Teacher Learning Circles (2025)

The Learning Circle Model: A Vehicle for Exploring Critical Perspectives in Teacher Education

This paper details how a Learning Circle model provided faculty in a multi-program graduate department of education with a vehicle to reflect on their teaching, research practices, and the structure and design of their graduate programs. Through participation in the Learning Circle, faculty met weekly to discuss a common series of readings which explored contemporary issues of social theory and educational practice. The conversations of the Learning Circle provided the impetus for the department to articulate a "pedagogy of possibility," which informed the development of an overarching conceptual framework to guide its newly revised teacher and counselor education programs. The paper highlights the process of the Learning Circle, provides a list of the readings that gave rise to the discussions, and identifies critical perspectives that advanced-level education programs must address in order to meet the needs of teachers and .children in the 21st century. (Author/SM) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. Learning Circle 1

Teachers and Teaching: theory and practice

Teachers and Teaching, 1997

This paper describes research into the beliefs and practices established over time by teachers, who had been engaged in an innovative 'mathematical investigations' school program, based on the use of exploratory software. The theoretical framework perceives the teacher as an active mediator of innovation, constructing and reorganizing a personal pedagogy. Interview and detailed observational classroom data were collected and analyzed, synthesizing qualitative and quantitative interpretations of teachers' comments in the classroom. The results show that teachers refer to a variety of aspects of the learning situations in which they intervene rather than just the mathematical concepts and ideas. They adopt multiple roles in the classroom and are influenced by the values of the educational system. The ways in which these issues influence teaching and learning of the mathematical concepts at hand is considered. The nature of teacher beliefs and the ways in which they may influence their practice is questioned.

Teachers Learning from Teachers: Knowledge and Understanding in Collaborative Action Research

1994

This study examined ways in which teacher use their own experiences and those of their colleagues to become aetter teachers, based on case studies of a group of eight physics teachers engaged in collaborative action research. Two perspectives on teaching that have framed other inquiries are first discussed: the teacher knowledge perspective, which specifies three forms of teacher knowledge (propositional, case, and strategic); and the teacher reasoning perspective, which focuses on practical arguments, practical theories, and the reflective practitioner. An alternative perspective is then offered, which maLes distinctions between knowledge and understanding and between context and situation and which identifies three varieties of teacher wisdom--wisdom of practice, deliberative wisdom, and wisdom that relies on living and acting authentically in situations. Based on examination of the group's action research, a model for the generation and sharing of knowledge and understanding is developed, called enhanced normal practice, which involves three mechanisms: anecdote-telling, the trying out of ideas, and systematic inquiry. Implications of the study include: (1) for action research to have a long-lasting effect on practice, it needs to be self-sustaining; (2) research should be conceptualized as not only additions to categorizable knowledge but also as development of understanding; and (3) action research operationalized as enhanced normal practice could serve as a model of staff development. (Contains 54 references.) (JDD)

Lesson study as a vehicle for collaborative teacher learning in a secondary school

Professional Development in Education, 2014

Lesson study is recommended to schools as a powerful approach to the development of teacher learning. This paper reports the outcomes of a 'Lesson Study' project conducted in a Mathematics department with four serving teachers in a secondary school in England. Using Dudley's lesson study framework and, drawing on Hargreaves and Fullan's notion of professional capital, the feasibility and value of collaborative lesson study as a vehicle for the development of teacher learning was explored. Planning and evaluation meetings as well as end-of-project interviews were analysed to investigate how teachers planned research lessons together and how these were evaluated. Despite time constraints, teachers who engaged in lesson study reported that the process improved understanding of their students, that collaboration helped them to develop less-teacher-centred approaches and created a stronger sense of teacher community. The project demonstrated that lesson study has potential as an alternative or complementary model of teachers' learning, but it also throws up substantive organisational challenges if its use is to expand.

Creating teacher learning communities of inquiry through Lesson Study

Opportunities for teachers to engage in collaborative learning to examine and reflect on their practice are vital for sustained professional learning. Lesson Study centres on teachers coming together with colleagues to plan, observe, and reflect on classroom teaching and learning as a Community of Inquiry. In this project, six teachers from three Victorian schools worked together with four coaches in two cross-school planning teams. Findings indicate that Lesson Study provides a vehicle for teachers to deepen their professional learning.

Introducing New Practices in a Teacher Education Classroom

2020

This self-study report documents and analyzes the impact of teaching a secondary-level, subjectspecific (physics) curriculum and methods course over two terms (eight months) of a four-term program of initial teacher education. Having conducted self-studies of specific aspects of his practice previously, Tom set out to understand more about the impact of his course on his students’ professional learning. Andrea and John were recruited as critical friends. Following Vick’s (2006) conclusion that teacher educators typically do little to address the theory-practice divide, this study was framed by two essential theoretical perspectives. Teacher educators Hagger and McIntyre (2006) set out the differences between propositional knowledge (theory) and craft knowledge (constructed in practice) in learning to teach. Cognitive scientist Willingham (2009) sets out nine cognitive principles and their implications for teaching and learning in the classroom. Clearance was obtained from the univer...

The convivial space – exploring teacher learning through practitioner research

Professional Development in Education

Lesson Study: towards a collaborative approach to learning in Initial Teacher Education?

Cambridge Journal of Education, 2013

Lesson Study' (LS) case studies were conducted in two secondary school teaching practice placements in England. Using Dudley's framework (2011), Geography and Modern Languages trainees and school-based colleagues collaboratively planned a 'research lesson'. This was taught by the mentor while the trainee and other teachers observed the learning of three 'focus' students. The lesson was reviewed and revised for teaching to a parallel group by the trainee and the cycle of observation and evaluation was repeated. In post-lesson study interviews, analysed from a Communities of Practice perspective, mentors claimed that LS facilitated rapid integration of the prospective teacher into departmental working practices while trainees claimed they benefited from the team approach inherent in LS. The process enabled participants to explore collaboratively the 'pedagogic black-box' enriching the experience and learning of both trainees and mentors. Successfully integrated, LS improves support for teacher development in teaching practice placements.

Secondary school teachers’ learning: environments, specificities and considerations for educational practice

Educar, 2022

This article is based on the research project APREN-DO aimed at exploring how secondary school teachers learn. Using an inclusive research approach and visual and narrative methods, we conducted the study with teachers rather than focusing on teachers. Twenty-eight secondary school teachers in the province of Barcelona (Spain) created their learning cartographies, showing what, how, where, with whom, and with what they learn. They then narrated their cartographies and discussed the notions of learning and educational practice in the 21st century. This paper summarizes the results and conclusions about teachers’ learning environments, specificities and considerations regarding their learning, and their thoughts about educational practices. Finally, we present and discuss teachers’ reflections and proposals for redesigning educational practice taking into account the need to contemplate the different literacies and competences that exist in today’s society, encouraging student partici...

Teaching Theories into Classroom Practices

Luca Miani, 2023

PGCE History Portfolio based on my Placement 1 experience. The five elements of the portfolio are: 1. What is the place of your subject within the curriculum? What is the historical context? What elements do you feel are most important? 2. With reference to the relevant literature, discuss what behaviours are needed for learning in your subject. How have these been supported in the lessons you have observed? 3. What different teaching approaches (pedagogies) have you observed? Engage critically with these with reference to the literature. Choose one that you feel is particularly effective in your subject and discuss the theories that underpin this effectiveness. 4. How can you tell if pupils are making progress in a lesson? Discuss with reference to one or more observation tools how observation has helped your developing understanding. 5. With reference to the literature on the value of reflective practice, consider the range of tasks undertaken by teachers beyond teaching their subject. Why do these other professional roles matter?