examining the apprenticeship of observation with ...anderjl/boydetal.pdf · examining the...

Ashley Boyd, Jennifer Jones Gorham, Julie Ellison Justice, & Janice L. Anderson

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Teacher Education Quarterly

Examining the Apprenticeshipof Observation

with Preservice Teachers:The Practice of Blogging to Facilitate

Autobiographical Reflection and Critique

By Ashley Boyd, Jennifer Jones Gorham,Julie Ellison Justice, & Janice L. Anderson

Ashley Boyd is a doctoral student, Jennifer Jones Gorham is a doctoral candidate, Julie Ellison Justice is an assistant professor of literacy, and Janice L. Anderson is an assistant professor of science education, all with the School of Education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Introduction and Purpose Oneofthegoalsofsuccessfulteacherpreparationistodevelopprofessionalswhoarecognizantoftheirownbackgroundsandwhocriticallyreflectonthose

experiencesforfuturepractice(Darling-Hammond,2006).Overall,thisstudyseekstoexplorethewaysin which blogging provides a space for reflection,interaction, and development of teacher practicewithinateachereducationprogram.Buildinguponthepreviousworkwithin-serviceteachersofLuehm-ann(2008),weexaminedpreserviceteacher(PST)participation in an online community of practicewhere teacher candidates, over the course of theirelementaryeducationprogram,reflectontheirowneducational backgrounds and mediate those ideaswith course readings and exposure to a variety ofpedagogicalpractices.Preserviceteacherstookthesevarious components and spoke in terms of either

Examining the Apprenticeship of Observation with Preservice Teachers

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mixingpastexperienceandpresentexposure,retainingthequalitiesofeach,orofdeconstructingtheirpriorexperienceastheyassembledplansforthefuture.Forthisarticle,wefocusedontheautobiographicalexperiencesofthePSTstoanswerthefollowingresearchquestions:

Howdoesautobiographicalreflectionthroughbloggingprovideaspaceforstudentstorecognizetheirapprenticeshipofobservation?

InwhatwaysdoPSTsnegotiatetheseapprenticeshipsofobservation?

Theoretical Framework Thisworkisprimarilysituatedinthetheoryofthe“apprenticeshipofobserva-tion,”whichoriginatedwithDanLortie’s(1975)identificationoftheperiodoftimewhichstudentsspendasobserversinschoolsbeforetheybegin,iftheychoose,formalteachereducation.Studentsspendthousandsofhoursdevelopingpercep-tionsofteachingandteachersandthusharbordeep-seatednotionsonthenatureofacademiccontent,thestructureofpedagogy,andwhatconstitutesteachingpractice.Wideen,Mayer-Smith,andMoon(1998)conclude“teachingitselfisseenbybegin-ningteachersasthesimpleandrathermechanicaltransferofinformation”(p.143).Theapprenticeshipanditsensuinginscriptionsaretroublesometoteachereduca-tors(Darling-Hammond,2006)whoseektoprovideatheoreticalknowledgebaseforPSTsandfosternontraditionalperspectives(Feiman-Nemser,1983).WhereasLortie’s (1975)conceptionof thenotion frames theapprenticeship largelyasanegativeinfluencewhichteachereducatorsshouldseektomediate,otherscholars(Mewborn&Tyminski,2006)havesuggestedthattheautobiographicalmemoriesofstudentsshouldbesolicitedforexplorationandsometimesaffirmation. Teachereducatorsoncetookforgrantedtheschoolingexperiencesoftheirstudentsinteachereducationandthushighlyemphasizedadditivecoursework,buttherehasrecentlybeenashifttowardtheorizingontheneedtoengagestudentsinautobiographicalworkthathasbecometantamountinteachereducation(Co-chran-Smith,1995;Vavrus,2009;Wilson,1990).Thenecessityforacknowledge-mentofthebackgroundofteachersrangesfromreasonssuchashavingthelargepopulationofPSTs,whoarewhite,middleclasswomen(Avery&Walker,1993;Banks&McGeeBanks,2009;Beynon&Toohey,1995),realizetheirownideo-logicalnormsandvaluesbecausetheirviewsarelimitedinscope(Gomez,1994;Ladson-Billings,1999;Paine1989)tohavingPSTsdeconstructandanalyzetheirimagesofeffectiveandineffectivepedagogyinordertobuildupontheirpre-exist-ingbeliefs(Calderhead&Robson,1991;Feiman-Nemser&Buchmann,1983).WhilethesestudiesfocusonhavingPSTsexaminetheirbackgroundsinordertouncoverassumedideologicalbeliefsinreferencetoissuesofdiversityandareacriticalelementinteachereducation,examiningtheapprenticeshipofobservationhasasomewhatdifferentgoalinthatitasksPSTstothinkspecificallyabouttheirschoolingexperiencesinreferencetoteachers’practice.


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Review of the Literature

Examining Autobiography and the Apprenticeship of Observation Feiman-Nemser (1983) asserts “unless future teachers get some cognitivecontroloverpriorschoolexperiences,itmayinfluencetheirteachingunconsciouslyandcontributetotheperpetuationofconservativeschoolpractices”(p.11).Thus,researchershaverecognizedtheneedtocreateaspaceforPSTstoexploretheexpe-riencestheybringtotheircurrentcontext.Avarietyofstudieshaveaskedstudentstoreflecteitherontheirautobiographyorhaveexplicitlynamedtheapprenticeshipofobservation.For instance,Ross(1987),LeCompteandGinsburg(1987)andZiechner,Tabachnick,andDensmore(1987)conductedstudiesinwhichstudentswereaskedtodescribepositiveandnegativememoriesofteachers.Researchershavealsoreportedondiscipline-specificinquirywithautobiography,suchasHark-ness,Ambrosio,andMorrone(2007)whousedmathematicalautobiographiesthatstudentswererequiredtowriteearlyintheirsemesterasapointforcomparisontoadditionalreflectionthestudentscompletedattheendofthemethodscourse.TheirfindingsintheinitialnarrativesmirroredLortie’s(1975)categories,asPSTsequatedtheirfeelingsaboutmathtoparticularteachers.Thefinalreflectivepiecesdisclosedthatstudentshadgainedanunderstandingofthe“why”(p.12)ofmathematics,hencetheyhadlearnedtothinkbeyondinitialperspectivesasstudentsandintheroleofteacher.Theirresponsesilluminatedtheirgrowththroughoutthesemesteranddemonstratedhowtheyhadcometoseemathfromanewviewpoint. Morespecifically,Grossman(1991)expresses theneed toengagestudentsinexercisesthatexplicitlyrecognizetheapprenticeshipofobservationandevenattempttoovercomeit.Inherstudy,sheasks:

Howcanthesedeeplyingrainedlessonsfromtheapprenticeshipofobserva-tion be challenged? In the brief allotment for professional coursework, howcanthesemuchmalignedteachereducationcoursesattempttodevelophabitsof reflection among prospective teachers and inculcate innovative practicestowardsteaching?(p.345)

Inanefforttoaddressthesequestions,shedescribestheteachingpracticeinoneEnglishmethodscourseinwhichstudents’pastexperiencesweredirectlycalledintoquestionandlisted,andtheinstructorchallengedstudentstomatchthesewiththetheoreticalframeworksproposedinthecourse.Throughthisengagement,theinstructorpromptedstudentstocritiquefamiliarpractices.Inaddition,Grossmanrelates(1991)howtheteachereducatorinherstudyinvitedhisstudentstoconsiderhisownpedagogicaldecisions,tothinkabouttheirexperiencesfromperspectivesofstudentsdifferentfromthemselves,andtobecomeadeptatusingtheprofessionallanguageofteachingsoastosocializestudentsinaprofessionaldiscourseratherthanthatofastudent.BuildinguponLortie(1975),Grossman(1991)suggests“overcorrection”or“providingextremeexamplesofinnovativepractices(p.350)inhopesthatstudentswouldatleastreverttomiddlegroundwhenintraditional


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schools.InobservationsofthePSTsaftertheyhadbeguntheircareers,theresearcherreportedseeingeffectsofthistypeofinstruction. As Grossman (1991) illustrates, the apprenticeship of observation can bechallenged,despiteitssupposedintenseeffectsonPSTs.Anopportunityexistsinteachereducationtorecognizetheautobiographicalexperiencesofstudentsandtomediatethem,insomefashion,withcourseworkandexperiences.Therefore,thequestionexploredinthisstudy,basedonthetheoryoftheapprenticeshipofobser-vation,examineshowPSTs’autobiographicschoolingexperiencesaremediatedbycurrentacademicexperiencesandplanningforfuturepractice.Weattemptedtocreateaspace,throughtheplatformofblogs,forstudentstodirectlyreflectontheirapprenticeshipofobservation.Wereliedonthisinformationinclassasthebasis for students to learn new methods and re-conceptualize what constituteseffectivepedagogicalpracticesinasocialcontext.Thecombinationofbloggingwithclassroominteractionallowedforacommunitytodevelopamongststudentsundergoingasimilarprocess.

Teacher Beliefs and Pedagogical Practice Researchers(Calderhead&Robson,1991;Holt-Reynolds,1992;McDaniel,1991;NesbitVacc&Bright,1999)havedocumentedtheimpactthatbeliefsbasedonpriorexperiencecanhaveonpreserviceandbeginningteachers’ideasonteach-ing and their implementation of practices. For example, Holt-Reynolds (1992)reportshow“laytheories”which“preserviceteachersdonotconsciouslylearn...atanannounced,recognizedmomentfromaformalteaching/learningepisode”(p.326)exceedinglyswayhowstudentsreacttonewknowledgepresentedinteachereducationcourses.Inthisstudy,theresearcherreliesoninterviewdatacollectedfromninepreservicestudentstoexaminetheirjustificationsfordisagreementwiththeireducationprofessor’smethodsforinstruction.Itisperhapsnotsurprisingthattheirbasisofrejectionofpedagogicalstrategiescomesfromtheirowneducationalbackgrounds.Forinstance,Holt-Reynolds(1992)writesthatalthoughthecourseinstructor “repeatedly questioned the value of teacher-telling—of lectures—asinstructional tools for fosteringstudentgrowth”(p.330), thestudentsstill felt,“lecturinghadhelpedthemlearnmath;therefore,theysawlecturingasaninherent,necessaryfeatureofgoodinstructioninmath”(p.334-335).Furthermore,studentsinthestudyusedtheirautobiographies“asprotoypesuponwhichtobuildagener-alizedpremise”(p.339).Becauseastrategyhadworkedfortheminthepast,theyfeltitwouldapplytoothers.Thus,whentheirinstructorpresentedstrategiesthatdidnotcorrespondtotheirdeeplyheldbeliefs,theyquestionedthemethod,not“thevalidityoftheirownpreviouslyconstructedpremises”(p.339).Holt-Reynolds(1992)providesdetailedanalysisofthemyriadwaysthatthestudents’frametheirdismissals of student-centered learning and thedefenses theyprovide for theirplanneduseoflecturing.ThisresearchillustratesthepowerthatPSTs’previousexperiencescanexertontheirfuturepractice.Teachereducatorsmustengagein


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practicesspecificallydesignedtocallforththesepastencountersinordertobuildonorchallengethem. Similarlyhighlightingthepotentiallimitationsofexperience,Feiman-NemserandBuchmann(1983)illuminatethe“familiaritypitfall”which“stemsfromthetendencytotrustwhatismostmemorableinpersonalexperience”(p.10)throughtheportrayalofapreservicestudent’sengagementinanelementaryschoolcontext.Theywrite,“pastexperiencehelpsinmakingsenseofspellinglistsandreadinggroups...familiaritywiththeseclassroompracticesgives..afeelingofcompetence”(p.8).Withouthavingactuallyengagedinacquiringpedagogicalknowledge,aspiringteachersmaythusfeeltheyalreadypossesswhattheyneedtoknow.Researchers(McDaniel,1991;Weinstein,1990)havefoundthefoundationsuponwhichPSTsconstruct their ideasaresteadfast;McDaniel (1991)reports thatneithercoursematerialnorfieldworkaffectedformersentiments.Theirconclusionsillustratetheneedforteachereducatorsseekingtofosterconstructivistviewsoflearningtofirstdisentanglestudents’beliefsfromnaturalizedassumptionsandtoprovidecriticaltoolswithwhichtoassessthemandrelearnnewmethods. Theneed for teacher educationprograms tobecomea siteof inquiry intowhatstudentshavelivedandobservedisbasedonthestrongconnectionbetweenteacherbeliefsandpractice(Fang,1996).BuildingupontheworkofClarkandPeterson(1986)whoexamineteachers’theoriesandbeliefs,researchindiscipline-specificstudieshasshownhowbeliefsaffectchoicesmadeforstudentlearningandbehavior.Forinstance,inthefieldofreadingandliteracy,Konopak,Wilson,andReadence(1994)foundthatteachers’beliefsaboutreadingmodelsdirectlycorrelatedwiththeirchoicesforlessonimplementation.Fang(1996)explainstheusefulnessof“process tracing”asamethod to investigate thesecognitivecon-nections,inwhicha“teacherisaskedtoverbalizehis/herthoughtswhileactuallydoinganinstructionaltask”(p.57).Healsohighlightstheuseofnarrativestudiestogainaglimpseatteachers’knowledgeandthinking,whichrelatestotheuseofblogsinthepreservicecontexttoprovideaplatformforawayofcommunicatingteachercandidates’dispositionsbeforethereachtheclassroomsetting.

Reflective Blogging in Teacher Education Reflectionasanactivityinteachereducationisnotuniquelydefinedintheliterature,yettherearesomecommoncharacteristicsofwhatconstitutesreflection.Thejustificationsforincludingreflectionrangefromreasonssuchasrecognizingideologicalnorms(Paine1989)todeconstructingimagesofpedagogy(Calderhead&Robson,1991;Feiman-Nemser&Buchmann,1989).Researchersandteachereducatorswhoselectbloggingasaformatforreflectionoftendosowiththesup-positionthatbloggingwillleadtobetterreflectionfrompre-serviceteachers(Kil-leavy&Moloney,2010;Stiler&Philleo,2003;Yang,2009).Thus,therearevariousdegreesofreflection,wheresomeareconsidereddeeperormorecriticalratherthanmerelydescriptive.Yang(2009)revealsthissentiment,withcharacteristicsofcritical


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reflectionincludingproblematizing,lookingforalternativesolutions,recognizingpersonalgrowth,providingjustificationsandidentifyingcontradictionsbetweentheoryandpractice(p.21). Bloggingasapedagogicaltooliseffectivefornumerousreasons.BlogsprovideaspaceforPSTswhoareinvolvedinsimilarexperiencestoengageincommunitybuildingandtrustformationbysharinganddiscussing(Yang,2009).StilerandPhilleo(2003)foundthatpeerfeedbackthroughblogsfocusedonpersonalandprofessionaldilemmasencouragedlearningandconfidence.Inthestudiesinwhichinstructors and researchers facilitated reflection throughblogging, theyoffereddifferingamountsandtypesofsupporttostudents,whichmayhavecontributedtovaryingresults.Somestudiesshowedagreatdegreeofcriticalordeepreflectivepracticeemergingthroughtheuseofblogs(Hmriack,Boulton,&Irwin,2009),yetotherscitedalackofreflectioninblogentries(Killeavy&Moloney,2010).InYang’s(2009)study,instructorsintervenedwhentheywerenotsatisfiedwiththelevelofcriticalreflectionpresentintheblogpostingsbyaskingquestionsviacommentsonstudents’blogsandbywritingpostsinwhichtheyreflectedcriticallyontheirowninstruction.Aftertheinterventionsbytheinstructors,thepercentageofstudentsengagingincriticalreflectionincreasedfrom19%to40%.Theauthorsinthisstudysuggestthatblogscreateaninteractivedynamicenvironmentinwhichinstructorscanprovokereflectionandthatthisfeedbackhappensperhapsmoreeas-ilyandconsistentlyinblogsthanthroughotheravenues.ThoughStilerandPhilleo(2003)concludethatstudents’blogreflectionsweremoreanalyticalandevaluativethanreflectionsfromstudentsfromprevioussemesterswhoturnedinwrittenre-flections,theirclaimsareonlyverifiedanecdotally.Thecurrentresearchonblogsastoolsforreflectionsuggeststhatfactorssuchaslevelofpreparationortrainingforreflectionandthedegreeofinstructorinteractionmaystronglycontributetotheeffectivenessofblogs.BloggingdoesemergeasapotentiallypowerfultoolforenhancingreflectivepracticeamongPSTs. Theneedforreflectionisthusapparentintheliterature,althoughtherearemyriadwaystoencouragereflection.Ourstudyspecificallyfocusesonreflectiononpersonalexperiences,thusaskingstudentstobringtotheforefronttheirautobiographyandconsideritinawayinwhichtheyhavenotpreviously.Courseinstructorsusedentriesandconversationsthatoccurredwithintheblogsascontentfordiscussionandinvestigationinthemethodsclass.Thustheaffordanceoftheblogstoallowforarichercourseexperiencetrulybuiltonstudents’backgroundswasinvaluable.Instructorswereallowedtoseestudents’beliefsbasedonpriorexperiences,theirconnectionsorrejectionsofnewmaterialtothesepreviousencounters,andbringthemintotheclassroominanauthenticmanner.Closelyrelatedtotheengagementinautobiographicalworkthen,isthenegotiationofanascentteacheridentity.Asteachersbeginthisthoughtfulworkontheirownbackgroundsandtransitionfromtheroleofstudenttoteacher,theytakeondifferentperspectivesandimaginenewspacesofinteraction.


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Blogging as a Means to Develop Teacher Identity Researchershavecurrentlybeguntoexaminehowtheuseofbloggingcanafforda lens into thedevelopmentofprofessional teacher identity.Scholars inthisfieldsimilarlydefineprofessionalteacheridentity.Researchershaveacknowl-edgedandcreditedJamesPaulGee’s(2001)andGee,Allen,andClinton’s(2001)definitionofidentityasthefoundationfortheirdefinitionsofprofessionalteacheridentity(Luehmann,2007,2008;Luemann&Tinelli,2008;Sutherland,Howard,&Markauskait,2010). BuildingfromGee’s (2001)definitionof identity,Luehmann(2007)definedteacherprofessionalidentityas“beingrecognizedbyselforothersasacertainkindofteacher”(p.827).InUsing Blogging in Support of Teacher Professional Identity Development,Luehmann(2008)arguedthatitisnolongersufficientforteacheredu-cationresearchersandprogramstolimittheirfocusonknowledgeandskillsgainedthroughteachereducation.Rather,scholarsshouldalsofacilitateandinvestigatetheprofessionalteacheridentityofburgeoningpedagogues.Thisisespeciallycrucialinorderforteacherstomeettothechallengesofcurrentschoolingproblemsandtoengageinpromisingreformefforts.Traditionalprofessionalteacheridentitiesaccepthistoricalschoolingmaladiesandperpetuateineffective,linear,andfailedpedagogies.Newprofessionalteacheridentities,withinwhichPSTsembracechangeandbecomeconfidentproblem-solvers,mustdevelopwithin teacher educationprograms thatprovidesupportivesocialnetworksandcommunitiesofpracticefortheseidentitiestoform.Preserviceteachersmusthavetheopportunitiestoexplore,interpret,recog-nize,andengageinthevalues,beliefs,practicesanddiscoursesofanewprofessionalteacheridentity.Throughoutthiswork,Luehmann(2008)illustratedthatbloggingcanbeusedtosupportthedevelopmentofnewprofessionalteacheridentities.Luehm-annframedheranalysisaccordingtoDarling-HammondandHammerness’(2005)empirically-grounded,research-supportedpracticesthateffectivelyimprovedteacherlearning.ThepracticesrecommendedbyDarling-HammondandHammerness(2005),andemployedbyLuehmann(2008)inheranalysisofteacherblogging,includean“Awarenessandconsiderationofpersonaleducationalautobiography”(Luehmann,2008,pp.295.) Storytellingandnarrationareidentifiedasinherentaspectsofbloggingprac-tice, and identity is shaped in thenarrative (Luehmann,2007,2008;Luemann&Tinelli,2008;Sutherland,Howard,&Markauskait,2010).CitingGee(2001),Sutherland, Howard, & Markauskait (2010) defined professional identity as a‘‘personnarrativizationofwhatconsistsofhisorher(neverfullyformedoralwayspotentiallychanging)coreidentityasateacher”(p.455).Inadditiontothecreationofstories,narratives,autobiographies,andbiographies,bothcriticalreflectionandcommunitycontextareconsideredtobevitalcomponentsofbloggingthatimpactthedevelopmentofnewprofessionalteacheridentitiesandPSTs’understandingsofthesedevelopingidentities(Luehmann,2007,2008;Luemann&Tinelli,2008;Sutherland,Howard,&Markauskait,2010).


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Study Context Participantsinthisstudywere31seniorelementaryeducationmajorsatalargesoutheasternresearchuniversityintheUnitedStates.Duringthefallsemes-terstudentstookmethodscoursesinliteracy,science,mathematics,exceptionalchildren,andlanguageminorities.Theirspringwasspentstudentteaching.Inaconcertedefforttointegrateliteracyandscience,themethodsinstructorsforthesetwoareasaskedstudentstoblogregularlyintheircoursesandpracticumexperiences.Whilesometimesstudentsweregivenpromptstorespondto,suchasontheirpersonaleducationalexperiences,generallystudentscomposedentriesthatwererelatedtothecoursesorstudentteachingexperiences.Inparticular,thereweretwospecificautobiographicalprompts;onesolicitedtheirmemoriesofscience-relatedencounterswithinandoutsideoftheschoolingcontextandtheotherwasasimilarlyfocusedliteracyreflection.Theblogsandtheentriesweanalyzeforthispaperwerethusacentralpartoftheoriginalcoursedesigns,butweexaminethemhereforresearchpurposes.

Data Analysis Data were collected from three primary sources: PST blog entries, com-mentsontheblogs,andinterviewswithPSTsabouttheirblogging.Researchersexamined1120blogentries,2240comments,andtranscriptsofeighthoursoftwo interviews. Blog content and interview transcript data were coded usinggroundedtheorywithaconstantcomparativemethod(Strauss&Corbin,1998).Data analysis was an iterative and inductive process. In analyzing the blogs,wedevelopedandusedalistofcodesthatcamefromemergentopencoding.Fivemembersoftheresearchteam,includingfacultyresearchersanddoctoralstudents,independentlyreviewedfiveblogsandcodedtheresponses.Theteamthencametogethertocompareandcondensecodeslistandfinaldefinitionswerecreated.Ratersthenindependentlycodedfivemoreblogsfromthedefinedcodelistlookingforfeaturesthatwerepresentintheblogsbutabsentfromthecodelist.Codingresultswerecomparedasecondtimeandafinalformaldescriptionwasdevelopedforthecodesthathadahighlevelofagreement.Discrepancieswerediscusseduntilconsensuswasreached.Oncethecommoncodeswereiden-tified,athirdsetoffiveblogswerecodedandaninter-raterreliabilityofr=0.90wasestablished.Datawastriangulatedacrossblogs,interviewsandcommentsinordertoincreasetrustworthinessandvalidatethefindingsofthisstudy(Lincoln&Guba,1985).Weestablishednineprimarycodesfromthedata(forafulllistofprimarycodesanddefinitions,seeAppendix). Forthepurposeofthisarticle,wefocusedprimarilyontheresponsesthatwecodedasautobiographicalexperiences.ThesenarrativesoftenreflectedthePSTsownschoolingexperiencesandfrequentlymadeconnectionstocurrentpedagogicalobservationsandencounters,thuseitherreinforcingordisruptingtheapprentice-


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shipofobservation.Overall,fourcategoriesofresponsestotheapprenticeshipofobservationemergedfromtheanalysisoftheseautobiographicalreflectionsandaredescribedbelow(seeTable1).

Results Ascategoriesemergedindataanalysis,wefoundthatthefirstthreetypesofresponses,functional,evaluative,andaffective,composingapproximately39%,23%,and28%of the total responses respectively,alignedwithLortie’s (1975)findingsontheapprenticeshipofobservation.Withinthese,studentsreportedonschoolpracticeswithoutananalyticallens,thusperpetuatingthenotionthatstu-dents“arenotprivytotheteacher’sprivateintentionsandpersonalreflectionsonclassroomevents”(Lortie,1975,p.62).Inessence,PSTshavenotyetthoughtasteachers,butratheronlyasstudents.However,ourfourthcategory,theremaining

Table 1Sub-Codes and Definitions

Code category Definition of code Example

Primary Code: Student references ownPersonal Education / schooling experiences orAutobiography own cultural background.

Sub-Code Categories

Functional Names schooling “I completely understand procedures through the skills based approach. . . a normalized discourse. It is what I experienced in elementary school”

Evaluative Moves beyond description “I remember being and references the practice disappointed upon entering as positive or negative. school, because it seemed like there was not quite the place for science that I had hoped”

Affective Expresses an emotional “I have no doubt that connection. I am the impassioned reader I am because of Mrs. Graham”

Disrupted Proposes a critique or “I have now come to see considers a new perspective. that science is not just something that happens all around us. Science is meaningless without people, their problems, their motives”


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10%ofdisruptedresponses,servestochallengeandextendLortie’s(1975)research.HerewefoundtheblogswereamechanismforbringingtolightthenaturalizedassumptionsofPSTsandthusaplacetoreflectandcritiquethem.Wedescribeeachofthesefindingsindepthinthefollowingsections.

Functional Responses Inouranalysisofthedata,wefoundthat39%ofstudents’reflectionsfrequentlydescribed the functionalaspectof schooling.Participants treatedprocedures inschoolasrationalwaystoconductaffairs.Intheseresponses,PSTsacceptedandoftenwelcomedtraditionalapproachestowardtraditionaloutcomes.Thus,therewasatendencyforstudentsnottoquestionorcontradictteacherpractices;withintherecollections,outstandinginstitutionalizedthemesincludedpedagogicalchoicesanddisciplinemethods,aswellasassessmentstrategies.Participantsdescribedthepracticesofschoolingthroughanormalizeddiscourse,withlittleanalysisofthegoaloreffectthepracticemayhavebeenintendedtoachieve.Instead,thepurposesappearedsimplisticallytransparenttothestudent. Studentstookforgrantedpedagogicaldecisionsandreportedthemasmerelythewaythingswere.Forexample,onePST,Meredith,writes:

Icompletelyunderstandtheskillsbasedapproachwithoutevenhavingtoreadtheexampleclassroomindetail.ItiswhatIexperiencedinelementaryschoolandwhatIseeeveryWednesdayinmyplacement.Thestudentsmovefromcentertocenter…

Teachingtechniques,suchascenters,aretreatedasexperiencesthatarevalidandperceivedasaxiomatic.Thereisnoinquiryintotheoriginofthemethod,itspo-tentialbenefitsorlimitations,orhowtheteacherreachedthechoicetoincludeit.DescribingherworkwithPSTstoexaminepedagogicalmethods,Wilson(1990)writes,“acloserexaminationofhowtheytalkabouttheseactivitiesrevealsthattheyseethemaspleasantmethodstomakethebusinessoflearningmorepalatable,notasmethodsthatreflectdifferentassumptionsabouthowandwhylearningtakesplace,whatistobelearned,andwhatroletheteacherplaysintheenterprise”(p.4).Thestudentsinourstudyreflectasimilardisposition. Lortie (1975) reports similar findings, stating, “what students learn aboutteaching,then,isintuitiveandimitativeratherthanexplicitandanalytical”(p.62)andthatstudents“willnotperceivetheteacherassomeonemakingchoicesamongteachingstrategies”(p.63).InconjunctionwithLortie’sobservations,thestudents’responses categorized as functionalwere themost basic, procedural reports ofschooling.Forinstance,Amyreports,“InoticedinmyownScienceautobiographyandinsomeoftheothersthatmanyscienceteachersrelyoncopyingdefinitionsandansweringtextbookquestionsasawayofteachingscience.” Inregardtopedagogicalmethods,whatstudentsrememberashavingbeenef-fectiveintheirapprenticeshipofobservationisoftenconsideredworthwhilepractice.


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Theyindicatetheirownpreferenceforthesepedagogiesandimplythattheywillincorporatethemintotheirownfuturepractice,withnojustificationotherthanfromexperience.AsLortie(1975)writes,thesechoicesdo“notrepresentacquisitionoftheoccupation’stechnicalknowledge.Itismoreamatterofimitation,which,beinggeneralizedacrossindividuals,becomestradition”(p.63).Meredith’sstatementisaprimeexampleofthisfinding,“Ialsothinkthatdialoguejournalsareverypower-ful;mythirdgradeteacherusedtheseandIrememberbeingthrilledeverytimeIreceivedamessagefromher.”Similarly,Bethrecounts,“ThinkingbacktowhenIwasinschool,Ialwayslearnedalotthroughconferencingandeditingmyownwriting.Iagreethatauthentictextsandexperienceswillhelpourstudentslearn.”Here,thePSTscommunicateexperiencesfromtheirownschoolingautobiography,whichtheydeemvaluablebecauseoftheirimpactonthemasyoungchildren,ratherthanfortheirvalueaspedagogicalpractices. Additionally, students rationalize schooling practices especially related todisciplineissues.ThisisrevealedinSarah’srecollection:

Ialways rememberdoingreadaloudsuntil6thor7thgrade. In7thgradeourteacherreadusanAgathaChristymysteryaswewouldcomeintheroomandunpackforEnglish.Itmadealotofsensebecausewecameinquicklyandquietlyinordertohearthestory…

Asseeninthisresponse,theteacher’spracticewasheraldedasmaking“sense”ifitmaintainedorder.AfurtherdemonstrationofthisaspectisseeninKim’sreflection,“Inmyexperienceasastudent,theteacherswhohadthemostcontrolledclassesweretheteacherswhosupportedpositivebehavior.Theteacherswhosupportedpositivebehaviorcreatedenvironmentsthatmadethestudentsfeelcomfortableandwelcome.”Again,disciplineproceduresareregardedaslogicalmeanstoanend,andteachers’maintenanceof“order”andcontrolareacceptedasstandardandultimately,desired.Inadditiontotheacceptanceofpedagogicalchoicesanddisciplinestrategies, studentsassented toevaluativemethodsaswell, reportingcorrectivemeasureswithoutcontradiction.Maryasserts,“Ihavebeencorrectedbyteachersthroughouttheyears.”AndKatherinewrites,“Beingfromasmallcountrytown,Ihaveafairlystrongaccentattimesandgrowingupwasoftencorrected.”Theseresponsespresentthejobofateacherasthefigureto‘correct’astudent,evenifthisextendsintoone’sowncharacteristics,suchaspersonallanguagestyle,andisreceivedasbenign.

Evaluative Responses Statementsclassifiedasevaluativemovebeyondmeredescriptionoraccep-tanceofschoolpracticeandcommentonthenatureofwhatoccurred.Wecoded23%ofourdatainthisgroup.Manystudentsalsoalludedtoeitherincludingorexcludingthemethodtheyobservedasstudentsintotheirownfuturepracticeasteachersbasedupontheirpositiveornegativeexperiences.Lortie(1975)offersa


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parallelsentiment,findingthatPSTs“placeeventswhichprecededtheirformalpreparationforteachingwithinacontinuousratherthanadiscontinuousframework.Thuswhentheydescribetheirformerteacherstheydonotcontrasttheir‘student’perceptionswithalater,moresophisticatedviewpoint.Theytalkaboutassessmentstheymadeasyoungstersascurrentlyviable,asstablejudgmentsofquality”(p.65).ThecommentslabeledasevaluativebuilduponwhatwedeterminedasfunctionalresponsesbecausethePSTsdocomment,toasmalldegree,onthenatureoftheexperience,althoughtheyarenotcriticalordeeplyanalytical.OnesuchaccountisfoundinanotherofMary’scomments:

Irememberbeingdisappointeduponenteringschool,becauseitseemedliketherewasnotquitetheplaceforscienceintheclassroomthatIhadhopedtherewouldbe,orreadaboutinmybooksathome.Iwasofcourseabletobringinmyfindsforshowandtell,andevengiveabriefdescriptionmyselfofhowIfounditandwhatIthoughtitwas,buttheexplanationsdidn’tgomuchfartherthanthat.

HereMaryreportsonherownschoolingandadmitsdisappointment,butdoesnotinterrogatetheissuebeyondthisinitialnarrative. Intheseentries,PSTscommentontheschoolingexperienceinamannerthatcommunicatesanassessmentofitsvaluetothemasindividuals.Lortie(1975)remindsus,“themindoftheeducationstudentisnotablankawaitinginscription”(p.66),whichhisfullyevidentinthecommentsfromtheevaluativegrouping.Preserviceteachersenterteachereducationwithahostofideasaboutwhatisbeneficialandwhat isunfavorablebasedon theirownassessmentsofschool.Katherinereflects,forinstance,“Sciencemeansallthesethingstome,becausetheonlytimeIenjoyedscienceorrememberanything,werethetimesIwasac-tivelyengaged,usingmyhands,toanswermyquestions.”Thesewordsindicateanevaluationofschoolpracticesfromtheapprenticeshipofobservationbasedonwhatwasadvantageoustotheindividual;hereitishands-onengagementthatthestudentdeemsadvantageous.Feiman-NemserandBuchmann(1983)notedasimilarcapacityinPSTs,stating“ideasandimagesofclassroomsandteacherslaiddownthroughmanyyearsasapupilprovideaframeworkforviewingandstandardsforjudging”(p.10).Asseenabove,theevaluationswereoftenposi-tiveand,asexhibitedinthefunctionalstatementsofthefirstcategory,teachercandidatesplannedtotranslatetheirexperiencesintofuturepractice.Bethrelaysthissentiment:

Everysummer,alistofbookswassenthome.Thesummerreadingwasabigdealformanystudentsbecauseifyoureadacertainamountofbooksonthelistyougotat-shirtandweweregivenanicecreamparty.ItwasawesomeandIfelttotallycool!IhaveonememorythatIfindinterestingaboutreading.My4thgradeteacherreadaloudtotheclassalot.Shewasahugesupporterofreadingaloudtochildren.AlthoughIdidnotenjoythisteachermuch,Idorememberbeingsointriguedbyherreadingandthebooksthatsheread.Asafutureteacher,IknowIwilltrytoincorporateasmuchreadaloudtimeasIcan...IknowIhadfunand


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alwayswantedthingstobefunatschool.ThisissomethingIwillcarrywithmeandhopetosharewithmystudents.

Bethiscarefultonotethatshedidnotnecessarilylikeherteacher,butsheevalu-atesthepracticeasonewhichwasvaluabletoher,withoutmentioningwhy,butneverthelessonewhichshewillimplement. Otherinstancesexhibitanegativeevaluationofeducationalencounters.Kath-erineprovidesanexampleinthisrealm:

EachyearweweregivenextracredittoparticipateintheScienceFair.WhileIrememberdoingascienceproject,IdonotrememberanyoftheonesIdid.MaybeIdidsomethingaboutwhichcleanerworksbest,atypicalscienceproject,buttheresultswerenotoutstandingandnothingaboutitwasmemorable.Ididtheworkathomeandcameupwiththeexperimentonmyown.Ithinkthatthesciencefaircouldhavebeenusedinamoreeffectiveway.

Relatedly,Bethalsofostersadisapprovingappraisal,“Oneofthemainreasonsthat I never found science interesting in school was because I felt like I wasmemorizingvocabularytermsandfactsandthatwasallthatIwasdoing.”HerethePSTsreferencetheinefficacyofspecificpractices.Theyidentifythepracticeasproblematic.However,intheseinstances,theydonotofferwhattheymightdootherwise;rather theysimplyextendtheexperienceandacommentonit.Kimportraysthislackofcritique:

ThiswasaquestionofminewhenI sawmyninthgrade teacherpullout thisgrammarbookthatIusedthroughoutmiddleschool.IthoughtthatIhadfinallyescapedthebook,butitwasback!Ihatedthatbook.Itwasahugeloadofbusywork.Wholikesbusywork?

Beyondtheopinionofdisliketoward“busywork,”thereisnoexplorationoftheapprenticeshipofobservation.Whatismissingattheevaluativeleveliswhythesepracticesareproblematicandimaginationofwhatcouldoccurthatmightinsteadbetransformative.

Affective Responses Theresponsesinthisaffectivedomaincomprised28%ofthedata,andthiscat-egorycharacterizesteachingbasedonanemotionalconnection.Thelikeordislikeofateacherwasconflatedwiththelikeordislikeofcoursecontentoraparticulardiscipline.Lortie’s(1975)findingssupportthisnotion.Hewrites,“thereisampleindicationofaffectiveresponsesoflikinganddisliking,identifyingwithorrejecting,butthereseemsrelativelylittlebasisforassumingstudentsmakecognitivedifferen-tiationsandthoughtfulassessmentsofthequalityofteachingperformances”(p.63).Forinstance,Ashleydescribedahighschoolexperienceassuch:

Chemistry,junioryear.Ihatedchemistry.Myteacherplayedthefavoritesgame,andIwasn'tafavorite.Inevergotmyquestionsanswered…therewereneververy


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manyvisualdemonstrationstohelpmewrapmyheadaroundthecomplexideasbeingpresentedtome.I'mnotsureifthathadtodowiththesubjectortheteacher,buteitherwayitmadeforamiserablesemester…Iknowthatthepoorinstructionhadalottodowithmyoutlookonthesubject.

ThePSTinthisexampledoesnotseparateteacherfromcontentandthusreportsan apprenticeship of observation in which personal preference for the teachercontrolsthefateofhowthestudentreceivedmaterial.ThisissimilartoafindinginHolt-Reynolds’(1992)study, inwhichstudents“believedthat theclassroomformatstheyhadencounteredas...studentsweresomehowinherentlyconnectedtothenatureof...thediscipline”(p.335).Thus,teasingapartaspectsofteacher,classroom,anddisciplinearerareactions.WefoundfurtherevidencetosolidifythisfindinginMeredith’swords:

IhavenodoubtthatIamtheimpassionedreaderIambecauseofMrs.Graham,herrockingchair,andhertatteredcopyofGertrudeWarner’s“TheBoxcarChildren.”Iknowthatmyloveofcharactersstemsfromherabilitytomeshourworlds.Iampassionateaboutreadingbecauseofmysecondgradeexperience.

Sheassociatesherloveforreadingwithherloveofateacher.Inthisstatement,thetwoareinseparable.Relatedly,Bethdescribesherdesiretoemulatetheteachersshehad:

Ihadteachersthatloveddoingandteachingscienceandthisbouncedoffontothestudentsbecausethestudentsloveddoingscience.Inordertofosterasenseof loveandenjoymentforscience, teachersmustcomeupwithstrategies thatwillexcitestudentsaboutthesubjectmatter.IhopethatIwillbeabletodothisformystudents.

Inthisreflection,Bethnotonlydescribesheraffinityforherpastscienceteachers,butusesthemasmodelstoplanforherownfuturepractice.Heruseoftheemo-tivewords“love”and“excite”areinstrumentalinthisexpressionofanaffectiveresponse.Weinstein’s (1990) study similarly foundcandidates’ “conceptionsofgoodteachingcenteredonaffectivetraits”(p.140).Additionally,Sarahpurportsthenotionthataffiliationforateacherdeterminesacceptanceofthediscipline:

TheteachersthatIhadagoodexperiencewithwereknowledgeableaboutthesubjectandmadeitfun(andonesthatIgotalongwith!).So,asafutureteacher,IhopethatwiththiscourseIcandiscovernewwaystoteachsciencethatmakeitinterestingandfunaswellashaveabetterunderstandingofelementaryscience.

Thisnotionworkedconverselyaswell,asmanystudentsnoteddislikeforthedis-ciplinebasedontheiraversiontotheteacher.Sarahreflectsthisatlength:

Ifoundmyselfhatingitsomeyearsandlovingitthenext,allaccordingtotheteacher.7thgradewasnotfunbecauseIdidnotreallygetalongwellwithmyteacher.Shewasyoungandfun(tomoststudents)soIrememberherclassbeingalittlemoreupbeatandnotasboring.But,itisdifficultformetoremembersome


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ofthethingswedidinherclassfortworeasons.OnebeingthatIspentalotoftimeinthehallbecauseIwastalkingornotpayingmuchattentionandtheotherreasonisbecauseIthinkIrememberthe“badtimes”morethananything…mynegativeexperienceswithsciencewerewithteacherswhowereclearlyuninter-estedinsciencethemselvesandhadusdonothingmorethancopydefinitionsandreadfromthetextbook.Interestingmaterialbecamealmostunbearableandsciencebecameadreadedpartofthedaybecauseourclassknewitwasgoingtobemorelisteningtoher/himreadfromthetextbook,ormorebusyworkuntilourscienceblockwasover.

Duetotheprevalenceofaffectiveresponses,thereisarealneedtosummonau-tobiographicalreflectioninthecontextofteachereducation.Asinfunctionalandevaluativeresponses,thereisnoconsiderationofwhatcouldhavebeendonediffer-ently.Preserviceteachersdonotseparateteacherfromcontentorexperiencefromaffect.Therefore,teachereducatorsmustdrawtheseexperiencesintoexaminationinordertodisrupttheapprenticeshipofobservation.

Disrupted Responses Afinalcategoryofresponsethatemergedin10%ofthedatawasofcriticalreflectiononthePST’sapprenticeshipofobservation,whichallowedthePSTtoconsideranewperspectiveonhowschoolingcanoccur.Thiscategorymovesbe-yondLortie’s(1975)findingsandbeginstoaddresswhatheproposesforteachereducation.Heasserts, “unlessbeginning teachersundergo trainingexperienceswhichoffsettheirindividualisticandtraditionalexperiences,theoccupationwillbestaffedbypeoplewhohavelittleconcernwithbuildingasharedtechnicalculture”(Lortie,p.67).Furthermore,MewbornandTyminski(2006),similartoourwork,expressedabeliefthatwhileLortie’sparadigmreflectedthewaysinwhichimagesofteachingarereproduced,“therearewaysinwhichtheculturaltransmissionmodelcanbedisrupted”(p.30).Theirresearchexpandsthetheoryoftheapprenticeshipofobservationintolooking,insteadofathowpastexperiencesareaproblem,at“howpreserviceteachersareabletotransformtheirnegativeexperiencesaslearnersintopositiveteachingpractices”(p.31),thuslookingatwaystheapprenticeshipofobservationcanbecalleduponandusedinmeaningfulwaysinteachereducation,aswealsopropose.Ourapproachisuniqueinthatweutilizedthepublicsphereofbloggingforreflectionandasawaytodiscerndisruptioninconjunctionwiththepracticesanddiscussioninourmethodscourses. AsMewbornandTyminski(2006)write,“somefutureteachersarecapableofbeinganalyticalabouttheirgoalsfortheirteachingpracticesinlightoftheirpriorexperiences”(p.32).Althoughrare,thisaspectdidemergeintheblogs.Webelievetheblogsprovideaspaceforbeginningtoestablishacollaborativecommunityinwhichautobiographicalexperiencesarecommunicatedandlegitimatedasanob-jectofstudy.Weconnectedwiththemincourseworkinordertoexploreschoolingtraditionsbasedinstudents’experiences.Forexample,Jennifershares:


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Withtheexceptionofacoupleofinstances,sciencewasneveranactivity.Duringtheseyears,sciencetomewasacollectionoffactsandmemorizedvocabularyterms.Themostcomplexthingsthatwelearnedwerediagramsthathelpedtoexplainthebasicscientificprocessesthatourteacherssimplypresentedasthefactsoflifenevermadetoseemimportantorinteresting.…Myteachersmadesciencetooeasy;toostraightforward.Theytaughtusasifscienceexistedinavacuum;asifscienceneverinfluencedhumanityandhumanityneverengagedinscience.Ihavenowcometoseethatscienceisnotjustsomethingthathappensallaroundus.Scienceismeaninglesswithoutpeople,theirproblems,theirmo-tives,andtheirideals.

Studentsbegantoengageinarealizationthattheperpetuationoftraditionalschoolpracticeswasproblematic.Theyquestioned,critiqued,andmediatedwhattheyknewofschoolingwithwhattheywerelearningincourseworkandfieldexperiences. Meredithinterrogatedherownlackofrecollectionagainst thosememorieswhichshedidpossessandassessedwhythisdichotomymightexist:

Perhapsthereasonmymemoriesdonotincludeknowledgeasmuchasmemoriesisbecausetheywereteacherproducedandstudentexecutedinsteadofstudentproducedandexecuted.Ididnotnecessarilyhaveadesiretolearnwhythecol-orsseparateinmilkwithDawndetergentorthepartsofacell—sothememorydidn’tstick.WhereasIhadaninquiryaboutfirefliesandtheanswerisstillwithmealmost20yearslater!

Jan,inapowerfulrecognitionofhertaken-for-grantedassumptionsandpractices,writes:

IgrewuplearningStandardEnglishandneverthoughttwiceaboutit.ItwaswhatIsawasproperandIbelievedthatifItalkedjustright,theneveryonewouldbeabletotellhowmuchIhadlearnedatschool.IamsurethatInoticedothersintheclassroomwhospokedifferently,butmyteachersalwayscorrectedtheirspeech.Thinkingbacktomyteachingexperiences,IcanrecallseveraltimeswhereIhavecorrectedastudents’speechforsayingsomethingthatwasnotproperEnglish,soIthought.I’verealized...justhowmuchsomeone’sdialectisapartofthem.Itdisplaystheirculture,whichissomethingthatshouldneverbelost.

HereJandisplayshowhernewlydevelopedperspectivescontradictwhatshehadbelievedasastudent,aquintessentialexampleofdisruption. WhileLortie(1975)claimsthatstudentsplacethemselvesintheteacher’sroleto“engageinenoughempathytoanticipatetheteacher’sprobablereactiontohisbehavior”(p.62),thusthattheyonlyconsidertheteacherinrelationtoselfandnotteacherasself,wefoundthatstudentsbegantoexaminetheroleofteacherinmoredepthbybeginningtoimaginethechallengesofteaching.Forexample,Ashleywrites:

IfeltbadforMr.Morehead,becausehehadtofightwithignorantparentsyearafteryearaboutthetopicshewasrequiredtoteach—likeevolution.Thatisoneofthemanythingsteachershavetodealwiththatmostpeopledon'trealizeuntil


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theyareintheprofession.Itmustbeverystressfultohavetodealwithbalancingwhatyouwanttoteachwithwhatyouarerequiredtoteach,andthenwithwhatparentsallowtheirchildrentolearn.

Otherformsofdisruptionincludedacritiqueoftraditionalpracticeandconsider-ingalternativesforfuturepracticewhichwereinfluencedbytheirexperiencesinteachereducation.Jenniferrecounts:

Inquiry-basedscienceisexactlywhatthesciencecurriculumsIgrewupwithlacked.Lookingbackonmyexperiences,Ibelievethatsciencewasapproachedasalistoftopicstobestudied(thesolarsystem,thehumanbody,thewatercycle),ratherthanasetofskillstobemasteredthroughexploringscientificphenomena.

Inanotherexample,Meredithcritiquesherownexperienceswithscienceandponderswhatshewouldliketoimplementforherownfutureteachingpractice:

Thefactthatmymemoriesarelimitedandfocusedmainlyonmyhighschoolexperiencedoesn’tbodewellformyelementaryexperience.IvaguelyrecallsomeworksheetsbutIwas“gifted”andblewthrewthemwithease.Ithinksciencehasbeguntobetakenmoreseriously,atleastinmycurrentelementaryschool.Theyarerequiredtohavescienceperiodeverydayinfirstgrade.Wetrytomakeitfunbutfundoesn’talwaysstick.Insteadoffollowingthecurriculumitwouldbeamazingtojustanswerthequestionstheywanttoknowaboutnatureandlifeandpatternsandhowtheworldworks.

Meredithisabletorecallherexperiencesinherblogandconnectthemwithlearn-inggainedthroughhercurrentcourseworkandfieldobservations.Herblogservesasevidenceforthiscognitivework.Withouthernarrative,wewouldnotbeabletoperceivehowourstudentsmadesenseofnewinformationandencountersagainsttheirprimaryorientations.

Discussion and Implications AutobiographicalreflectioncanbeasignificantexperienceinpreserviceteachereducationifitallowsPSTstogainsome“cognitivecontroloverpriorschoolexpe-riences”(Feiman-Nemser,1983,p.11).Participatinginreflectionwithintheblogspaceallowedforcommunitybuildingandtrustformation,alensthroughwhichtodiscernourteachercandidates’connectionofnormalizedpastexperiencestocurrentteachingandobservation,andawayformethodscoursestobuilduponorchallengestudents’beliefsaboutteachinginanauthenticway.Feiman-NemserandBuchmann(1983)informus“overcomingthefamiliaritypitfallshouldkeepfutureteachersfromconfusingwhatiswithwhatcanorshouldbe,andheightentheirreceptivitytonewdata”(p.21).Itwasthusourattempttohelpstudentsworkthroughtheirfamiliarnotionsofscienceandliteracyandtousetheirexamplesinclass.Althoughotherworkhas includedautobiographical reflection (Harkness,Ambrosio, & Morrone, 2007), in many cases it involves the PST delivering a


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compositiontotheinstructor.Thesetraditionalassignmentsexistinisolationinwhichtheassignmentisseenasanacademicperformance.Inthiscontext,studentscompletecourseworkfortheinstructorastheaudience.Ourstudyplacedlearninginasocialcontextofabloggingcommunityandattemptedtochallengenotionsofassessmentcenteredonacademicperformance(Authors,2013). Wealsorecognize,asFeiman-NemserandBuchmann(1983)write,“futureteacherscannotbeexpectedtorecognizethatwhattheyknowaboutclassroomlifeisonlypartofauniverseofpossibilities.Theyneedhelp...”(p.21).Thus,intheblogs,wecreatedapublicforuminwhichstudentsengagedwithpeersinacommunityinordertoencourageauthenticlearninginacollaborativesphere.Asinstructors,weconsciouslychosetorefrainfromactivelycommentingonstudentblogposts.Wehopedthatbyeliminatingthehierarchyoftheteacher-studentrelationship,PSTswouldbeabletorespondtooneanotherinamannerthatistheresultofauthenticreflectiononpracticeratherthanasanacademicwhoispromptedviacoursework.Commentingonthecomplicationsresultingfromhavingtoassigngradesandthepowerdifferentialthatuniversity-basedcoursesincur,Holt-Reynolds(1992)callsfor“activities,experiences,andassignments—thatwillinvitepreserviceteacherstosharetheirrationalesandbeliefs”(p.345)butthatwe“shiftourpurposesawayfromevaluatingandattemptinsteadtoprobepreserviceteachers’rationales”(p.345).Wehopedthatthroughcreatingaspaceforbloggingandthusanalternativetothetraditionaluniversityassignment,wecouldprovideaplatformforstudentstosharetheirbeliefs.Havingtheseexperiencesdisclosedintheblogsallowedustoexplicitlycallupontheminclassmeetings.Notonlyweretheythusonthefore-frontofstudents’mindsastheylearnednewmaterial,butwethusalsousedthemforthebasisofdiscussionandpointsofcomparisonorcontrast.WeemployedthepedagogywhichHolt-Reynolds(1992)elucidatesas:

Locatingbeliefsaboutteachingthatarewrappedinthoseexperiences,providingsupportforthepersonalcouragerequiredtoquestionthecompletenessoflongoutstandingexplanations forpersonalexperiences,andconsideringalternativeexplanationsforthoseevents—theseactivitieswillbecentraltoapedagogythatpracticesdiscoveringwhatstudentsalreadyknowandthenlinkingresearch-basedwaysofthinkingaboutclassroomsandteachingtothatknowledge.(p.346)

Thuswasourintentioninutilizingtheblogs,andwebelieveengagingstudentsinanactivitysuchasthisisaworthwhilepracticeinteachereducation. Within theblogs,wewereable toseehowPSTsbegan tonegotiateanewidentity.Lortie(1975)describedtheinabilityofstudentstothinklikeateacherandthenecessityofexperiencesthatinvitestudentsintothisrealm.Heasserts,“Theydonotcontrasttheir‘student’perceptionswithalater,moresophisticatedviewpoint”(p.65).However,byhavingstudentsreflectupontheirautobiographi-calexperiencesinthepublicsphereofblogginginconjunctionwithcourseworkandobservations,webegantosee,throughthedisruptedresponses,studentswere


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infactbeginningtochallengetheapprenticeshipofobservationandbeginningtoconsiderthepositionofateacher,pedagogicalpractice,andstudentneeds.Whileidentity is afluidcategory,we sawmomentsof thePSTsnascentprofessionalidentitythroughtheirdiscourseasemergingprofessionals. Althoughthesemomentsofdisruptionarepowerful,notallPSTsexhibitedthese,norwerethereblogsinwhichstudents’preconceivednotionswereholisti-callyinterrupted.Rather,somemaintainedanormalizedstancetowardschoolingexperiences,somebegantoquestionafewpedagogicalpracticeswhileholdingfirmtoothers,andstillothersseemedtostrugglewithstandardschoolingwhole-heartedly.Finally,thereweremanyinstanceswhereaPSTwouldcritiquepracticeinoneblogposting,yetinanotherwouldreportsupportforatraditionalmethod.Onelimitationofthisstudyisthelackoffollow-upwiththePSTsintotheirinduc-tionphasetoexaminetheoutcomesofthisprocessontheirpedagogicalchoices.Weareunabletoseeiftheirmomentsofdisruptionperseveredorrevertedtotraditionalpracticeonce thePSTswere fully immersed in theprofession.Future researchcouldexaminehowthereflectionsupontheirapprenticeshipofobservationmightimpacttheirteachingdispositionsandpedagogicalchoices. Aspreviouslynoted,therewaslimitedinstructorparticipationintheblogsinordertoencourageauthenticparticipationandminimizeresponsesthatfunctionasanacademicperformance.However,werecognizethatdisruptionscouldhaveoccurredmoreoftenifexperiencedteachersorcourseinstructorswereinvolvedwithinthiscommunityofpractice.Wearestillnegotiatingthedelicatebalancebetweenfosteringauthenticresponsesinwhatisultimatelyanacademicsetting.Anadditionalcomplicationofthisacademicsettingisthetendencytowardpolitenessthathasbeenfoundinteacherdiscourseingeneralandthedifficultyinfosteringcritique(Pfieffer&Featherstone,2007;Saunders,Goldenberg,&Hamann,1992).ThePSTsexpressedtheirreluctancetocritiqueoneanotherortooffendsomeoneinthecommunity;hadtheybeenmoreadeptatthisskill,perhapstheywouldhavebeenabletochallengenormalizingstatements. Despite these concerns,we assert that usingblogs as a tool for publicallyreflectinguponautobiographical experiencesprovidesanopportunity forPSTstoexamine theirapprenticeshipofobservationandprovidesaspace toexpressdisruptedresponses.WehaveidentifiedfourwaysthatPSTsuseautobiographicalnarrativetorevealtheirapprenticeshipsofobservation,oneofwhichwascriticalanddisrupted.Thesecriticalresponsesareparticularlypowerfulintwoways:inone, they demonstrate students’ consideration and negotiation of new perspec-tivesinaconstructivemanner,bywhichtheyintegrateanewdiscourseintoanolderone(Lewis&Ketter,2011),andinasecond,relatedaspect,theyspeaktothepotentiallyrobustinfluenceofteachereducationandtheresultsitcaneffect.Withouttheapprenticeshipbeingcalledintoquestioninsomefashion,suchasintheblogs,PSTsarelikelytofallbackontraditionalmethods,albeitperhapsevenunconsciously.Thepublicspaceof theblogsstrengthened thisworkbecause it


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wasnotsubmittedasanacademicperformanceandallowedforotherstowitnessdisruption.Furthermore,Lortie (1975)avows,“Unless students in trainingcanexperienceatleastsomesenseofgenuinecollegiality—somesharingoftechnicalproblemsandalternativesolutions—theywillbeill-preparedforsucheffortswhentheyworkalongsideoneanother”(p.66).Theblogsallowedforthistypeofsharing;PSTswereabletosummonautobiographicalexperiencesthroughblogpostsandinterrogatetheirownpreconceptionsofschoolingwhilecommentingonothers,thusdevelopingasenseofcollegialitytowhichLortie(1975)refers. Weproposeincorporatingcriticalautobiographicalreflectionthroughtheuseofbloggingnotonlywithinteachereducationprogramsbutsuggestitsusewithin-serviceteachersaswell.Thepublicspaceofbloggingisinvaluableinprovidinganopportunityfordisruptionsandthuscreatingaspaceforpedagogicalchange.Ifwehopetoencouragetransformativepracticethatbreaksthecycleofreproductionofnormativeschooling,weneedtofindspacesthataffordteachersawaytointeractwithcolleagues,shareideas,andcritiqueoneanother.OurworkwithPSTshopedtomodelthisforcandidatessothattheycancontinueintheircareerteaching,butworkwithbothpreserviceandin-serviceteachersthatconnectsbeliefstopracticeinasocialcontextshouldcontinue.

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Appendix

Table A1Primary Codes and Definitions

Primary code category Definition of primary code

Personal education/ Student references own schooling experiencesautobiography or own cultural background.

Reflection on course Generally, these are responses to course material;content either to summarize, or to reflect and integrate, or to critique.


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Primary code category Definition of primary code

Commenting, analyzing, Responding, reflecting or otherwise commenting on practice. observing others practice Generally, this is discussion of the classroom practices that they are observing in their field placements.

Studying content Responding to actual content—reading books, thinking about specific science content knowledge, specific literacy practices.

Studying own practice Reflecting and commenting on own classroom practices and pedagogies

Affective Domain Expressing fondness, stress, anxiety, joy or other emotional venting that isn’t any of the other categories

Community Based upon a number of factors, including the members’ meaningful participation, social and cognitive processes, and social practices—that reflects the beliefs, values, history and experiences of the community members and allows for conflict of opposing thoughts and ideas.

Stance taking Re-stating course material as their strong opinion or responding to practice with strong opinions. Collective (“we” statements) or individual (“I” statements) stance taking. As teachers…..” comments.

Planning for future practice Pedagogical decision making about future classrooms which is based upon course content, other’s practice and their own experiences.

examining the apprenticeship of observation with ...anderjl/boydetal.pdf · examining the...

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