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Building new teacher capacities through an innovative practicum: Learning to teach on a construction site
Abstract
This work speaks to the capacities that are built among preservice teachers when placed in a unique educational environment. This environment allows Grade 10 Alberta students to complete their year on a construction site while building two houses.
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... The TQS was developed to more accurately reflect the changing nature of classrooms. Teacher education programs are required to adapt to this changing nature of both society and schools (Danyluk & Burns, 2016;Foster et al., 2010;ten Dam & Blom, 2006) and to ensure PSTs are not simply replicating outdated practices (Bullock & Russell, 2010;Lortie, 1975). Contemporary classrooms are composed of a wide variety of learners, including those with specific learning requirements such as emotional, physical, cognitive, and medical needs. ...
... However, challenges to the assessment of these areas were uniquely tied to the field instructors' and cooperating teachers' personal feelings of capacity to perform the various key competencies themselves. As discussed earlier, assessment of PSTs is based on determining their competence to lead their own classroom (Darling-Hammond, 2006), but within a complex and ever-changing system (Danyluk & Burns, 2016;ten Dam & Blom, 2006). The representatives in this study recognized that increasing the competence of the assessors was equally important to designing assessment tools from the TQS, particularly with reference to the Indigenous knowledge and inclusion competencies. ...
This article chronicles a provincial collaboration between ten Bachelor of Education degree-granting universities in Alberta, Canada. This collaboration focused on the newly implemented Teaching Quality Standard (2018) in Alberta and its impact on preservice teacher practicums. Data were collected through curriculum mapping and interviews at each institution. Each institution analyzed their own data and shared themes at a number of group meetings. Two common themes arose: (a) the interconnectedness of practicum and teacher education courses and (b) the role of the Teaching Quality Standard as a development tool within practicum. Key words: teacher education, practicum, teaching quality standard, postsecondary collaboration Cet article relate une collaboration provinciale entre dix universités de l'Alberta, au Canada, qui décernent des baccalauréats en éducation. Cette collaboration s'est concentrée sur la nouvelle norme de qualité de l'enseignement (2018) en Alberta et son impact sur les stages des enseignants en formation initiale. Les données ont été recueillies par le biais de la cartographie des programmes d'études et d'entretiens dans chaque établissement. Chaque établissement a analysé ses propres données et a partagé les thèmes lors de plusieurs réunions de groupe. Deux thèmes communs sont apparus : (a) l'interconnexion des stages et des cours de formation des enseignants et (b) le rôle de la norme de qualité de l'enseignement comme outil de développement dans le cadre des stages. Mots clés: formation des enseignants, stage, norme de qualité de l'enseignement, collaboration postsecondaire
... The TQS was developed to more accurately reflect the changing nature of classrooms. Teacher education programs are required to adapt to this changing nature of both society and schools (Danyluk & Burns, 2016;Foster et al., 2010;ten Dam & Blom, 2006) and to ensure PSTs are not simply replicating outdated practices (Bullock & Russell, 2010;Lortie, 1975). Contemporary classrooms are composed of a wide variety of learners, including those with specific learning requirements such as emotional, physical, cognitive, and medical needs. ...
... However, challenges to the assessment of these areas were uniquely tied to the field instructors' and cooperating teachers' personal feelings of capacity to perform the various key competencies themselves. As discussed earlier, assessment of PSTs is based on determining their competence to lead their own classroom (Darling-Hammond, 2006), but within a complex and ever-changing system (Danyluk & Burns, 2016;ten Dam & Blom, 2006). The representatives in this study recognized that increasing the competence of the assessors was equally important to designing assessment tools from the TQS, particularly with reference to the Indigenous knowledge and inclusion competencies. ...
As part of the International Study of Teacher Leadership (www.mru.ca/istl), a document analysis was conducted to determine how teacher leadership is represented in the official documentation of key educational stakeholders in Alberta, Canada.Six themes emerged from the researchers’ document analysis: foundational understandings, student diversity, twenty-first-century competencies, innovative curriculum and student engagement, community engagement, and reflection and professional learning. Analysis of the idealized themes resulted in the identification of issues that may challenge teacher leaders. For example, professional tensions may emerge between teacher leaders seeking to implement innovative pedagogies and parents and colleagues with conflicting expectations. Cultivating citizenship skills in a context of ambiguity, rapid change, and diversity may be complicated by alienation among community members and political leaders who themselves struggle with changing social, political, and environmental forces.It is unlikely that teacher leaders could demonstrate competence in every theme area. Teacher leaders must necessarily prioritize some professional commitments to work sustainably. Several considerations were derived from the inherent tensions. The considerations were used to derive a composite profile of teacher leaders with the capacity to serve, influence, and thrive as teacher leaders.KeywordsTeacher leadershipProfessional tensionsDocument analysisLeadership development
... The TQS was developed to more accurately reflect the changing nature of classrooms. Teacher education programs are required to adapt to this changing nature of both society and schools (Danyluk & Burns, 2016;Foster et al., 2010;ten Dam & Blom, 2006) and to ensure PSTs are not simply replicating outdated practices (Bullock & Russell, 2010;Lortie, 1975). Contemporary classrooms are composed of a wide variety of learners, including those with specific learning requirements such as emotional, physical, cognitive, and medical needs. ...
... However, challenges to the assessment of these areas were uniquely tied to the field instructors' and cooperating teachers' personal feelings of capacity to perform the various key competencies themselves. As discussed earlier, assessment of PSTs is based on determining their competence to lead their own classroom (Darling-Hammond, 2006), but within a complex and ever-changing system (Danyluk & Burns, 2016;ten Dam & Blom, 2006). The representatives in this study recognized that increasing the competence of the assessors was equally important to designing assessment tools from the TQS, particularly with reference to the Indigenous knowledge and inclusion competencies. ...
This article chronicles a provincial collaboration between ten Bachelor of Education degree-granting universities in Alberta, Canada. This collaboration focused on the newly implemented Teaching Quality Standard (2018) in Alberta and its impact on preservice teacher practicums. Data were collected through curriculum mapping and interviews at each institution. Each institution analyzed their own data and shared themes at a number of group meetings. Two common themes arose: (a) the interconnectedness of practicum and teacher education courses and (b) the role of the Teaching Quality Standard as a development tool within practicum. Cet article relate une collaboration provinciale entre dix universités de l'Alberta, au Canada, qui décernent des baccalauréats en éducation. Cette collaboration s'est concentrée sur la nouvelle norme de qualité de l'enseignement (2018) en Alberta et son impact sur les stages des enseignants en formation initiale. Les données ont été recueillies par le biais de la cartographie des programmes d'études et d'entretiens dans chaque établissement. Chaque établissement a analysé ses propres données et a partagé les thèmes lors de plusieurs réunions de groupe. Deux thèmes communs sont apparus : (a) l'interconnexion des stages et des cours de formation des enseignants et (b) le rôle de la norme de qualité de l'enseignement comme outil de développement dans le cadre des stages. Ten degree-granting postsecondary institutions in the province of Alberta offer Bachelor of Education programs. Described here is the collective work of these institutions in examining how the newly implemented Teaching Quality Standard (TQS; Alberta Education, 2018) was reflected in each of their education programs. Through this collective work, participants were able to shift the dialogue from one of competition between institutions to one of cooperation among institutions. The paper presented here is both a chronicle of that collaboration as well as a discussion of the ways each institution was able to enhance its use of the TQS, including a greater awareness of the interconnectedness of practicum and other teacher education courses within each program as well the role of the new TQS as a development tool in practicum.
The history of Canadian preservice teacher practicums demonstrates that great effort has been put forth to bridge the perceived divide between university teaching programs and classroom practice. Although innovative theory and practice is often researched at the university, this can fail to transfer for a number of reasons resulting in a replication of outdated practices at the school level. Teacher education programs can prepare preservice teachers to creatively respond to current and future challenges. When the practicum is placed at the centre of the preservice teacher program, as occurs with professional development schools, collaboration between the university and school is fluid. Supervisory models for mentor teachers have also proven effective, especially when they introduce mentor teachers to innovative practices, develop helpful feedback skills, assist preservice teachers in identifying theory in practice, and encourage critical reflection and risk-taking. Strengthened collaboration between the university and school sites fosters the development of competent, reflective new teachers willing to take risks and implement innovative strategies befitting a 21st-century classroom.
There exists much potential for the use of community-based partnerships to support preservice teachers' learning and development. These opportunities can also expand preservice teachers' understanding of when and where teaching and learning take place. This paper reports the results of a qualitative, yearlong pilot study focused on secondary preservice teachers' (N = 42) weekly community-based field experiences at a newly opened secondary public museum school, located in a large Midwestern urban area. Specifically, preservice teachers worked weekly with sixth grade students in an urban public museum setting as part of a required undergraduate content area literacy teacher education course. This study highlights ways this community-based field experience served as an important clinical component for preservice teacher learning. Working in this community-based setting provided expanded and varied opportunities for preservice teacher learning, including practice using and facilitating small group instruction and opportunities to support adolescents' learning through accessing, exploring, and examining museum artifacts and exhibits. Therefore, community-based field experiences, when and where feasible, may serve as an important clinical component for preservice teacher learning.
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