A Hramiak

Trainee Teachers' Use of Blogs as Private Reflections for Professional Development.

A collaborative research project between Sheffield Hallam University and Nottingham Trent University in the UK investigated the use of blogs with trainee teachers as an alternative to reflective paper‐based diaries. An action research case study, involving focus groups of post‐graduate (secondary) trainee teachers (one group from each University) was undertaken to determine attitudes and perceptions of blogging as an appropriate tool to support reflective professional development. The findings indicate that the use of blogs by the trainee teachers had a positive impact overall, and provide concrete evidence of their development as emerging professional teachers. Unlike traditional paper‐based systems, blogs provided ongoing opportunities for the tutor to assist the trainees in their development as reflective practitioners. This paper seeks to share the findings of this research which the authors believe could be applicable to other areas of Higher Education.

Online Learning Community Development with Teachers as a Means of Enhancing Initial Teacher Training.

A purpose‐built blend of teaching and learning activities was used with trainee teachers on a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) course, and subsequently evaluated in a cyclical action research study, over a period of two years. The purpose of the blend was to engender the formation of a learning community, by giving them access to each other all through the course, in order to reduce the isolation often felt on school placement. The development of their social presence was encouraged by providing them with the social space in which to construct it. The findings indicate that this blend engendered the formation of a learning community through the creation of social presence and space that reduced isolation on placement for the trainee teachers. Positive voices from the research illustrate that trainees experienced an enhancement of their teacher training course through participation in the learning community.

E-flection: the development of reflective communities of learning for trainee teachers through the use of shared online web logs

This paper reports on research that has taken place with trainee teachers using web blogs for reflective practice at Sheffield Hallam University and Nottingham Trent University, in the UK. The research identifies how reflective blogs provided trainee teachers with an opportunity to develop as reflective practitioners in a more evolutionary way – something we might term ‘e-flection’ encompassing as it does reflections that are both evolutionary and online. This is in line with contemporary ideas of reflection on action as the research indicates that trainees were using the blog after teaching, to reflect on their teaching and learning as a past experience. The research also explores how reflecting as part of a community can benefit students in developing the reflective aspect of their professional identity.

A discourse analysis of trainee teacher identity in online discussion forums

Teacher education involves an identity transformation for trainees from being a student to being a teacher. This discourse analysis examined the online discussion board communications of a cohort of trainee teachers to better understand the situated identities of the trainees and how they were presented online. Their discussion board posts were the primary method of communication during placement periods and, as such, provided insight into how the trainees situated their identities in terms of being a student or being a teacher. During the analysis, the community boundaries, language and culture were explored along with the tutor’s power and role in the identity transformation process. This involved looking at the lexis used by the students, the use of pronouns to refer to themselves and others such as teachers and pupils, the types of messages allowed in the community and the effect of the tutor’s messages on their communication. The research found that the trainees felt comfortable with teaching but did not feel like teachers during the course. Tutors and school teachers need to develop an awareness of the dual nature of trainees’ identities and help promote the transition from student to teacher. In the beginning of the course, trainees should be familiarised with teacher vocabulary and practical concepts in addition to pedagogical theory. Towards the end of the course, trainee identity as teachers could be promoted through the use of authentic assessments that mirror real teacher tasks and requirements.

Cascading the Use of Web 2.0 Technology in Secondary Schools in the United Kingdom: Identifying the Barriers beyond Pre-Service Training.

This paper reports on research that took place at two universities in the United Kingdom, over two years. The research focuses on the use of Web 2.0 technology, specifically blogs, with pre-service teachers, both during their university programme and the first year of teaching as full-time newly qualified teachers (NQTs). The purpose of this research was to add to a developing body of knowledge by identifying whether technology used by pre-service teachers during their training course can be cascaded into their practice once qualified. Key findings identify a number of enablers and barriers to cascading technology in the classroom; these include curriculum time, pupil skills and support. The research concludes that early professional support and development should continue during the early years of teaching and assumptions about new teachers as champions of cascading innovative use of Web 2.0 technologies into their practice as NQTs may be over-optimistic.

Using a cultural lens to explore challenges and issues in culturally diverse schools for Teach First beginning teachers: implications for future teacher training

This article explores some of the challenges faced by Teach First teachers during their first year of teaching in a culturally diverse school, and describes some of the strategies they employ to overcome them. Using a variety of methods, both qualitative and quantitative data are collected, focusing on the perspectives of the teachers over the course of the academic year. Three common themes emerged from the findings; firstly, there is evidence from all datasets that cultural challenges exist for the participants, and that they have developed strategies for overcoming them during the course of the year. Secondly, the cultural gap revealed by the data is not necessarily that between staff and pupils, but exists more between curriculum and pupils, in the eyes of the participants. Thirdly, while cultural differences have caused some problems for the participants, they have come to recognise that although they cannot change the whole culture of the school and its pupils, they can make a difference in their classrooms. The Bourdieuian cultural lens provided ideas to better prepare future trainees for this type of situation in schools, and also added to a growing body of knowledge in this area. To better prepare trainees, we may need to see culture differently from how we have previously done, and to raise our awareness and that of our trainees to the issues that might arise in situations such as the one described here.

A Step-by-Step Approach to Using Grounded Theory: From Data to Articles Using a Study of the Cultural Adaptations of Trainee Teachers

As a follow on to my earlier research with beginning teachers, in which I investigated their propensity for pedagogical change, when they faced difficult and unfamiliar cultural situations in school, this research was undertaken to test the findings on a larger scale. The research from which this case study is drawn uses a greater number of schools and participants, these taken from the geographically large region of Yorkshire and Humberside in the North of England, in the academic year of 2013-2014. The increased amount of data from the study leant itself to a more detailed data analysis compared with thematic analysis as was used previously. Thus, the data were coded on a line-by-line basis using the method of grounded theory coding, and it is this ...

Applying the framework for culturally responsive teaching to explore the adaptations that teach first beginning teachers use to meet the needs of their pupils in school

Abstract Previous research has shown that beginning teachers are capable of adapting their practice to the needs of ethnically diverse pupils. This paper investigates the possibility that such teachers were developing their practice into what I have termed culturally adaptive teaching. A variety of methods were used to collect qualitative data that focused on the perspectives of teachers in schools across Yorkshire and Humberside, (UK) over the course of an academic year. The framework for culturally responsive teaching (CRT) was used as a lens through which to analyse the data collected. It enabled findings to emerge that took the framework beyond that of CRT, to one of culturally adaptive teaching. Teachers continually adapted their practice, in terms of cultural sensitivity, to better meet the needs of their pupils. If we can apply this framework and support beginning teachers to help them understand issues of cultural diversity in the classroom, we might be able to engender a real systematic change in teaching for the benefit of pupils.

Using a Mixed-Methods Approach in Classroom Research to Investigate Challenges and Issues of Culture with Beginning Teachers in Schools

This report describes the methods used in an exploration of the challenges and issues faced by Teach First teachers in their first year of teaching in a culturally diverse school, and the strategies they employ to overcome them. Using a mixed-methods tactic, both qualitative and quantitative data are collected, focusing on the perspectives of the teachers over the course of the academic year. Data collection and analysis were closely integrated to provide a more focused route as the project continued. Three common themes emerged: first, there is evidence from all data sets that cultural challenges exist for the participants, and that they have developed strategies for overcoming them during the course of the year. Second, the cultural gap is not necessarily seen as one between staff and pupils, but exists more between curriculum and pupils. Third, while cultural differences have caused problems for the participants, they have come to recognise that although they cannot change the whole culture of the school and its pupils, they can make a difference in class.

A Pedagogical Framework for the Use of Information and Communications Technology in Initial Teacher Training

This paper describes the initial findings of a longitudinal case study that investigates the use of e-learning and communications technology to enhance the placement experience for full time post graduate certificate in education (PGCE) students. It is a work in progress examining how a VLE might be used to support geographically separated trainees while they are on placement. A preliminary analysis of the results is used to offer some insight into how this type of support might be improved for future students, and a minimum pedagogical framework is recommended for the implementation of VLEs for initial teacher training