Transitions into teaching: Learning to teach writing in teacher education and beyond
Abstract
This longitudinal study followed 10 beginning teachers from their last year of preservice education into their first 3 years of full-time teaching. Using sociocultural theory, we describe how these teachers appropriated a set of pedagogical tools for teaching writing. Data sources included approximately 5 interviews and at least 5 classroom observations a year, as well as observations and interviews with cooperating teachers, supervisors, and mentor teachers. The analysis suggests that teachers drew on pedagogical tools introduced during teacher education to develop their classroom practice. Conceptual tools that were buttressed with practical strategies proved to be most influential. The settings in which teachers taught also shaped teachers' developing understanding and practice. Finally, pedagogical tools developed during teacher education were even more evident during the teachers' 2nd year of teaching, as they tried to approximate their goal of good language arts instruction. The results of this study suggest the danger of making claims about what teachers do and do not learn during teacher education based only on data from their 1st year of teaching.
Reference
Grossman, P. L., Valencia, S. W., Evans, K., Thompson, C., Martin, S., & Place, N. (2000). Transitions into teaching: Learning to teach writing in teacher education and beyond.
Journal of Literacy Research,
32(4), 631–662.
https://doi.org/10.1080/10862960009548098
Journal
Journal of Literacy Research
Analysis
Is this article part of a larger project or series of studies?
yes
Does this study draw on a large, preexisting data set?
no
Research Approach
Geographic Setting
Institutional Context
Certification Level
Programatic Focus
- Elementary
- English
- Secondary
Research Location Context
- Elementary school
- English Methods Course
- Secondary school
- University
Preservice Participants
- First-year teachers
- Masters
Preservice Sample Size
10
Duration of Data Collection
Data Sources
- course materials
- Document Analysis
- fieldnotes
- Focus group interviews
- Interviews
Data Analysis Tools
- cross-case analysis
- iterative analysis
Researcher Positionality
- inside (staying their own students)
Research Questions
What ideas, concepts, strategies, and specific tools for teaching
writing do preservice teachers develop during teacher education? (p. 632)
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? Yes
How do their experiences in teacher education and their early
experiences in schools shape their understandings and uses of
these ideas and tools? (p. 632)
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? Unknown
How do beginning teachers continue to develop their understanding
and practice of teaching writing over the first few years of
teaching? (p. 632)
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? Yes
How do features of the settings of teacher education and the
schools affect the ways in which beginning teachers develop their
understanding of teaching writing? (p. 632)
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? Yes