“Like a Ball and Glove”: Teachers’ Conceptions of the Promise and Challenges of Conducting Classroom Inquiry
Abstract
Teacher inquiry holds promise in teacher education, but only if student teachers take up inquiry practices as they leave preservice and transition to teaching. As they learn to conduct inquiry during preservice, student teachers may begin to internalize dispositions that promote ongoing inquiry experiences. Through analysis of questionnaires conducted at preservice and inservice, and through a focus group discussion, the authors sought to understand how teachers who had experienced one scaffolded, student-focused, and data-based preservice teacher inquiry model conceptualized the relationship between teaching and inquiry. Analyses revealed that teachers’ conceptions cast inquiry overall as a tight fit with teaching in three ways: by fostering a focus on students, by generating metacognitive knowledge about inquiry as a useful classroom process, and by deepening teacher knowledge about ways to respond thoughtfully to diagnosed student need. Analyses suggest program model elements may have seeded these conceptions.
Reference
Bennett, L. H., Athanases, S. Z., & Wahleithner, J. M. (2016). “Like a ball and glove”: Teachers’ conceptions of the promise and challenges of conducting classroom inquiry. Action in Teacher Education, 38(1), 49-69.
Journal
Action in Teacher Education
Analysis
Is this article part of a larger project or series of studies?
yes
Does this study draw on a large, preexisting data set?
yes
Research Approach
Geographic Setting
Institutional Context
Certification Level
Programatic Focus
- English Language Arts (ELA)
Research Location Context
Preservice Participants
- Post bachs (university based program)
Preservice Sample Size
80
Duration of Data Collection
Data Sources
- Classroom Discussion
- Focus group discussions
- PowerPoint presentations
- Questionnaires
Data Analysis Tools
- coding (emergent categories)
- grounded theory
Researcher Positionality
- inside (staying their own students)
- Outside (not directly invested in the program or operations)
Research Questions
“What are teachers’ conceptions of the relationship between inquiry and teaching, both at graduation from an inquiry-infused teacher education program, and later during inservice?"
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? Yes
What challenges do program graduates report related to conducting inquiry?
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? Yes
How do these conceptions of the promise and challenges get realized in inquiry practice?”
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? Yes