University of Cumbria Open Access Journals
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Alternative teacher education routes: From ‘trained teacher’ to teacher educated as a ‘change agent’
Full text linkThe present study explores the specific outlines and implementation characteristics of teacher training programs for teaching as a second career. These programs stand out for being socio-educational, aiming to foster leadership and generate a social value-based change through education. The study is based on a qualitative approach using case study methodology, and draws upon staff\u27s interviews, meeting protocols, programmes\u27 documents, and course syllabi. The findings reveal how these programs\u27 content, structure, guiding principles, mode of operation, and the professional community of the staff collectively contribute to equipping teachers with the skills and mindset necessary for their socio-educational mission. The article presents a transition from a traditional worldview emphasising content-teaching skills to a holistic one where the teacher is a change leader. The study may offer a path for the designers of teacher education programs who wish their programs to lead to socio-educational change
How can teachers use knowledge acquisition strategies in year one science to improve spaced retrieval?
Full text linkDespite growing interest in spaced retrieval methods, a research gap has been discovered, with insufficient data to support best practises in year-one science. After analysing five systematic action cycles, four interrelated themes emerged: dual coding, cognitive load, peer communication, and feedback-driven metacognition. While literature emphasises the need to take a child\u27s cognitive load into account, the themes of peer communication and dual coding provoked debate among participants. Despite this conflict, an agreement was reached on how limited reading abilities affect retrieval practise. While this small-scale study cannot draw definitive conclusions, I discovered that by optimising cognitive load, teachers can ensure that a task is desirably difficult using dual coding, discussion, and feedback-driven metacognition, all of which contributed to the success of knowledge acquisition methodologies. According to my research, ensuring a retrieval task is challenging, increases children’s development of retention of scientific knowledge. However, minimising literacy constraints is critical to avoid thinking being exhausted by writing or reading, rather than recalling and applying. Consequently, the relevance of the study for education and society is illustrated by the findings, which emphasise the necessity to reduce extraneous load (reading and writing) during retrieval tasks and propose potential solutions to this issue
Developing Digital Literacies in Teacher Education: A Collaborative Enquiry Examining Teacher Educators’ Experiences of Teaching Online During the Pandemic
Full text linkThe digital pivot of 2020-21, which moved teacher education online, created a catalyst for teacher educators to develop their digital literacies. This paper reports on a Collaborative Inquiry which sought to examine the factors which influenced teacher educators’ digital skills during this time. Additionally, this paper aims to address the need for research on digital technology in teacher education, as previous studies have reported that some student-teachers feel ill prepared to engage with digital technology in their practice. In seeking to examine the factors which influence the development of teacher educators’ engagement with digital technology, this research adds to knowledge and understanding in this area, informing professional learning provision for teacher educators with digital technologies.
The Technology Pedagogy and Content Knowledge (TPACK) model was used to examine the ways in which teacher educators were influenced in their practice and what impact this had on their experience. Analysis highlighted how the positioning of teacher educators within the framework influenced their experience of teaching online. The lived experiences of teacher educators when using technology for teaching online moved beyond their understanding of content, pedagogy, and technology, and highlighted the importance of context. Relationships, wellbeing, and emotional factors influenced engagement with digital technology as it mediated social practices. The findings add to knowledge and understanding of teacher educators’ engagement with digital technology and have implications for professional development
The future of clinical supervision in teacher education: From a single supervisor to academia-school leadership
Full text linkIn this study, we looked at the competencies and practices of clinical supervisors\u27 role in teacher education programs in Israel. The study encompassed two phases. The first was holistic and included multiple data sources. The second took place in real-life in schools. We opted for a small-scale qualitative embedded multiple-case study design. The findings reveal three patterns of clinical supervision. The first, the most prevalent, focused on the responsibility of the clinical supervisors exclusively for the pre-service teachers. The second was collaborative supervision of clinical supervisors and mentor-teachers. The third pattern, which was rarely found, was characterized as hybrid-supervision. We argue that the challenges of changing the relationships among all stakeholders and leading collaborative learning require a new definition of clinical supervisors as academia-school partnership leaders and a different paradigm of teaching and learning
Investigating teachers\u27 professional learning from participation in a literacy book study group.
Full text linkAbstract
This paper examines a literacy book study group as a potentially useful vehicle for the delivery of teacher professional learning in a primary setting. A small group of teachers, in conjunction with a university lecturer, participated in weekly workshop sessions centred around a chosen literacy-based text. The goal of this project was to provide practitioners with a safe space in which to examine, reaffirm and extend their current knowledge base and classroom practices with the intention of engaging with ideas that may be unfamiliar or potentially daunting. At the core of its design, was the desire to provide ‘grassroots’ professional learning opportunities which recognise and honour the participants’ professional acumen and in turn, build their confidence. Data was gathered via the creation of voice files in response to a short post-project questionnaire. This was supplemented by the on-line discussion threads that took place during each weekly workshop session. Overall, the study was found to be affirming while also bringing a sense of welcome camaraderie from across various schools. Encouragingly, it was found that the ideas explored were authentically-applicable to the classroom without the weight of extraneous paperwork or arduous study commitments.
 
Primary ITT students’ competence and confidence in mathematics teaching in the UK: A review of literature
Full text linkRecently, teacher recruitment and retention has been the focus of the government and a step taken to support recruitment was the abolishing of the skills tests. Initial teacher training providers became responsible for assessing students’ mathematics rather than having it externally assessed. The purpose of this literature review is to synthesise the findings of recent studies conducted in the UK about the students’ competence in mathematics and confidence in teaching it. Six electronic databases were searched, utilising a systematic approach, which identified only six relevant articles. This is significant as it demonstrates that, despite the evidence about the urgent need for intervention, there is limited research that explore how to address the issue of improving prospective primary school teachers’ mathematics competence and confidence, especially in England. This systematic review contributes to the field by bringing attention to the important findings of these studies. Findings suggest that while some primary students’ competence and confidence about teaching mathematics is low, holding advanced level mathematics qualifications does not guarantee knowledge required to teach primary mathematics effectively. Some trainees have positive attitudes towards mathematics and, more importantly when this is not the case, both trainees’ attitude towards learning and teaching mathematics can be improved
The Impact of COVID-19 Restrictions upon Transversal Skills Development amongst Higher Education Students
Full text linkRecommendations of the European Parliament and of the Council (2006) defined Transversal Skills as those considered necessary for personal fulfilment, active citizenship, social inclusion, and employment. This study employed empirical qualitative and quantitative methodologies to investigate and understand the perceived impact of COVID-19 restrictions and increased reliance on remote education technologies upon transversal skills development, from the perspective of students of Initial Teacher Education at Stranmillis University College, Northern Ireland. The resulting knowledge would contribute to better informed planning for transversal skills development in Higher Education, and would additionally be of importance to stakeholders affected by COVID-19. This study indicates that more extensive integration of online learning within future higher education programmes would significantly improve the development of many transversal skills, but that a balance should be maintained between online and face-to-face engagement to prevent the regression of other transversal skills and to protect mental health.
 
Types of online scaffolds provided by a teacher educator in a communal blog for supporting pre-service teachers\u27 reflective practice: A case study
Full text linkPre-service teachers\u27 reflection is a common professional practice in the context of teacher education. The integration of blogs as reflective journals in teacher education may contribute to bridging practical field know-how with the academic knowledge base. In particular, the blog may serve as a virtual space for a community of practice where all partners equally develop professionally. The current study focused on the role of the teacher educator in promoting reflective practice by providing online scaffolds in a communal blog. In a qualitative research design that is based on a case study approach, two hundred and four teacher educators\u27 blog comments were collected throughout an academic year and were analyzed. Five major types of online scaffolds within the teacher educator comments were identified: (1) positive feedback; (2) expressing emotions; (3) peer teaching; (4) meta-cognition; and (5) developing a professional language. It can be concluded that shifting from a traditional platform of individual feedback to a more communal online platform is not automatically linked to a model of a community of practice. As long as the hierarchical positioning of teacher educators compared to pre-service teachers is preserved by codes of academic status and grades the teacher educator\u27s scaffolds would continue to reflect a traditional model rather than the construction of a genuine academic community of practice
A A personalised needs-led approach to developing mentors of student teachers
No full textTeachers who mentor student teachers have a range of mentoring, coaching and teaching experience. Appropriate professional development for mentors takes consideration of this experience as well as the age phase, context (for example, main-stream or special education setting) and route that the student teacher is taking into teaching (school-based experience varying from a few weeks to a whole school year). Mentors are school-based teacher educators with diverse professional learning and development requirements, for which a personalised needs-led approach may be more effective than a training approach limited to understanding the processes needed for a specific programme and setting. Core essentials for school-based teacher educators’ development include introductions to the Partnership team, values, route and procedures; basic mentoring principles and skills; providing feedback to the school-based teacher educator on the professional learning conversation and modelling subject development conversations; and access to a community of teacher educators. Beyond these core essentials, other opportunities can enrich professional learning and practice. Cameos of such enrichment opportunities are described in this article to illustrate the personalised needs-led approach that has evolved within an Initial Teacher Education Partnership in England. The value, drawbacks and implications of this flexibly adaptive approach are discussed