Working Group IV:
Linking University and Schools
Group members: Jean-François Desbiens (Sherbrooke), Thomas Falkenberg (Manitoba), Karen Goodnough (Memorial), Tim Hopper (Victoria), Ron MacDonald (Prince Edward Island), Gerald McConaghy (Lethbridge), Margaret McNay (Western)
GROUP REPORT
(by Ron MacDonald)
Possible research questions that were discussed:
1. What does building stronger links between coursework and schools do for pre-service teachers?
2. What does building stronger links between coursework and schools do for teachers in schools?
3. How do we build stronger links, describe the process of linking university to schools? (Involving whom, cooperating teachers, students, cooperating schools, other, involving technology?)
4. How do relationships with schools change over time? What helps/hurts relationship building?
5. For such relationship building, what do curriculum, pedagogical courses, and school context look like?
During the course of the conference, each of the seven group members developed a resarch project around the theme of creating stronger links between teacher candidates' learning in university-based courses and their learning in school classroom contexts.
Following are descriptions of the research projects.
Tim Hopper
Context: Physical Education Curriculum and Pedagogy
a) Micro-teaching in Physical Education coursework carried further into school setting.
b) Interesting difference: Pairs of pre-service teachers collaborate. During their teaching in both locations, conversations/feedback with the non-teaching pre-service appears to provide more situated and grounded feedback.
c) Analysis of the teaching behaviour - based on feedback (i.e. write paper)
c) In the school - Teach the lesson (groups of 2)
Karen Goodnough
After participating in the working session at the November conference, I decided to focus on possible ways to link course work in a primary/elementary science methods course to school-based experiences. While I was not ready to conceptualize and implement a research study in the Winter semester 2009, I am laying the groundwork to start a program in the Fall semester 2009 that involves a local partnership with four groups: the Eastern School District; a local primary/elementary school; Let’s Talk Science, a national program devoted to improving science literacy through leadership, innovative educational programs, research and advocacy; and the Faculty of Education at Memorial University of Newfoundland.
Pre-service primary/elementary students will have the opportunity, as part of their science education methodology course, to design inquiry-based science activities and implement those activities with elementary school children once a week for a six-week period. Students will participate in preparatory course work and Let’s Talk Science workshops prior to designing and implementing activities. Through the design and implementation process, students will be guided to reflect on their developing beliefs and understandings as they relate to assessment and instruction, curriculum, and student learning in science (pedagogical content knowledge or PCK). In addition to examining the development of pre-service teachers’ PCK, I will have the opportunity to explore how these school-based/university partnership experiences contribute to pre-service students’ development of teacher identity.
Ron MacDonald
Context: Senior High School Science
a) Pre-service teachers in our Bachelor of Education program pair up with an in-service teacher from a local high school, where we are currently holding our science curriculum and pedagogy courses.
b) In-service teachers collaborate with pre-service teachers in choosing an active learning lesson topic. Pre-service teachers then find existing labs related to this lesson, critique and re-write them (physics, chemistry, biology, grade 10 science).
c) A micro-teaching session with our science curriculum and pedagogy class is done, with critique and a re-write.
d) This is followed by having pre-service teachers teach this lesson in the classroom (co-teach) with teachers in the school.
Jean-François Desbiens
Context: Communications course with physical education program pre-service teachers (the course is offered during the same time as their practicum)
a) Micro-teaching session - in-service teaching
Communicate with the cooperating activity (e.g. setting up a hand-ball activity).
b) Student teachers will talk with the coop teacher. Jean-François will document the activity, how they perceive the complexity of the situation.
c) They will try it with their peers.
d) They will then improve it based on feedback, then they will try it in the field.
e) They will then discuss it back in class.
For a more detailed description of the project click here.
Margaret McNay
Context: Margaret is Associate Dean of Teacher Education at Western (BEd). She is currently negotiating with districts and Communities of schools to link the Univeristy Practicum Placement Program with Schools
Her work with these stakeholders will be important to inform us all about how to build a supportive and collaborative structure.
She is, in effect, at the place where we all believe BEd programs may be headed... toward professional development schools where collaborative relationships between BEd programs and partner schools are built for all to gain from each other.
Gerald McConaghy
Context: Curriculum and pedagogy course (business area of curriculum)
a) Micro-teaching developed in course-work (in consultation with cooperating teacher)
b) Then they do this in the practicum.
c) Collective reflection on it through an intentional PD component with the pre-service teacher, cooperating teacher… effectively, becoming collective practitioners.
Thomas Falkenberg
Ground our research in theory and method:
a) Write a literature-supported justification for the need to link stronger university-based learning to teach and school-based learning to teach.
b) Explore a possible theoretical framework for the individual projects.
c) Exploring possible common method(s) to use to facilitate a meta-analysis.