007) Læringsfellesskap og profesjonsutvikling: språklig kommunikasjon på e-forum i desentralisert lærerutdanning [Communities of learning and professional development: electronic communication in decentralized teacher education]. Unpublished Dissertation, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim.
Smidt, J. (2002) Double histories in multivocal classrooms: Notes toward an ecological account of writing. Written Communication 19 (3): 414–443. doi:10.1177/074108802237753
Sundli, L. (2002) Veiledning i virkeligheten: praksisveiledning med lærerstudenter [Supervision in reality: mentoring student teachers]. Oslo: Gyldendal akademisk.
Tharp, R. G. and Gallimore, R. (1998) Rousing Minds to Life: Teaching, Learning and Schooling in Social Context. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Van der Leeuw, B. T. (2006) Schrijftaken in de lerarenopleiding: een etnografie van onderwijsvernieuwing [Writing Tasks in Teacher Education: An Ethnographic Study of Developmental Work in Teaching]. Heeswijk-Dinther: Esstede.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1975) Tænkning og sprog [Thought and language]. København: Hans Reitzels forlag.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1986) Thought and Language. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Wittek, L. (2008) Pedagogiske redskaper og studenters læring [Didactical tools and students’ learning]. Norsk pedagogisk tidsskrift 6: 443–455.
Zeichner, K. M. and Gore, J. M. (1990) Teacher socialization. In W. R. Houston (ed.) Handbook of Research on Teacher Education, 329–348. New York: Macmillan.
Published
2011-03-27
Issue
Section
Research Notes
License
Equinox Publishing Ltd.
How to Cite
Klemp, T. (2011). Discovering and developing student teachers’ practical teaching theory -- writing logs as a tool?. Journal of Applied Linguistics and Professional Practice, 7(1), 121-138. https://doi.org/10.1558/japl.v7i1.121
