Collaborative feedback and reflection for professional growth: Preparing first-year pre-service teachers for participation in the community of practice

Abstract

Teaching has been described as an emerging community of practice. Within such professional communities, the processes of reflection and collaborative dialogue, or critical transformative dialogue, are central to the maintenance and improvement of professional practice for individuals, and the field. This paper reports on the challenges experienced by a group of first-year pre-service teachers engaging in a process of reflection and critique with peers, as they participated in a program focused on the development of core practices of teaching. These pre-service teachers' responses indicated their growing understanding of the importance of engaging in ongoing critical dialogue, as part of the “unnatural” aspects of teaching. The paper concludes with a reflection on the value of feedback from the earliest stages of professional learning.

Reference

Daniel, G. R., Auhl, G., & Hastings, W. (2013). Collaborative feedback and reflection for professional growth: preparing first-year pre-service teachers for participation in the community of practice. Asia-Pacific Journal Of Teacher Education, 41(2), 159-172. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1359866X.2013.777025

Journal

Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education

Analysis

Is this article part of a larger project or series of studies?

Does this study draw on a large, preexisting data set?

Research Approach

Communities of Practice
Document Analysis
Qualitiative

Geographic Setting

Australia

Institutional Context

University based

Certification Level

Not stated

Programatic Focus

not stated

Research Location Context

University

Preservice Participants

Undergraduates (university based program)

Preservice Sample Size

Duration of Data Collection

Academic Semester

Data Sources

Questionnaire
written feedback sheets

Data Analysis Tools

no analysis stated
Statistical analysis

Researcher Positionality

not stated

Research Questions

"This paper describes the experiences of a group of pre-service teachers as they engaged with their peers in a process of collabo- rative reflection and critique, as part of a program focusing on the development of what some researchers (Grossman & McDonald, 2008) referred to as core skills, or pedagogies of enactment, of teaching" (p. 159-160).
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? No