Barbara B. Levin

Beyond Knowledge: Exploring Why Some Teachers Are More Thoughtfully Adaptive Than Others

As teacher educators, we have observed that knowledge alone does not lead to the kinds of thoughtful teaching we strive for. Puzzled by differences in the teaching practices of teacher candidates having similar professional knowledge, we explore what might account for these differences. We address what is necessary, beyond traditional forms of professional knowledge, to support the development of thoughtful teachers who are responsive to students and situations. We provide four perspectives, each drawn from areas in which we conduct our research, and suggest a need to move beyond knowledge in teacher education. Our aim is to explore questions about preparing thoughtful teachers and to challenge others to do the same. We postulate that self-knowledge and a sense of agency with the intent of purposefully negotiating personal and professional contexts may be as important, if not more important, than the more traditional conceptions of professional knowledge.

The Effects Of Collaborative Action Research On Preservice And Experienced Teacher Partners In Professional Development Schools

This study describes the perspectives of five pairs of preservice teachers and their experienced mentor teachers who engaged collaboratively in planning, implementing, and evaluating action research projects during a semester-long internship experience in their professional development school sites. The views of novice and experienced teachers about the costs and benefits of doing collaborative action research are presented, and the authors elaborate on the development of the mentor/mentee relationship between the preservice and experienced teacher pairs. The authors also offer guidelines for successfully engaging preservice and experienced teachers in collaborative action research.

Using Peer Coaching with Preservice Teachers to Develop Reflective Practice and Collegial Support

This research describes the impact of learning and practicing peer coaching techniques based on McAllister and Neuberts (1995) model. The 27 undergraduate elementary education majors who participated in this study were found to have an increased understanding of (a) the importance of developing a reflective stance and (b) the benefits of developing collegial support. It is hoped that beginning teachers who are equipped with these skills will continue to think about their teaching and understand the value of seeking the support of their peers.

Analysis of the Content and Purpose of Four Different Kinds of Electronic Communications Among Preservice Teachers

This study examines the content and purposes of four different types of electronic exchanges among a cohort of preservice elementary education majors across three semesters. Messages were exchanged (a) student to peer, (b) student to keypal, (c) student to instructor, and (d) student to group of peers using Web-based software that supported asynchronous, threaded discussions. The major purposes electronic communications served included opportunities for personal reflection, sharing teaching activities, and offering support. However, the peer-to-group messages fostered more reflective exchanges than other forms of one-to-one electronic communication studied.

Comparing the content and sources of the pedagogical beliefs of Chinese and American pre‐service teachers

This study compares the content and sources of the pedagogical beliefs of 106 pre‐service teachers in two teacher education programmes in China and the USA. Qualitative data were collected using an open‐ended survey instrument to compare similarities and differences in the content and sources of participants’ pedagogical beliefs. The findings illustrate ways in which the pedagogical beliefs of pre‐service teachers in both countries are similar and different, and potential sources for these differences are discussed.

Using Problem-Based Learning as a Tool for Learning To Teach Students with Special Needs.

This article describes how Problem-based learning (PBL) was used as a pedagogical tool to help prospective teachers (a) define various disabilities, (b) learn teaching strategies for inclusion settings, and (c) value collaboration with other professionals. Qualitative and quantitative data are reported about the influence of the PBL experience on 44 preservice teachers during a semester-long PBL experience. Our findings indicate that engagement in PBL can help prospective teachers begin to acquire the knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to work with children with disabilities in a problem-solving atmosphere that models and emphasizes peer collaboration.

Using Systems Thinking to Leverage Technology for School Improvement: Lessons Learned from Award-Winning Secondary Schools/Districts

Abstract This paper offers lessons learned about what it takes to successfully leverage technology for school improvement based on a cross-case analysis of eight award-winning secondary schools/districts around the United States. The researchers analyzed data from 150 interviews, 30 focus groups, and more than 300 hours of observation in 150 classrooms, plus extensive document analysis, to reveal numerous lessons learned across the eight sites. Findings from this study indicated that eight factors must be addressed (nearly) simultaneously when technology is used as a lever for school reform: vision, distributed leadership, technology planning and support, school culture, professional development, curriculum and instructional practices, funding, and partnerships. Implications for current and future practice include important lessons for university and district-based technology specialists, educational researchers, and school and district leaders about taking a systems approach when considering technology among these factors needed for comprehensive school reform efforts to be sustained.

Leadership for twenty-first-century schools and student achievement: lessons learned from three exemplary cases

The purpose of this research was to understand ways exemplary award winning secondary school leaders have transformed their schools for twenty-first-century education and student achievement. This article presents three diverse case studies and identifies ways that each school’s leader and leadership team reconfigured its culture and expectations, in particular by using twenty-first-century technologies as one leverage point. Qualitative data, collected through interviews, observations and document analysis, revealed multiple factors these cases shared but also articulated unique ways each of these leaders approached his/her school’s individual culture, circumstances and issues. This study offers insight into the challenges current school leaders face, and the skills required to leverage technology to improve student engagement and achievement.

Expertise in Teaching from a Developmental Perspective: The Developmental Teacher Education Program at Berkeley

Expertise in teaching is considered from a constructivist developmental perspective that has been applied both to the teaching of elementary school children and to the preparation of teachers in a two-year graduate program at the University of California at Berkeley. The programs goals and practices are discussed with reference to developmental principles which hold that understandings are constructed gradually, through the learners own activity, within different knowledge domains. Evidence of the programs effectiveness in promoting expertise among student teachers and graduates is summarized in terms of a developmental sequence that teachers appear to go through in attaining constructivist understandings in the domain of pedagogy.

Teacher Beliefs in Action: A Cross-Sectional, Longitudinal Follow-Up Study of Teachers' Personal Practical Theories

Based on a cross-sectional, longitudinal follow-up study of graduates from our masters-level elementary education program, in this article we examined changes in espoused beliefs elicited in the form of personal practical theories (PPTs) of three graduates with 2, 4, and 6 years of experience teaching in the same partnership school where they did their student teaching. We compared their original PPTs collected during their teacher education program with their current PPTs elicited in follow-up interviews, and then observed their classroom practices. Case summaries of these teachers are presented, and analysis and implications focus on changes in their PPTs, how their PPTs played out in their classrooms, and perceived barriers and supports to enacting their beliefs.