Transformative Learning through Action Research: A Case Study from South Africa

The paper reports on the results of an action research project, informed by transformative theory. The action research was designed to change faculty perspectives and practices from a teacher-centered to a learning-centered dialogic approach, underpinned by a socio-constructivist epistemology

Bridging theory and practice in teacher education: teaching schools – a bridge too far?

The study reported on in this article stems from the Integrated Strategic Planning Framework for Teacher Education and Development in South Africa (2011). This framework proposes the establishment of teaching schools to strengthen teacher education. This article reports on a qualitative inquiry into the views of school-based personnel and the teacher education sector on the implementation of teaching schools as sites for teacher education and whether they think teaching schools could enhance the education of student-teachers. The inquiry showed that the participants were positive that teaching schools will enhance teacher education through serving as a bridge between the academic, university-based preparation of student-teachers and the practice demands of the teaching profession. However, they had no clear notion of how such schools could add value to teacher preparation differentiated to schools in which student-teachers are placed for work-integrated learning. We contend that, prior to establishing teaching schools, much deliberation between all stakeholders is required about the purpose and means of integrating teaching schools in teacher education. If not, teaching schools that serve to bridge the gap between the education of student-teachers at universities and the demands that novice teachers face once they enter the teaching profession might remain an elusive ideal

Teaching and learning at the University of Johannesburg: a position paper

In this position paper we focus on four components of teaching and learning at the University of Johannesburg. We begin by situating university education in the complex world of the 21st century. We introduce the notion of “learning to be” – a view of higher education that conceptualises learning as becoming a practitioner of a knowledge and professional domain. We also argue that an information-oriented view of teaching and learning in a university context is not conducive to optimal learning. Coupled with this we introduce the idea of approaching teaching as the design and implementation of “learning tasks”. We then focus on how current Information and Communication Technology (ICT) features in this setting, suggesting that it should extend contact teaching in digitally rich and innovative ways. Lastly we argue for ICT management that supports free access and optimal utilisation

Guided play as a pedagogical tool for the early grades

Background: Research has shown the benefits of play for children’s learning and development. Play can also be harnessed for pursuing pre-determined learning goals related to school curricula through ‘guided’ play. Aim: The research inquired into the implementation of a pre-service teacher education course on play as pedagogy to evaluate and refine the course’s design principles. Setting: The study was conducted at the University of Johannesburg, involving pre-service teachers within the Bachelor of Education in the foundation phase of schooling. Methods: The research formed part of a broader design-based research study. The data were collected via questionnaires, interviews, analysis of students’ work and a research journal. A combination of inductive and deductive data analysis was used. Results: The way in which the course was designed and implemented was successful in helping students develop a basic understanding of guided play, although there were gaps in their understanding of their guiding role; student teachers learnt that creativity could be developed through play. Conclusion: In general, the design principles served the course and its implementation well because students learnt much about guided play. However, a major gap was the insufficient focus on guiding practices. Such practices should receive considerable attention in a pre-service teacher education course on guided play. A stronger focus on the interconnectedness of play and creativity in a course on guided play for pre-service teachers will be beneficial. Contribution: The research on teacher preparation for using play-based teaching and learning is limited. This study contributes to addressing this gap

A hybrid model building on prolepsis for effective practice teaching in pre-service life sciences teacher education

Abstract: The need for this research is substantiated by two sets of research literature, namely, literature that belabours the so-called ‘theory–practice divide’ in teacher education and, secondly, literature on the dismal state of science education in South Africa. This chapter critically looks at the pre-service education of life sciences student teachers and reports on an intervention that was conceptualised and implemented by the UJ to address some of the shortcomings of the customary school practice experience (or WIL). Teacher education institutions are often criticised as being distant from practice and therefore ineffective in preparing student teachers for the demands of the teaching profession. This is especially true in the teaching of the natural sciences (including life sciences and physical sciences) – a national priority in a country that is not performing well in international benchmark tests. This chapter reports on an innovative intervention of the UJ whereby undergraduate student teachers were given the opportunity to teach life sciences (FET Grades 10–12) to learners from a top-performing school that did not offer life sciences as a subject. The authors will indicate how this intervention addressed three fundamental problems associated with learning to teach, namely, (1) the problem of the apprenticeship of observation; (2) the problem of enactment and (3) the problem of complexity. This qualitative research focussed on how this intervention contributed to the 81 student teachers’ (who participated) professional development. The Japanese lesson study approach, where student teachers prepared and presented lessons in groups of four, were further enhanced with the technique of prolepsis, which involves structuring learning opportunities in a way that assumes that the student teachers know more than they actually do. By using such a prolepsis approach in teacher education, the teacher educator can explore the optimal distance between the student teacher’s actual and potential development..

Work-integrated learning and teaching schools : the University of Johannesburg teaching school experience

Abstract: In this chapter, we report on a study that employed a generic qualitative research design to explore how learning in and from practice, in a curriculum designed to achieve congruence between coursework and fieldwork, relates to student teachers’ learning at other schools they attend for WIL. When the University of Johannesburg (UJ), Faculty of Education established a ‘teaching school’ (TS) in 2010, the staff had no existing model based on which to plan. We worked from the idea that student teachers’ practicum in the TS could work in tandem with their WIL at other schools, in order to promote learning in and from practice, for practice. A shared vision of the kind of teacher we wished to produce was key, both within the programme itself and in terms of how coursework and practical experience/fieldwork were brought together. The central organising principle of child study not only brought cohesion to the programme but was also dependent on strong partnerships with expert teachers in the two settings who could operate as good mentors. Although such a vision is achievable at a TS, we found that building a relationship of equivalence demands a great deal of commitment and the willingness to compromise by both parties. This kind of relationship building was not possible at the WIL schools. However, we were motivated by the opportunity to combine practice in both TS and WIL schools for enabling student teachers to learn in and from practice at the TS to provide a solid foundation for learning during WIL at other schools. The data point to considerable congruence between student teachers learning in the TS and in coursework, but student teachers learning at WIL are more often a source of tension. We reasoned that if they have a vision of what good teaching is about from their experience at the TS, it would provide them with a benchmark of what to aspire for when placed in schools where this was absent

A University and School Working in Partnership to Develop Professional Practice Knowledge for Teaching

The article reports on the University of Johannesburg's (UJ) efforts at offering a practice-based teacher education program in partnership with a university-affiliated school (a “teaching school”) with a view to developing inquiry-oriented novice teachers. The research aimed at exploring what it takes to develop a “learningplace” (Conway et al., 2014) conducive to student teachers' development of professional practice knowledge and the role of mentoring in this regard. A two-phase process of generating data was used. In the first phase, the published research on the university-affiliated school was analyzed, using qualitative content analysis to look for patterns across the historical unfolding of the findings of these papers. In phase two a questionnaire was administered involving final year student teachers in the teacher education program. The research shows that a teaching school, if integrated into the program design and delivery, provides a rich practice learning site for student teachers. In addition, mentoring in cognitive apprenticeship mode could indeed be a powerful contributor to student teachers' professional development. However, the overall programme design is decisive. The preparation of teachers with strong professional practice knowledge requires attention to four interrelated aspects of program design, namely program identity, organizational structures, curriculum, and teacher education pedagogy. Addressing these aspects in an integrated manner would be difficult without working closely with one or more partnership schools

Becoming a teacher

This book disseminates original research on learning in and from practice in pre-service teacher education. Authors such as Lederman and Lederman describe the student teaching practicum (or work-integrated learning [WIL]), which is an essential component of pre-service teacher education, as the ‘elephant in the room’. These authors note that 'the capstone experience in any teacher education programme is the student teaching practicum… [a]fter all, this is where the rubber hits the road'. However, many teacher educators will agree that this WIL component is sometimes very insufficient in assisting the student teacher to develop their own footing and voice as a teacher. This is the ‘gap’ that this research book addresses. Most of the chapters in the book report empirical data, with the exception of two chapters that can be categorized as systematic reviews. WIL is addressed from various angles in the chapters. Chapter 6 focuses on research related to what makes Finnish teacher education so effective, and in Chapter 4 researchers of the University of Johannesburg disseminate their findings on establishing a teaching school (based on Finnish insights) in Johannesburg. Chapter 3 highlights the challenges faced in open-and distance learning teacher education contexts. Several of the chapters disseminate research findings on alternative interventions to classic WIL, namely, where “safe spaces” or laboratories are created for student teachers to learn and grow professionally. These could either be simulations, such as software programmes and avatars in the intervention described in Chapter 2; student excursions, as the findings in chapters 5, 7 and 10 portray; or alternative approaches to WIL (e.g. Chapters 11 and 12). The book is devoted to scholarship in the field of pre-service teacher education. The target audience is scholars working in the fields of pre-service teacher education, work-integrated learning, and self-directed learning. The book makes a unique contribution in terms of firstly its extensive use of Cultural-Historical Activity Theory as a research lens, and secondly in drawing on various theoretical frameworks. Both quantitative and qualitative research informed the findings of the book

Crossing the “Theory-practice Divide”: Learning to Be(come) a Teacher

A common view of theory and practice as domains is that it is difficult, if not impossible, to traverse the epistemological chasm between them. After all, theories are ways of organising our world abstractly in ideas and concepts. Practice is the world that we inhabit empirically. It is a tangible world that we can see, feel, act on, act in, and so on. So, how can one even begin to argue that these apparently disparate worlds can be unified or that they are in the first instance not separate at all? My stance on this is that we, the educators of teachers, are party to the separation. In fact, we teach students that they should ‘apply’ theory to practice. Working with our own struggle at the university where I am based, I will argue that there may be ways of opening the borders between what is, on the one hand a philosophical question, and on the other, a purely empirical question. How do we teach and how do we teach the doing of teaching? My argument explores one way we might begin to restore; to whatever extent this is possible, the unity of theory and practice in teacher education

'n Leerdergesentreerde benadering tot die formele andragogies-didaktiese situasie

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