The Reali[ti]zation of The Reali[ti]zation of

Teacher EducationTeacher Education

Alan BrownAlan Brown

The University of AlabamaThe University of Alabama

Presented at

The Mid-South Educational Research Association

2010 Annual Convention

November 3, 2010

IntroductionIntroduction

• Teacher attrition• Darling-Hammond (2003); Smith & Ingersoll (2004)

Preparation for the realities of teaching Cochran-Smith (2000); Flores & Day (2006);

Scherff (2008)

Teaching as a decision-making process

Pardo (2006)

Overarching QuestionOverarching Question

What if “pre” pre-service teachers, those not yet formally admitted into teacher education programs, had the opportunity to engage in real-life classroom experiences?

What the Literature Says…What the Literature Says…

Educators have a “responsibility to reform, not just replicate, standard school practices” (Cochran-Smith, 1991, p. 280).

Secondary teacher education programs

◦ Dominance of teacher-centered instruction (Cuban, 1993)

◦ Teacher education graduates imitating the teaching techniques of their instructors (Zeichner et al. , 1998; Darling-Hammond, 2008)

What the Literature Says…What the Literature Says…

The “case” for case studies

◦ Engage in pedagogical issues

◦ Encourage problem solving

◦ Think critically about decision-making

processes

◦ Acknowledge and evaluate diverse opinions

Cooper & McNergney, 1995; Johannessen & McCann, 2002;

Scherff & Daria, 2010; Shulman, 1986

What the Literature Says…What the Literature Says…

The “role” of role-playing◦ Hone teaching skills ◦ Differentiate between actions and reactions◦ Solve critical problems◦ Identify potential solutions◦ Consider possible consequences◦ Develop self-confidence◦ Promote long-term retention

Cruickshank, Broadbent, and Bubb, 1967; Davies & Ferguson, 1997;

Marsh & Peers, 1981

PurposePurpose

To evaluate an approach for helping “pre” pre-service teachers realize the realities—or the reali[ti]zation—of teaching in secondary classrooms.

Theoretical FrameworkTheoretical Framework

Critical pedagogy (Freire, 1970)

Problem-posing education (Freire, 1998)

Theatre of the Oppressed (Boal, 1979)

For more information, see Cahnmann-Taylor & Souto-Manning’s (2010)

Teachers Act Up!: Creating Multicultural Learning Communities Through Theatre

Research DesignResearch Design

Setting• CSE 390 – A gateway course into the university

teacher education program at a Division I research institution

Participants◦ Twenty-six core content area “pre” pre-service

teachers◦ Course instructor/primary investigator◦ Guest role-players (university faculty and staff)

Foreign language content area professor/English language learner

Special education instructor/Student with autism Police officer/School resource officer Educational leadership professor/School administrator University staff member/Apathetic parent

The Role-Playing ExperienceThe Role-Playing Experience

Reader response presentations

Unannounced role-playing scenarios◦ Managing disruptive students◦ Dealing with classroom distractions◦ Responding to colleagues and parents◦ Working with special needs students and ELLs◦ Handling the daily routines of teaching

See attachment B for a complete list of scenarios

◦ Perspectives: (1) Teacher, (2) Student, (3) Observer

Reader Response FormReader Response Form

Data CollectionData Collection

Video-taped transcriptions of presentations and debriefing sessions

Observational field notesArtifact analysis (reader response forms)End-of-course surveys

1. What was your overall impression of the role-playing experience? Please explain.

2. Was this experience beneficial to your development as a teacher? Why or why not?

3. What would you change, add, or subtract from the role-playing experience? Please explain.

4. Which two or three role-playing experiences were most insightful or powerful? Please explain.

Data AnalysisData AnalysisConstant Comparative Analysis (Corbin & Strauss, 2008)

Round 1 (Open/Axial coding): End-of-course surveys Lenses: three perspectives – teacher, student, observer

Round 2 (Open/Axial coding): Question # 4 (Most insightful/powerful scenario)

1.Parent/teacher conference2.Managing group work3.Working with students with disabilities

Transcriptions, observational notes, and artifact analysis coded to support, refute, or modify emerging themes from round 1.

Round 3 (Selective coding): Analysis of themes (Creswell, 2007)

Findings: Advantages of role-Findings: Advantages of role-playingplaying

“The parent/teacher conference was a great learning experience just because I would have…never had a chance to see one of those [conferences] before I started teaching.”

“The group work role play with the four disruptive groups [was the most insightful]; that is really going to happen. Seeing and knowing how to handle it was very beneficial.”

“It [role-playing] added a real life experience without it having to actually be real.”

“It was almost as if I was really dealing with [secondary] students.”

Findings: Advantages of role-Findings: Advantages of role-playingplaying

“There are no [other] classes in college that simulate an actual learning environment. I think this is a valuable experience for that reason alone.”

“I had to be prepared as I would if I was a regular teacher.”

“Even if you think you have everything well planned…anything could happen.”

“The scenarios were realistic and being made aware of them now will, if not make the situation easier to handle, make the situation less daunting [in the future].”

“I enjoyed it from the student aspect….It was good to see others struggle as I did with classroom management.”

Findings: Disadvantages of role-Findings: Disadvantages of role-playingplaying

“Sometimes the distraction that came up detracted from the chapter that was being taught.”

Difficulty balancing content, role-playing, and other class requirements

Possibility that extreme behaviors/experiences might be considered the norm

Findings: Mixed results of role-Findings: Mixed results of role-playingplaying

“It [role-playing] gave me a chance to contend with pure terror.”

“At the beginning of last semester I was under the impression that being knowledgeable in your content area would be enough to be a good teacher, boy was I wrong. This class and experience made me realize that we must, as teachers, concentrate on the students needs first, then the content.”

“If I was continuing to be a teacher….It [role-playing] made me more comfortable handling classroom situations.”

Discussion: Potential for Discussion: Potential for ImprovementImprovement

1. All students create reader response sheets

2. Students immediately answer viewer response questions:

What is the most important thing you learned from the presentation/role-playing?

What did the presenter do most effectively during the presentation/role-playing scenario?

What would you do differently if placed in the same situation?

What question(s) do you have as a result of this presentation/role-playing scenario?

3. Presenters submit viewer responses electronically to promote a more critical response

4. Increasing “student” involvement during presentations

ConclusionConclusion

“Leaving the safe syllabus and methodologies of ‘the known’ to experiment with generative themes representing teachers’ everyday experiences and realities poses a greater risk for teacher educators who are positioned to face and facilitate the unpredictable and the unknown. It is a risky yet worthy journey…” (Cahnmann-Taylor & Souto-Manning, 2010, p. 139)

Contact InformationContact Information

Alan BrownDoctoral StudentThe University of AlabamaCollege of EducationDepartment of Curriculum and Instruction

mabrown6@crimson.ua.edu